The failure of medicine historically has been that it based its entire practice on a mechanistic model. Down through the ages there were attempts, some were more successful than others, to bring the occult into medicine but invariably it would be brought back to a strictly mechanistic approach. With few exception even today it ignores the non-material aspect of man, what we in chiropractic call the innate intelligence.
Scientific medicine only dealing with empirical information comes up short. It would not be so bad that medicine has not developed or expanded its practice to recognize and utilize a vitalistic phenomena. It is perfectly acceptable not to. Medicine can even perform some relative good apart form incorporating vitalism into its philosophy. We in chiropractic recognize the value of its care when dealing with persons who have passed the point of limitations of time and matter. The real danger in medicine is not the failure to utilize it but the failure to acknowledge its existence and its value. As a result it has put down chiropractic, ignored the contribution it makes by removing interferences to the expression of the innate intelligence. By saying health only relates to the material they have done humanity a great disservice. That shortcoming should be a lesson for us in the straight chiropractic community.
Many within our profession ignore that there is a spiritual dimension to mankind that is separate and distinct from the non-material, natural phenomena that we call innate intelligence. If they do not ignore it, they consider it unimportant and if they consider it important they often claim that the chiropractic adjustments can in some way address its need.
Ignoring it is as bad as medicine ignoring the innate intelligence of the body and its role in the healing and health maintaining process. It is as bad as us ignoring the mechanistic component of an individuals health equation- disease and the problem of limitations of time and matter and the possible need for the medical doctor to address that component. n the other hand appropriating the spiritual dimension of the human species as our domain is as much mixing as appropriating the treatment of disease and its symptoms.
How then should we as straight chiropractors handle this situation? First we should acknowledge that man is more than just the union of intelligence and matter, that there is a spiritual dimension. Second, we should acknowledge that this dimension is the realm of the theologian and religion. Just as making determinations as to the quality of the matter is the realm of the physician. Third we need to emphasize that straight chiropractic no more addresses the spiritual dimension than it addresses the limitation of matter dimension and that getting into either area is mixing chiropractic with something else.
One final point on this subject. It is entirely appropriate and expected that straight chiropractors would have personal opinions, strong feelings an positions on matters not chiropractic that touch upon the medical realm. Immunizations, the use of certain drugs, surgical procedures and abortion to name a few. As long as the chiropractor can make it clear that when he addresses these issues he is speaking for himself and not representing the straight chiropractic position, he should be free to express his position. Similarly a chiropractor should be free to share his beliefs and faith with people no matter what it is as long as it is clear that it is not part of straight chiropractic. Mixing in this area is just as destructive as mixing in the medical area and will take straight chiropractic in a direction it can ill afford to go. v9n3