There is an alarming trend in chiropractic today to abandon our unique chiropractic terminology. Much of it has come about by the desire of many in our profession to get into mainstream medicine. However, there is another tendency within the straight chiropractic community. Instead of aban doning our unique terminology, some decide to incorporate other terms. There is a need to keep theological and religious terminology out of our chiropractic vocabulary, because God and universal intelligence are not synonymous, nor are the soul and innate intelligence. Often we incorporate other terms in an effort to more clearly communicate our message, but it has the opposite effect. It confuses people. Sometimes we do it because we are lazy. It is easier to use words that people understand, rather than teach them new vocabulary. However, it hurts chiropractic when we do that
We need to consider chiropractic’s unique terminology. Other people are beginning to speak chiropractically. The medical profession and people like Bernie Segal and Norman Cousins are beginning to talk about chiropractic matters and chiropractic philosophy. These other profes sions have their unique terms. We must be careful not to be drawn into their terminology, even if it clearly resem bles our chiropractic concept. Many other groups are beginning to realize the chiropractic truth. (Where they have been all these years, I do not know.) Much of our terminology, however, needs to be cleaned up so as not to associate chiropractic with them. An example is the term, _Life Force. _Here is a term we have used for years to mean the mental impulse created in the innate brain, by the innate intelligence of the body, which is transmitted over the nervous system. But Life Force has become a catch word of much of the New Age movement, with which straight chiropractic should not be associated. To keep its objective, straight chiropractic must not be mixed or associated with anything, including New Age, religion, medicine, or wholistic health care. All of these have other objectives. Words are meant to clarify thought. When they cease to do that, and begin to confuse, it is time to develop new terminology and discard the old. While Life Force is a good, descriptive term, it is not scientific and it tends to confuse, because others are using the term to describe a metaphysical force other than the mental impulse
We criticize a segment of our profession for bringing medical terminology into chiropractic, but we all must be careful that we are not guilty of bringing in non-chiro practic terminology also. v6n6