Constructing a philosophy of chiropractic: evolving worldviews and premodern roots☆

Abstract 

Objective

The philosophy of chiropractic can be framed as an attempt to correct the problems inherited from the Western Enlightenment. Its origins can be found in the long tradition of Western philosophy. The purpose of this article is to describe in a broad context chiropractic’s roots in premodernity and establish the structural and hermeneutical differences between chiropractic’s original philosophical ideas and those of premodern philosophers.

Discussion

The worldview or cultural mindset the philosophy arose from must be situated in the context of its time, the birth of the unique postmodern worldview, aperspectival consciousness, and the modern sense of self. This is accomplished by exploring several metatheories about the development of the self through history, with an emphasis on the premodern roots to the chiropractic terms; Universal Intelligence and Innate Intelligence. By contextualizing the philosophy of chiropractic in terms of a structural genealogy of the self and of ideas, a new approach to philosophy in chiropractic emerges.

Conclusion

Without accounting for chiropractic’s origins as a reflection of the unique time, place, and culture, in terms of the evolution of worldviews through history, any approach to construct or reconstruct a philosophy of chiropractic will potentially miss the seminal feature of chiropractic’s emergence.

Key indexing terms: Chiropractic, Philosophy, Vitalism, Metaphysics