The Great Divide

It is no secret that historically, there has been a conflict between medicine and chiropractic. Various reasons have been given for this conflict and there is probably some validity to all of them. Yet, all these reasons pale in comparison to the one great chasm that divides the two professions. That dividing point is a concept which has been described in various ways but which chiropractors call the innate intelligence of the body. It is that which separates a living organism from one that is dead. It cannot be seen, measured or analyzed under a microscope. It is that which creates tissue cells out of the food we eat and performs thousands of functions every minute of everyday without us giving it any thought. It made this human body in nine months out of two little cells without any help from us. This inborn wisdom is the vital factor that runs and heals the body and is the central factor of the chiropractic philosophy. This innate intelligence generates the “vital force” that courses through the body. Further, it uses the nerve system to do this and can do it better without interference caused by vertebral subluxations. This, specifically, is the role of a chiropractor, not to heal, cure or treat anybody but to allow this innate intelligence to be expressed as fully as possible over the nerve system in every person all the time. It is a pretty simple concept. It is also a pretty important concept, one that should be considered in every aspect of human body function.

Here is the problem that divides the profession of chiropractic and medicine. Everything the chiropractor does reflects an understanding of this principle of life. Medicine, on the other hand, does not even acknowledge that it exists! We cannot understand how a profession can address the human body and its needs without taking into consideration so vital a component as the very thing which gives it life. It would be like an automobile mechanic trying to repair a car and ignoring the fact that it has an engine! Here is an excerpt from Kirke’s Physiology, a medical text relating to the law or principle of innate intelligence.

“The question arises, however, is there anything else? Are there any other laws than those of physics and chemistry to be reckoned with? Is there, for instance, such a thing as a ‘vital force’? It may be frankly admitted that physiologists at present are not able to explain all vital phenomena by law of physical world; but as knowledge increases it is more and more abundantly shown that the supposition of any special or vital force is unnecessary; and it should be distinctly recognized that when, in future pages, it is necessary to allude to vital action, it is not because we believe in any specific vital energy, but merely because the phrase is a convenient one for expressing something that we do not fully understand, that cannot, at present, be brought into line with the physical and chemical forces that operate in the inorganic world.”

Dr. Kirke says we are merely a test tube with chemical reactions taking place. Yet he recognizes what takes place in the human body cannot be explained by the laws of physics and chemistry alone. However, he is confident that one day it will, because supposing that “any special or vital force (exists) is unnecessary.”

I would suggest that the supposition of a life force, of an innate intelligence, is necessary. It is or should be the fundamental basis for everything we do in addressing the needs of the human body. It cannot be ignored or even relegated to a minor role. Chiropractic bases its entire practice on this self-healing, self-regulating principle of innate intelligence. Medicine ignores its very existence. The medical doctor may as well be working with a bunch of chemicals in a chemistry lab. He cannot see it, so to him it does not exist. So the next time someone suggests that chiropractors do not like medical doctors because they give drugs or medical doctors do not like chiropractors because they are taking some of their potential income, you can tell them the true cause of the Great Divide.