VITALISM
to universal intelligence as God and Spirit , and to innate intelligence as soul and intelligent life .( 8 ) However , as chiropractic continued to develop following his death in 1913 , his concept of tone became neglected within the profession .( 28 ) This may have happened because his explanation of tone and its role in health and disease was complex and his explanation of it was difficult to comprehend .( 25 ) Yet the fundamental understanding of universal and innate intelligence as a vitalistic phenomenon lived on within chiropractic .
The evolution of vitalism in chiropractic
Palmer ’ s original understandings of vitalism in chiropractic have evolved within the profession . For example , in 1934 D . D . Palmer ’ s son B . J . Palmer used electricity as a metaphor to combine vitalism , religion , and mechanism into a simplified explanation of chiropractic . ( 34 ) He posed that the brain acted as a dynamo to create mental impulses and that the spinal cord acted as the main transmission line to carry these impulses to the cells of the body . Because of the complex anatomical structures and functions of the upper cervical spine , and its intimate relationship with the brain stem , he considered that subluxation of that area was more important than in any other part of the spine . Upper cervical spine subluxation could therefore seriously interfere with the normal transmission of vitalistic innate intelligence in the form of mental impulses . To explain this , he used the metaphor of a rheostatic switch acting as a dimmer for an electric light .( 34 ) Subluxation could lessen the amount of life force ( which he compared to electrical current ) which would be channelled over the nervous system to cells . Such lessening could lead to a state of incoordination of cellular activity and dis-ease ( rather than healthy ease ) in organ function . Specific adjustment of upper cervical subluxation was intended to facilitate a return to normal transmission of mental impulses and health .
In 1988 Strang ( 35 ) sought to examine the central question of vitalism — what exactly is the nature of the phenomenon of life and the expression of it in matter — and to explore it in terms of modern science . Noting that the development of relativity theory and quantum theory had called into question the materialistic foundations of mainstream positivist science , he proposed a new interpretation of vitalism in chiropractic . While intelligence / matter dualism required a vital force ( innate intelligence ) to unite universal intelligence and matter into life , quantum physics posed that all of reality was composed of the same phenomenon — energy — organised in different patterns or densities . According to Strang , both the innate intelligence and the matter of a human body could also be conceived wholistically as different manifestations of energy , and as different expressions of the same universe . In this way , Palmer ’ s original use of the terms vital energy and vital force could be contemplated within the context of modern science .
Strang did not address the deeper question of the origin of this universe of energy .( 35 ) He did , however , criticise early chiropractors for their focus on subluxation as a monocausal approach , and stressed that greater knowledge which had become available meant that they should always be mindful that poor lifestyle choices also contributed to loss of health . In vitalistic chiropractic terms , a healthy lifestyle included minimising trauma from physical , chemical , and psychological sources . In addition , health could be maximised if nutritional intake supplied innate intelligence with quality raw materials with which to grow and maintain the body . A strict focus on subluxation correction and the exclusion of healthy lifestyle considerations could limit chiropractic ’ s ability to help people .
Strang ’ s wholistic viewpoint was supported by Koch in 2008 .( 36 ) He contended that the vitalistic and materialistic parts of chiropractic should not be considered as separate and in opposition , but as two different but associated aspects of the one profession . Chiropractic ’ s vitalistic perspective saw life as a phenomenon which created , maintained , evolved , and adapted itself . This perspective also involved supporting the forces of life via healthy lifestyle .
Vitalism and controversy in chiropractic
Vitalism is a source of controversy in chiropractic . In essence , this controversy is a repetition of the debate between the ancient atomists and the intelligence / matter dualists . On one hand , some chiropractors take a positivist perspective and argue that vitalism is ‘ aberrant ’ ( 37 p2 ) because innate intelligence is not compatible with science .( 38 ) They argue that vitalism makes chiropractic seem unscientific and places it at risk of rejection by mainstream scientific medicine and the public .( 39 , 40 ) This risk poses such a threat to the chiropractic profession that chiropractors who teach a vitalistic understanding should be replaced ( 41 ) and those who adopt vitalistic practices should be reported to regulatory authorities .( 37 ) Complete abandonment of vitalism by the chiropractic profession would see the profession gain ‘ cultural authority ’,( 42 p13 ) legitimacy , and acceptance .( 40 , 43 ) It has been recommended by some chiropractic academics that , if chiropractors do not abandon vitalism , the profession should split into two separate professions . ( 44 ) One , named ‘ new chiropractic ’,( 37 p1 ) would limit itself to the scientific treatment of musculoskeletal pain . The other , traditional chiropractic , could service a broad public appetite for wellness care .
In contrast to the positivists , vitalistic chiropractors reject strictly mechanistic and positivistic approaches as limiting to the potential of vitalistic chiropractic . ( 21 , 45 ) Vitalism in chiropractic has been linked to innate intelligence ( 25 , 46 ) and posed as a foundation of chiropractic ( 47 , 48 ) which defines
196 | vol27 | no4 | JATMS