The Principles of Chiropractic Philosophy

1
The Principles of Chiropractic Philosophy
2
In review

• The philosophy of chiropractic is derived from
  fundamental philosophical concepts

3
Philosophy What Is It?

• Literally Love (philo) of discourse (sophos)
• The study of the laws and causes under-lying
  reality, leading to an understanding of its
  fundamental nature.
• The process of integrating knowledge into a
  useful world view
• The attempt to explain phenomena using of all
  available information

4
Metaphysics

• the way we look at all of existence the nature
  of the universe
• Metaphysical concepts
• 1. Materialism/physicalism
• 2. Idealism
• 3. Dualism

5
How does chiropractic philosophy relate?

• dualistic interactionism mind and matter are
  mutually interdependent one cant exist without
  the other

6
Biology

• The study of life and living things
• Biological Concepts
• 1. Mechanism
• 2. Vitalism

7
How does chiropractic philosophy relate?

• critical vitalism or organicism Living
  things, including humans are more than the sum of
  their parts life creates and maintains the
  conditions for its own existence we can not be
  described as complex, carbon-based machines
• We are life in matter inseparably

8
Dr. Liptons ideas

• The universe, and, hence humans in it, are most
  accurately described in terms of energy (it is a
  quantum universe)
• The human body and its behavior (life) are not
  machine-like, and thus we are not
  controlled/victimized by our genes

9
Dr. Liptons ideas

• The behavior of our cells, and thus of our whole
  body, is controlled by signals (energy) from the
  environment
• For our bodys cells, these signals (energy) are
  generated by the central nervous system (brain)
  the control of behavior is therefore from
  Above-Down-Inside-Out (ADIO)

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Laws
D E D U C T I O N
THEORY Explanation of relationships
I N D U C T I O N
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Predicted relationships
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Empirical generalizations
FACTS
Empirical observations
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Philosophic Methodology

• Philosophy works through deductive reasoning
• Deduction to pull out of
• To derive meaningful conclusions from general
  principles through logical reasoning
• Based on assumptions accepted a priori as true
• Usually reasoning from the more general principle
  to the more specific case

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The Syllogism Philosophys Basic Argument

• A Major Premise
• All humans have the capacity to heal themselves
• A Minor Premise
• You are a human being
• The Logical Conclusion
• You have the capacity to heal yourself

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Strengths of Deductive Reasoning

• Can allow us to reason beyond our experience
• Immeasurable, immaterial, subjective, unique
• 100 certainty of conclusions
• We reason to understand, in order to act
• Our willingness to act is often based on our
  confidence in our conclusions

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Limitations of Deductive Reasoning

• Quality of the assumptions are they true?
• Can come from anywhere / accepted as true
• False assumptions lead to uncertain conclusions
• Quality of the logic is it valid?
• Errors can produce false conclusions from true
  premises or true conclusions from false premises!
• Deduction is not self-testing
• Conclusions need to be tested against reality

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The Thirty-Three Principles

• An Introduction
• Originally authored by R. W. Stephenson
• Reordered, categorized and edited by
• David B. Koch, D.C. and the PCC Philosophy faculty

16

• The Thirty-Three Principles are a compilation of
  B.J. Palmers philosophy, as described by R.W.
  Stephenson

Chiropractic Text Book, 1927
17

• The original Thirty-Three Principles (see
  handout) are a study in deductive logic,
  proceeding from a major premise to specific
  applications in biology and the human body

18

• You will examine the Thirty-three Principles and
  their application in depth in Phil 113 (4th
  trimester)

19
The Reorganized 33 Principles (see handout)

• In 2003, Dr. David Koch, then a professor of
  philosophy at PCC, published a review of the
  Principles, in which they were renumbered,
  categorized, and edited, without changing the
  overall concepts or their intent
• Many remain identical to the original language

20
The Principles Categorized

• Universal Principles (1-14)
• Biological Principles (15-30
• Chiropractic Principles(31-33)

21
The Universal Principles

• The first 14 principles outline the concept of an
  intelligent universe, define and characterize its
  ability to self-organize, and establish the
  relationship between its organizing intelligence
  and the matter of which the universe is composed.
  These are called the universal principles.

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The Universal Principles

• 1. The Major Premise
• There is a universal intelligence in all matter,
  continuously giving to it all its properties and
  actions, thus maintaining it in existence, and
  giving this intelligence its expression.

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The Major Premise

• Establishes an immaterial/material duality within
  a unity of existence
• Establishes a mutual interdependence between
  intelligence and substance
• Avoids natural/supernatural duality
• Chiropractic is a philosophy, science and art
  of things natural Stephensons Chiropractic
  Textbook, Article 2, p. xiii

24
A definition of intelligence

• The property of an organized system that is
  assumed to create the specific relationships
  within that system and/or cause the organized
  actions of that system.
• Immaterial active in brains, bushes, bacteria
• Recognized by its effect organization
• If intelligence causes organization, organization
  implies intelligent action

25
Universal Intelligence (Revised)

• The principle of self-organization inherent in
  all matter.
• Sufficient cause for all organization that has,
  does, or will exist
• Immaterial potential only, until expressed
• Unlimited, unchanging, non-anthropomorphic
• The ability to relate matter together into
  integrated units of structure and function

26
Organization

• Examples exist at every level of inorganic and
  organic activity.
• An atom p, n0, e- in specific patterns of
  movement
• A molecule atoms moving in specific
  relationships
• A cell innumerable different molecules
  interacting
• A tissue similar cells forming a unified
  structure
• An organ specific tissues functioning in unison
• A system specific organs acting in coordination
• The body all organ systems interacting as one

27
Force the Interactive Interface

• To serve as the connection between immaterial
  intelligence and physical matter, force must have
  both non-physical and physical components.
• Force must have a physical component to cause
  matter to have motion.
• Force must have an immaterial component to carry
  intelligences organizing intent to matter.

28
Forces Physical Component

• The physical aspect of any force is energy.
• Energy is physical substance (E mc2).
• Gravity
• Electromagnetism
• Strong and weak nuclear forces
• Mechanical, chemical energy
• Intelligence doesnt create energy, rather it
  uses the energy of the physical universe to
  organize the matter of the universe.

29
Forces Immaterial Component

• The immaterial (non-physical) aspect of any force
  is information.
• Information is the message carried by any force,
  which tells the matter upon which it acts what
  to do.
• Intelligence creates the information in any
  force. (Principle 4)
• The information in any force is expressed by
  matter in the specific way it responds to that
  force.

30
Universal Forces

• Universal intelligence creates the information in
  universal forces.
• Matter expresses the information in universal
  forces as universal laws.
• Universal forces/laws are unswerving and
  unadapted, and have no solicitude for the
  structures in which they work (Principle 12)
  whether those structures are living things or
  not. (Principle 13)

31
The Biological Principles

• The next 16 principles explore the topic of
  life, identifying the self-organizing
  potential of a living thing as its innate
  intelligence and describ-ing the unique,
  constructive forces created within living things
  to main-tain their organization. These are the
  biological principles.

32
The Biological Principles

• 16. Innate Intelligence
• A living thing has the intelligence of the
  universe inborn within it, referred to as its
  innate intelligence.

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Innate Intelligence

• Innate intelligence is the name we give to UI
  being expressed in living things
• UI gives all matter all its properties and
  actions, therefore UI gives a living thing all
  its properties and actions
• II is UI but individualized by the attention it
  pays to the unit (individual organism)

34
The Biological Principles

• 19. Evidence of Life
• The signs of life (assimilation, elimination,
  growth, reproduction, adaptability) are evidence
  of the innate intelligence of life.

35
Adaptability

• the intellectual ability that an organism
  possesses of responding to all forces which come
  to it, whether Innate or Universal
• Stephensons Chiropractic Text Book, Article
  67, p. 36
• The ability to adapt comes from the innate
  intelligence of the organism
• The expression of that ability comes from the
  matter (structure/function) of the organism
• Often considered the primary sign of life

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Expressions of Adaptability

• Enthalpy The ability a living organism has to
  maintain itself in active organization against
  the effects of entropy.
• Homeostasis The ability a living organism has
  to maintain constant, optimum internal conditions
  in the face of constantly changing external
  conditions.
• Healing The ability a living organism has to
  repair and/or replace and/or compensate for
  damage to its physical structure.

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The Biological Principles

• 20. The Mission of Innate Intelligence
• The mission of the bodys innate intelligence is
  to maintain the material of the body of a living
  thing in active organization.

38
Active Organization

• In living organisms, innate intelligence is
  expressed not only through atomic and molecular
  organization, but through higher order
  interactive processes as well. These processes
  (the signs of life) involve matter and energy
  exchange with the environment, self-creation,
  self-transformation, self-maintenance, and
  reproduction.
• This is the active organization referenced in
  Principle 20

39
Innate Forces

• Innate intelligence creates the information (not
  the energy) in innate forces.
• The energy and matter is assimilated from outside
  the living thing (universal forces).
• We assimilate chemical energy (carbohydrates).
• We assimilate building blocks (proteins,
  lipids, DNA).
• Innate intelligence adapts (transforms) these
  universal forces into innate forces to reorganize
  the matter into the body of the living thing

40
Innate Forces

• The matter of the living thing (its body)
  expresses the information in innate forces as
  biological function.
• The information is immaterial until it is
  expressed as physiological function.
• The information in nerve impulses
  (electrochemical forces) is expressed as very
  quick, very specific physiological changes.
• The information in hormones (chemical forces) is
  expressed in slower, systemic physiological
  changes.
• The function of a living thing, and therefore the
  health of a living thing, lies in the expression
  of the specific information in these innate
  forces.

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The Biological Principles

• 25. The Limits of Adaptation
• The bodys innate intelligence adapts forces and
  matter for the bodys use as long as it can do so
  without breaking a universal law

42
The Biological Principles

• 25. The Limits of Adaptation
• ...in other words, its expression is limited by
  the limitations of matter and time.

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Limits of Adaptation

• Any organisms adaptability (its potential
  adaptive range) is limited by the form of the
  organism (Principle 25) and the time adaptive
  processes require. (Principle 25)
• Stephensons Chiropractic Text Book, Article
  23, p. xxxii, p. xxxi
• Any particular adaptation is limited by the
  individuals genetics, history, diet,
  neurological integrity
• Subluxation would be considered a limiting factor
  in the expression of any specific adaptive
  response)

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The Biological Principles

• 30. The Cause of Dis-ease
• Interference with the transmission of innate
  forces causes incoordination, or dis-ease.

45
The Chiropractic Principles

• The last 3 principles are specific to living
  organisms with nerve systems and spinal columns,
  characterizing the role of the forces traveling
  over these structures and identifying the problem
  of interference and dis-ease (incoordination).
  They are termed the chiropractic principles.

46
The Chiropractic Principles

• 33. Subluxations
• Interference with transmission in the body is
  often directly or indirectly due to subluxations
  in the spinal column.