Anthropopathism is a theological term. It means ascribing to God qualities or characteristics that He does not have but that help us to understand His attitude toward us. For example, the Bible says that He is a jealous God. Now jealousy is a sin and obviously God cannot sin. However, it conveys to us how important our being faithful to Him is. It also says that God repented that He made man. Repentance means to change one’s mind and God does not change His mind. Again, it relates to how extreme His displeasure with man was. Hate is another anthropopathism. God does not hate but it demonstrates the contrast between His attitude toward Jacob and Esau. Anthropopathisms are the language of accommodation. We need them because it is difficult to explain the inexplicable, to describe certain characteristics or attitudes that God has when we have no frame of reference. We do the same thing with anthropomorphisms, ascribing to God certain physical characteristics like hands. He does not have hands but when we sing, “He’s got the whole world in His hands,” we understand the idea of His care for the world.
Similarly, we deal with concepts and terms in chiropractic that defy description. After all, we are addressing a totally unique concept. Either we make up a new term to describe this concept or we use the language of accommodation, or we use both. For example, we use the term innate intelligence. In this case, the word is a new term which we have coined to describe something totally unique to chiropractic. It is not nature for nature has the connotation, at least among the scientific naturalist, of random chance actions. It is definitely not that. Neither is it viz medicatrix naturae. It is a unique concept, hence the need for a new term. Granted, it is a term made up of already existing words that have meaning and hopefully that meaning helps us to understand the term better. Innate means inborn and it tells us that this intelligence is not something learned. We were born with it (actually we had it from conception).
Naming this concept is actually relatively easy. It is when we have to describe its characteristics or qualities that we need to employ anthropopathisms. For example, we say that the innate intelligence of the body is aware of every innate need. When you touch a hot stove, the innate intelligence is aware of that immediately and also aware of what actions in the form of muscle contraction that need to occur to accomplish the pulling away of the hand. This is called, in our philosophy, intellectual adaptation. It occurs instantaneously even though it may take time for you to become educatedly aware of the heat and to pull away your hand. Intellectual adaptation is instantaneous. Adaptation, the process of carrying out the desire (another anthropopathism), is limited by time and matter. Here is where anthropopathism comes in. The innate intelligence of the body is not really aware. To be aware of a physical circumstance or situation takes a physical entity and innate intelligence is metaphysical. We have awareness or consciousness because we are human beings and we have brains. Innate intelligence is not a person. It is not aware in the sense that we understand awareness. However, describing it that way helps us understand the character that it has. Awareness is an anthropopathism.
There are a number of anthropopathisms with regard to chiropractic philosophy in general and innate intelligence in particular. We say that innate intelligence knows what to do in any given circumstance, even though it has never had that experience before. Knowing in that sense is an anthropopathism. We say that innate intelligence decides to send blood to the core rather than the extremities under certain situations. We want to convey the idea that this is not luck, not random, not automatic, not pre-programmed. It is intelligent action in response to a certain situation. Yet, deciding is an act of the will and the innate intelligence of the body does not have a will. Still, that anthropopathism helps us understand that unique characteristic of the innate intelligence of the body. We view the body and its workings differently than the mechanist who sees it as a product of chemistry and physics. Here is another: we often describe innate intelligence as a law (B.J’s Law of Life). It really is more than that, but that is an anthropopathism to help us understand how it works in certain circumstances.
Anthropopathisms help us understand this philosophical concept. They also help us avoid mistakes. By knowing that decide is an anthropopathism, we are not likely to ascribe personality to innate intelligence, to personify it, and err as many chiropractors have. We say it tells us when we are hungry. As long as we understand that tell is an anthropopathism, we will not fall into the trap of thinking that innate intelligence talks to us and can actually tell us where to open a practice, for example. There are many other anthropopathisms when it comes to innate intelligence and they are worthy of our consideration and discussion. Think about them on your own or with colleagues and look for Part II of this article in a future issue of The Pivot. V23n2