One philosophical criticism I have with B. J. and what causes much conflict between myself and traditional chiropractors is that we are expected to accept the logic of B. J. which is sometimes based upon a premise that is not founded on deduction but based on (faith in) the authority of B.J. I have no problem accepting B.J. as an authority but when his conclusions do not stand up to philosophical scrutiny (a philosophy that he gave us), I must question the validity of his conclusions. ( I might add that the same standard should be applied to Reggie Gold, David Koch, Rob Sinnott, myself or anyone and everyone else who addresses the philosophy of chiropractic.) Innate thot flashes is just such an example.
I agree…..
I agree, and I believe the fallacy is named “Appeal to Authority” which seems to be the primary method, after “straw man”, that politicos wield most frequently when trying to get support.
It is convenient and pleasant to hold up everything your idol said as irrefutable truth, but there is a good life lesson reason that is covered in the 2nd Commandment.
Examine for yourself, and name for yourself from whence those “flashes of inspiration” come from, but don’t lay them at the feet of any person other than yourself.
Thanks Joe.
Hi Joe- As a current student at Life Univ. , some philosophy groups and student groups that I’m involved with accept B.J. as a God like authority, and questioning his ideas is considered sacrilege by some .I am having trouble wrapping my brain around the “inate thot flash” idea. Can you clarify for me what you mean when you say that inate thot flashes are based on the authority of B.J.?? Or any other examples you have would be helpful.
Thanks!
I believe that there are such things as innate thot flashes. They require quieting the educated mind through meditation, fatigue such as during a runners’ high or from lack of rest, or just prolonged silence.
These flashes are why people from distant parts of the world can have similar concepts (universal truths).
I also believe that BJ kept himself in a state of mental exhaustion purposely to get these flashes which is shy he kept his continuous feed typewriter by his bedside.
That sounds like mystical thinking ……What would you say to my Holy Spirit thot flashes from God…..?.
Innate thot flashes are a result of the mental impulse that are best transmitted by a nervous system that is cleared of subluxation, balanced, and in a meditative or subconscious state of mind.
BJ lectured on the importance of recognizing that chiropractic is not completely corporal or entirely spiritual, but it bridges the chiasm between the two. Keep that in mind.
Hey Joe,
Philosophically, we are told the Educated Brain (EB) is our tool for interacting with the external environment.The EB starts as a blank slate then records everything from all senses. It’s function is to catalogue and compare and direct the physical body in such a way as to promote survival.The conscious mind would also be considered a product of the EB.
The Innate Brain (IB), as discussed here at length, is now considered a group of laws that dictate internal function, organization and control of all the matter, including the EB. The word brain in IB being used figuratively.
Reading BJ’s works gives one the idea he conceptualized the IB as a tangible physical literal brain superseding and feeding the EB and therefore the conscious mind. I do recall references to an Innate Mind as well as the Universal Mind . Both he and his father discuss Innate Intelligence learning from the EB for increasing future survival value. This however does conflict with the principles that state II is always perfect (P.22 & 27), unless you add the time factor (P.6). Your II today is not the same as your II was yesterday or last year, because of different environmental/situational demands. BJ also described his disdain for the term sub-conscious and preferred super-conscious to demonstrate the infinite superiority of II. over EI..
I think it is important for us to remember that comparing ideas from then and now will sometimes also involve a change of definitions from one era to the next. In other words, I think BJ was right, back then. For now, I guess we can assume thought flashes come from the subconscious Educated Mind.
PS Hey Anthony, ask your friends what BJ said about walking in dead men’s shoes.
Hey Anthony,
That reference comes from V.26, 1951, Pg. 150. Conflicts Clarify. “The Tyranny of the Dead”.
Joseph,
Thank you for showing a classic example of the distinction between tradition and traditionalism. Traditional chiropractors think, say and do things the way it was done in the past, giving authority to humanity using Palmer as “their” authority. It is a remnant of the past used the way it was used. This vestige of the past still “cut the end of the roast” before putting it the the pot. Palmer personified innate and said that “thot flashes” was innate guiding him… so traditional chiropractors “believe” him as authority and what Palmer said is unquestionably true. Palmer also mentioned that innate was the “big fellow” upstairs and educated was the little fellow downstairs… so some traditional chiropractors “believe” him as authority and what Palmer said is unquestionably true. Palmer said, at times, that universal intelligence and God were the same… so some traditional chiropractors believe that also. It gives credence to the definition of chiropractic traditionalism which is: IDEOLOGY DERIVED FROM CULTURAL BELIEFS. HABITS, ROUTINE AND REMNANTS BASED ON HUMAN AUTHORITY OF INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE CHIROPRACTIC LEADERS AT A MOMENT IN TIME.
– Objective chiropractors think, do and say things using the thirty-three principles of chiropractic as their authority. Under philosophic scrutiny, it includes current information. OC do NOT “cut the ends of the roast” by giving authority to humanity as the information of the present include a larger pot which is bigger than the one of the past. In fact, the pot is so much bigger that it includes the invention of NEW possibilities to “connect” with EVERYONE regardless of beliefs, creeds or financial ability to pay, acknowledging chiropractic as SEPARATE and DISTINCT from EVERYTHING ELSE and INCLUSIVE of EVERY VERTEBRATE. Objective chiropractors understand that universal intelligence is the LAW of ORGANIZATION maintaining EVERYTHING in existence and that innate intelligence is the LAW of LIFE maintaining EVERY “LIVING THING” in ACTIVE ORGANIZATION. It gives credence to the definition of chiropractic tradition: AUTHORITY DERIVED FROM THE MAJOR PREMISE OF CHIROPRACTIC. THE FORM OF VALUES OF THE THIRTY THREE PRINCIPLES BESTOWED UPON CURRENT INFORMATION SUBJECTED TO PHILOSOPHIC SCRUTINY AND ACCEPTED AS FOUNDATIONAL AUTHORITY OF CHIROPRACTIC. –
– The major distinction between traditional chiropractors and objective chiropractors is WHO they choose to BE in understanding the chiropractic objective which is to: LACVS for a full expression of the innate FORCES of the innate intelligence of the body. PERIOD!
– Let us refine, together without condemnation, these definitions if need be. –
– In my opinion, if BJ were alive today, he would direct the course of this 21st century thread with which he would RESONATE, inventing a NEW possibility in order to INSPIRE us to MOVE toward a clearer understanding of meaning of the authority behind the chiropractic objective. 😉
… it was Jaroslav Pelikan WHO chose to say on page 65 of his book, “The Vindication of tradition”, that: “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition such a bad name.” –
– In other words, tradition is the living philosophy of the dead chiropractors (OC) and traditionalism is the dead philosophy of the living chiropractors (TC) –
– The question for EVERYONE is: –
– WHO do YOU choose to BE?
Hey Claude,
“tradition is the living philosophy of the dead chiropractors and traditionalism is the dead philosophy of the living chiropractors”
This means “The Tyranny of the Dead”, is a self imposed burden upon the living.
LONG LIVE CHIROPRACTIC’S LIVING PHILOSOPHY
CONFLICTS CLARIFY, 1951, Vol. 26, BJ PALMER DC
“The Tyranny of the Dead.
“For in as for good we are still largely ruled by the dead. Nine-tenths of human
thinking and human conduct today is governed by the thinking and conduct of
people who are now dead. Our customs, fashions, languages, governments, laws,
even our religions—all these are inheritances which may be blessings or tyrannies,
received from the dead.
“I wonder if you have paused to think how little we have really originated! This
is the day of discovery, the hour of invention, and yet, living in an age when the
world seems to change almost yearly or hourly, a very large part of our thought
and conduct is inspired or limited by the dead. All life is a struggle for life, for
variation, for originality, and yet there are some of us have not so realized it. As
one has said, ‘Life is a river that everlastingly flows on and not a lake that
stagnates.’ Some of us could be well described in the words of Lowell: ‘We
worship the dead corpses of old King Custom.’
“Once in a while man realizes something of how he is the slave of the past, rises
up and says: ‘I will be free! but he does not take many steps before he finds he is
immeshed in a web that he cannot break, before he stumbles into a trap or a net,
and finds his so-called freedom is elusive and delusive. Says Mrs. Gilman:
“ ‘It takes great strength to train
To modern service your ancestral brain,
To lift the weights of unnumbered years
Of dead men’s habits, methods and ideas;
To hold back with one hand and support
With the other the weak steps of a new thought.
But the best courage man has ever shown
Is daring to cut loose and think alone,
Dark as the unlit chambers of clear space
Where light shines back from no reflecting face.
But to think new, it takes a courage grim,
As led Columbus over the world’s brim,
To think it, cost some courage. And to go—
Try it. It takes every power you know.’
“The question of education is enslaved by the dead! Why do we have a
complicated grammar? Why do such similarly spelled words as cough, rough,
plough, dough, trough, have such different sounds? It was the way that dead men
spelled. It is time we went to the root of things and found out how silly we are in
many respects. It is time we examined our system of the development of the young
to see whether it is sane or insane; whether it is really education or whether it is
simply cramming youth full of thoughts of dead men. Our modern system of
education has nowhere changed a great deal since Emerson’s day, for the principal
of the best known classical school in Boston said to me: ‘We conduct this school,
so far as is possible, exactly as it was conducted forty years ago.’
I personally think BJ & DD were a little off in some of their thots….just sayin…..LOL!
Hey Richie,
HOW DARE YOU…Just Kidden.
These men too were products of their times…… do you have grandkids…just sayin…LOL/U
Richie, I realize you were being light but you bring up an interesting point. If ii is perfect, 100% and it is , the innate thot flashes must be perfect. Did B.J. or D.D. ever have a thot flash that was less than perfect? If they did and tried to blame it on vs, then can we ever trust an innate thot flash to be perfect? Not only is vs a factor but limitations of matter (a limited educated brain is an issue.
Joseph,
Would you say that inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning and faith in authority are products of a limited educated brain?
Claude, yes I would say that they are. However I would never discount the possibility of supernatural intervention in any of them.
Joseph,
Would it be fair to say that any method of perception (known and unknown) would have to be a product of a limited educated brain?
Hey Joe,
Would you give an example of a supernatural intervention as it applies to reasoning, my limited educated brain needs assistance.
On a lighter note, also from Vol. 26
“We come now to consider Social Custom. Have you ever read Mr. Fosse’s
poem entitled ‘The Calf Path’?
“‘One day throughout the primeval wood
A calf walked home as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled
And I infer the calf is dead.’
“A dog sees the path and takes it; a bellweather sheep is looking for a passage
and sees the calf path and takes it, and the other sheep follow on—
“ ‘And many men wound in and out
And dodged and turned and bent about
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because ’twas such a crooked path!
And still they followed—do not laugh—
The first migrations of that calf.’
“After a time the forest path becomes a lane, the lane becomes a road, the road
becomes a village street, the village street becomes a city’s crowded
thoroughfare—
“‘And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis,
And men two centuries and a half,
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.
They followed still his crooked way,
And lost a hundred years a day;
For thus such reverence is lent,
To well-established precedent.
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh
Who saw the first primeval calf.’