The so-called laws of nature means different things to different people. The mechanist says they are random forces and, depending upon the matter, they elicit a certain response that over time may appear to be orderly but they believe is still random. One response of the matter causes us to describe the matter as living, another as non-living. By way of illustration, suppose a young boy was throwing a rubber ball against a wall with the intent of knocking it down. The surface of the wall (the matter) and placement of the ball (the force) would determine the bounce (the character of the expression of the force and the conclusion as to whether the matter was alive or not). While the force, the thrown ball, may change in character (sometimes thrown faster or slower) the mechanist believes there is no intent, just a boy aimlessly throwing a ball at a wall.
The scientific naturalist notes that the matter (the wall) changes over time: settling, forming cracks, chunks of the wall falling out. Again the mechanist believes these changes are random with no intent or purpose. We know the boy is aiming at weak areas of the wall. The mechanist does not recognize inherent differences in the matter, only its change in shape and structure changes. As these changes occur, the bounce of the ball, the expression of the force if you will, “evolves.” This accounts for their understanding of the creation of life and the evolution of living things.
So how does this differ from the chiropractic philosophical position? First, the force, represented by the ball thrown against the wall, is not random. It is intelligently directed. It has a purpose. We call this force a universal force and its purpose is to break down matter into its simplest form. We describe it this way: “universal forces tend to be destructive toward structural matter.” That has a negative connotation to it and could probably be described in a more positive way, but you get the point. That little boy is trying to knock the wall down with his rubber ball and given sufficient rubber balls and enough years, he will succeed. Here is the interesting point. The matter of the wall has an inherent characteristic to it that causes it to react to these force in a certain manner. For some that characteristic is what we call innate intelligence and for some matter that characteristic is absent. We describe that difference as life. The real difference is that something makes the matter of the wall different, something inherent in that matter, something that is not there by chance. That something we call the innate intelligence of life. V22n4