PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS FOR THE CHIROPRACTIC PROFESSION

PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS FOR THE CHIROPRACTIC PROFESSION J. F. WINTERSTEIN, D.C.

Daniel David Palmer, the founder of the chiropractic profession, propounded a "philosophy" for the profession. This philosophic position was maintained by his son Bartlett Joshua Palmer and has been handed down through the years until, at the present time, the most vociferous proponents of this "chiropractic philosophy" are the zealots who represent the fragment of the profession they call "straight chiropractic." In an article authored by Clarence Weiant, D.C., PhD., (1) the following statement is found : "In the last book he ever wrote, (Daniel David Palmer) he urged chiropractors to ignore the philosophy and look to science . . .In view of his proclamation in his last book, relative to philosophy, one ma y well ask: Why did he give us the philosophy? He answered this question in a statement which he made after committing his manuscript on the philosophy. I (Weiant) do not have the exact words, but the substance was: 'I have now given chiropractic its religious plank.' Those who knew him closely understood that the purpose was to permit chiropractors arrested for practicing medicine without a license to say , 'I am not practicing medicine. I am practicing my religion,' the implication being that the law has no right to interfere with religion. As we all know, the courts did not accept that argument." Lest we be accused of not knowing what was purported to be "chiropractic philosophy," let us look at the premises that were formulated by D.o. Palmer which represent this "philosop hy." Using Ralph W. Stephenson's book Chiropractic Textbook (2) as a resource, we find the following: "Chiropractic is a philosophy, science, and art of things natural; a system of adjusting the segments of the spinal column by hand only, for the correction of the cause of disease. This is the definition of chiropractic given by Daniel Palmer himself. The definition of Chiropractic, as quoted in the foregoing, states that it is a philosophy, science, and art of things natural. Put simply, that means, what it is, how it is done, and why. Science tells us what it is; art tells us how it is done; and philosophy, the 'why' of the other two . According to that then, philosophy must tell us about both science and art; and that is the

purpose of this book. Chiropractic Philosophy is the application of the foregoing definitions to Chiropractic as the systematic body of conceptions . .. with the implication of their practical application. It is the explanation of Chiropractic. It explains the why of everything Chiropractic. The explanation of cause and effect. It embraces the Chiropractic view of all the studies concerned in its science. Chiropractic is a radical science. It is a right about face in method and in reasoning. It is contrary to the methods of healing in common use in the world. For that reason, it is misunderstood by those who have not had its benefits or are ignorant of its principles. Because of this wide difference it is not always understood by all those who practice it and many of these persons doubt because of their misunderstanding. However, all chiropractors who really adjust the cause of disease in the spine, do use philosophy to some extent, whether they believe it or not; whether they know it or not. Anyone knowing the real meaning of philosophy, as set forth by Webster' s Dictionary, knows that any human activity has a philosophy. Chiropractic is a deductive science. The deductions are based upon a major premise that life is intelligent; that there is an Intelligent Creator, Who created matter, attends to its existence, and gives to it all that it has. Many of the deductions are now proven facts because of thousands of clinical findings supporting them and thousands of observations of the Law s of this Intelligence. The theories and hypotheses of Chiropractic are based upon these proven deductions which render them plausible and nearly every year some of these theories become proven as solid facts of science. Since Chiropractic, as a science and art, is based upon the link between mind and matter, it naturally follows that the student is curious to know what that link is. Since Chiropractic science is based upon it, and since this book is explanatory of that science, the writer begs the patience of the student, and he will find out in due time. Briefly, however, we can say that since all phenomena is the result of force in matter, and since the Major Premise in Chiropractic maintains ·3·

that th is force proceeds from intellige nce, then the link is force. It is called the 'missing link' because it wa s unrecogni zed as the bond between the immat erial and the material until it was di scovered by Ch iropractic. Some sciences are a study of matter as chemistry; some are stud ies of the mental or abstract realm entirely. But it ne ver occurred to an y of the sciences to ge t together on the se until Chiropractic put them togeth er, and it is this embo di me nt of three things in one tha t is implied in the Major Prem ise and the big funda me ntal of Ch iropractic. Agai n, we wa nt to emphasize w ha t Ch iropractic Philosophy is and what it is not. It is ClearlY,adichotomy has the explanation of existed inour prolession that eve rything Chiropractic. That mean s the has been directly caused by Chiro practic view of this quasiphilosophical basis mat erial, as anatomy, chemistry, etc. The lorat least84 01those Chiroprac tic view of years,loritwasin1906that abno rma lities in Dr. JohnAllan Howard lounded ana tomy, and physiology. The Chirop ractic The Natio nal College view of the immaterial, as mind , force, function, etc., 01Chiropraclic and of abno rmalities of withlhestated intent fun ction . The stud ent should not make the 01expanding theeducation m istak e of believing that along more Ch iropracti c Phil osophy is a sort of psych ology, scientilic lines. telepathy, occu ltism, or the classic philosophy of Plat o and Socrates. It is not theology. While it ma y mention these things in passing, it deals with them scarcely at all. Chiroprac tic Philosophy pertains more to the working principles of Chiropractic. Naturally, the statements of how Chiropractic deals with the things in volved in it, or its ten ets in regard to them are principles. The principl es of a science are its govern ing laws. The se may be the fundamental tru ths upon which it is founde d, or the governing rules of cond uct or ope ra tion. A Fundamental principle of Chi ropractic is a stateme nt of the quality or actions of intelligence in matter wh ich w ill include an y and all circu ms tances that may arise in study."

FOLlOWINGARETHETHIRTY·THREEPRINCIPLEsTHATAREPARTANDPARCEL OFTHEPALMERPHILOSOPHY:IFROMSTEPHENSONASWRITTEN BYHIM) "1. The Major Premise-A Un iversal Intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actio ns, thus maintaining it in existence. 2. The Chiropractic Meaning of Life-The expression

of thi s intelligence through matter is th e Chiropractic mean ing of life. 3. The Union of Intelligence and Matter-Life is necessarily the union of int elligence and matter. 4. The Triune of Life-Life is a trinity ha ving three necessary united factors, namely, Intelligence, Force, and Matter. 5. The Per fection of th e Triune-In ord er to ha ve 100% Life, th er e must be 100% Int elligen ce, Force , and Matte r. 6. The Principle of Tim e-Ther e is no process that does not require tim e. 7. The amo unt of Int elligen ce in Matter- The am ount of int elligence for an y given amo unt of matter is 100% and is alw ays proportion al to its requirements. 8. The Function of Int elligence-The function of intelligence is to create force . 9. The Amount of Force Created by Intelligence-The amo unt of force created by intelligence is always 100%. 10. The function of force-The funct ion of force is to un ite intellige nce and matter. 11. The Cha racter of Universa l Forces-The forces of Un iversal Intelligence ar e man ifested by ph ysical laws, are unswervin g and unad apted , and have no solicitude for the structure in w hich they w ork. 12. Interferen ce w ith Transm ission of Universa l Forces-There can be int erferen ce with transmission of un iversal force s. 13. The Function of Matter-The functi on of matter is to express force. 14. Un iversal Life-Force is man ifested by motion in matter; all matter has mot ion , ther efore, there is uni versal life in all matter . 15. No Motion without the Effort of Force-Matter can hav e no motion without the application of force by int elligence. 16. Int elligence in both Organic and Inorganic Matter-Universal Intelligenc e gives force to both organic and inor ganic matter. 17. Cau se and Effect-Every effect has a cau se and every cause has effects. 18. Evid ence of Life-The sig ns of life are ev idence of the in telligence of Life. 19. Organi c Matter-The material of the body of a 'living thing' is or ganized matter. 20. Innat e Intelligence-A 'living thing' has an inb orn intelligence w ithin its bod y, called Innate Intelligen ce. 21. The Mission of Innate Intelligen ce-The mission of Innate Intelligence is to maintain the material of the bod y of a 'liv ing thing' in active organ ization . 22. The Amount of Innate Intelligen ce-There is 100% of Innate Intelligence in every 'living thing,' the requisite amount proportional to its organization. 23. The Function of Innate Intelligence-The function of Innate Intelligence is to adapt universal forces and

matter for use in the body, so that all parts of the body will have coordinated action for mutual benefit. 24. The Limits of Adaptation-Innate Intelligence adapts forces and matter for the body as long as it can do so without breaking a universal law or Innate Intelligence is limited by the limitations of matter. 25. The Character of Innate Forces-The forces of Innate Intelligence never injure or destroy the structures in which they work. 26. Comparison of Universal and Innate Forces-In order to carry on the universal cycle of life, Universal forces are destructive and Innate forces constructive, as regards structural matter. 27. The Normality of Innate Intelligence-Innate Intelligence is always normal and its function is always normal. 28. The Conductors of Innate Forces-The forces of Innate Intelligence operate through or over the nervous system in animal bodies. 29. Interference with Transmission of Innate ForcesThere can be interference with the transmission of Innate forces. 30. The Causes of Disease-Interference with the transmission of innate forces causes incoordination or disease. 31. Subluxations-Interference with transmission in the body is always directly or indirectly due to subluxations in the spinal column. 32. The Principle of Coordination---Coordination is the principle of harmonious action of all the parts of an organism in fulfilling their offices and purposes. 33. The Laws of Demand and Supply-The Law of Demand and Supply is existent in the body in its ideal state, wherein the 'clearing house' is the brain, Innate, the virtuous 'banker,' brain cells, the 'clerks' and nerve cells 'messengers'." These, then, represent the underpinnings for what has for nearly a century been called "chiropractic philosophy." Clearly, a dichotomy has existed in our profession that has been directly caused by this quasiphilosophical basis for at least eighty-four of those years, for it was in 1906 that Dr. John Allan Howard founded The National College of Chiropractic with the intent of expanding the education along more scientific lines. Interestingly, while B.J. Palmer disagreed most strongly, his father D.O. Palmer encouraged Dr. Howard in his new venture. As one who has traveled widely during the last twenty-three years on chiropractic educational business, I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with thousands of practicing chiropractors. While most of them have a strong sense of commitment to conservative care through chiropractic means, very few accept or apply the philosophical concept and the related thirty-three principles that have been stated above. I think this is true because too many of them have been good clinical observers and have, through

the a priori method, reached the conclusion that there are many flaws in the original so-called "chiropractic philosophy." It is my pleasure, therefore, to introduce this collection of papers which, I hope, will represent the beginning of a new journal which we shall call "Philosophical Constructs for Chiropractic." It is my hope that out of these efforts will emerge a philosophical concept of the science of chiropractic which will be Perhaps,Ihen, we will understandable by those outside of our profession, be able 10 move away especially those individufrom Ihe fringe posilion als who make up the state and federal legislatures. Ihal we now occupy Perhaps, then, we will be inlo arole able to move away from the fringe position that of complimenlary we now occupy into a heallh care in which role of complimentary health care in which we we lake adifferenl take a different but bUI complimenlary complimentary role to allopathy. Perhaps, then, role 10 allopalhy. we can provide alternative care in some instances, cooperative care in others, referral care in still others. Perhaps, then, we will also be the recipients of referrals in much greater numbers. Perhaps, then, other healers will be able to understand what we are talking about and, possibly, our mutual understanding will result in better health for many more people.

REFERENCES 1. Weiant CWo Chiropractic philosophy: the misnomer that plagues the profession. Digest of Chiropractic Economics. 1979; Nov IDec. 2. Stephenson RW. Chiropractic Textbook. 1927. For additional information contact: J. F. Winterstein, D.C., D.A.C.B.R. President The National College of Chiropractic 200 East Roosevelt Road Lombard, IL 60148-4583 -5-