Source: http://www.chiro.org/ChiroZine/target/holism1/seundx.htm

Chiropractic Resource Organization
ChiroZine: Clinician's Review
 (c) 1997

Author: Virgil Seutter  
Date:     October 8, 1997 
Parent Node:
Holism, Alternative Medicine, and Why Chiropractic Embraces It

(c) 1997 Chiropractic Resource Organization. All Rights Reserved. Reprint by permission.

Commentary: Holism, Alternative Medicine, and Why Chiropractic Embraces It

This article examines the role of holism in chiropractic thinking and the inability to differentiate "classical" holism from "contemporary" holism. It further provides an alternate viewpoint that examines the possibility that the conflict between the theory and the philosophy exist, in part, because of incomplete explanations in the subluxation theory. This conflict in contextual explanations cannot be understood without examination of holism and its role in chiropractic thinking. Whether it is possible that an incomplete theory could contribute to stagnation in the development of chiropractic as a science will be left for critics to evaluate.

Child Nodes:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.  Prologue
2.  Holism: An Anthropological Concept Applied to Medicine 
3.  Holism: From Myth to Mysticism and Science Caught In Between 
4.  Holism: Terminology and Culture: Defining the Phenomenon 
5.  Holism and Complexity: Cybernetics and Systems Theory 
6.  Is it Biomedicine or InfoMedicine? 
7.  Holism, Chiropractic, and the Philosophy of Science     
	7.1 The Placebo Effect      
	7.2 The Contextual Nature of Manual Methods 
8.  Sorting Out Myth from Mysticism     
	8.1  Chiropractic Philosophy: Expressing an Idea      
	8.2  Chiropractic Theory: An Incomplete Explanation...or Misinterpreting the Idea 
9.  Dynamical Systems and Information Theory

1.0  Prologue 

1.1. Examination and understanding of alternative medicine may not be possible without examination of the holistic concept and the role of chiropractic as a participant in this movement. Nurturing the idea that an innate ability exists within the body to "heal itself," the chiropractic profession has relied upon a philosophy as an explanation for the benefits derived from its manual approach (manipulation of the spine) to health care.(1.1). In order to understand chiropractic, and possibly lend insight into the alternative medicine concept, an examination of the holistic construct in thinking is necessary. 
1.2. Explanations for the shift away from classical medicine to that of alternative health care have been obscure. Questions emerge, whether the trend reflects a failure of classical medicine as a reductionist/mechanistic methodology, or whether something exists that has not found explanation through normal methods of inquiry. The problem for alternative medicine is finding explanation that supports the concept of holism as viable in the application to health care. The possibility that holism defines an information system as opposed to the classic engineering/mechanistic principles for inquiry is not without consideration. It would imply that the neuro physiological basis for understanding the body may be incomplete. It would suggest that a linear wiring system schema, as a construct in examination of the nervous system, may be incomplete without recognition of a superimposed information system. 
1.3. This latter possibility is supported by the idea of self-organization. While this may not be unique to biological systems, it is certainly highlighted in the morphological changes from a cellular genesis to embryo. The sequences of information keyed into genetic coding demonstrate a self-organization as part of the "intent and design" of the organism. Once complete, continued self-organization manifests through neurological mechanisms. While chiropractic has confined its theory (subluxation complex) to that of a linear, wiring system schema, the nature of self-organization manifests through learning and feedback
(environmental and behavioral modulation) mechanisms that transcend the mechano-engineering model for inquiry. Chiropractic explanations may need to examine self-organization as a biological function linked to a coordinational system. This may not be possible until chiropractic begins to understand the differences between classical holism versus contemporary holism in its discussion. 

2.0  Holism: An Anthropological Concept Applied to Medicine  (2.0)

2.1. The origins of holistic thinking lie somewhere in man's cultural development as a species. The contextual application of classical holism to medicine is not a new concept. The Greek philosophers observed this relationship between man and his environment. Plato's emphasis upon a spiritual holism, one that maintains a perspective relationship between body and mind, is an often quoted reference supporting the holistic notion. But even this reference may be antedated by the ancient Chinese medical philosophy in observance that "Man stands between Heaven and Earth." The dualistic nature of man is never far removed from the mythical nature of man as an entity.
2.2. Joseph Campbell has observed this well in Bill Moyer's "The Power of Myth" when he states a principle theme of classic mythology: "The secret cause of all suffering..." "...is mortality itself, which is the prime condition of life. It cannot be denied if life is to be affirmed."(2.2a) Perhaps this isn't too far removed from the reality of nature and the conflict between health and disease. It is the fact that mortality is an emergent phenomenon, one that is dependent upon "intent and design (2.2b)."
2.3. How we observe health and disease would appear more than just the examination of a biological specimen. The underlying "intent and design" of the organism somehow has not been considered in the nature of mortality as a transient phase of existence. The struggle between health and disease may be no more than the conflict between intent and design as an information process rather than one that fits a biodegradable nature as a biological specimen. How we view information as a motivational construct may depend upon how we understand the relationship between intent and design (as a mobilizing force) in the role of biological plasticity.

3.0  Holism: From Myth to Mysticism and Science Caught In Between  (3.0)

3.1. Science appears to be caught in the middle between myth and mysticism. It has not decided how to view alternative medicine based upon its own terms of reducibility as a mechanistic phenomenon. It is confronted with the holists claim that all things interrelate and that nature is some part of a global networking that defies the ability to subscribe to a definable part as a "mechanism."
3.2. Alternative medicine retains a link to the past. It encompasses myth as part of the remnants of a primitive belief system that would no longer appear appropriate. Mysticism, while rooted in the past, also appears as a phenomenon of the "New Age." It translates into power that encompasses the universe as a holistic phenomenon. It attaches significance to the mythical remnants of the past bonding man to his environment as a mere participant in an ever greater plan of things.
3.3. The mythical union between heaven and earth preserved the bond between man and the universe. It encouraged the Gaia hypothesis (3.3) as a proposed scientific explanation of a living earth where all the world symbiotically interacts. It appears, at first glance, to conflict with man's purpose as a species. The nature of biological species (man) was to control the environment. The belief that man imposes his will (power) upon nature has prevailed into the mechanistic, reductionist nature of things.
3.4. The illusion of power may be misleading. The holist would accuse science of meddling with nature and overstepping its bounds with the natural order of things. On the other hand, the holist appears to seek power through forces that are undefinable and intangible as a mechanism. He uses the forces of nature as a "natural" response within the confines of the limitations set by nature itself. Either the "power" is within (bodies power to heal itself), or it is a translation of power from some external source (amulets, color, food, medicine, etc.) or conveyed through some special qualities (touch, massage, manipulation, etc.), or ventures into the realm of mind control (meditation, biofeedback, etc.) as a special quality of man's relationship to a universal intelligence.
3.5. The illusion of power as an intrinsic quality of the body to heal itself, or as a manifestation of an extrinsic source could be misleading. It fails to recognize the "intent and design" of the biological organism as a mobilizing force that could play some part in the role of biological 
plasticity, whether grossly evolutionary or simplistically refined as a healing response.
3.6. The ability to understand alternative medicine may not be understood until the myth is separated from the mysticism. Nor will it make any sense until science can find a biological marker that registers change in global response to its environment. The ability for the body to "heal itself" implies a power without a mechanism. The hypothesis that either intrinsic or extrinsic interventions represent an alteration in information processing within biological systems can only be presented as a conjectural, and yet plausible explanation for the holistic encounter.

4.0  Holism: Terminology and Culture: Defining the Phenomenon  (4.0)

4.1. The turn of the century saw a change in thinking. Science was moving on, expanding its knowledge-base by exploring more dynamic theories to replace the static, deterministic viewpoint of the world. It saw the emergence of Charles Darwin (1859) and the theory of evolution, Henri Becquerel (1896) and the theory of radioactivity, and Albert Einstein (1905) and the theory of relativity. The mechanistic theories of Newton (1687) and the pre-Darwinian world were soon challenged by the theory of an "evolving dynamic whole" rather than the limited "atomistic" theories that focused on the parts, rather than the whole to which it belonged..
4.2. It was in the early century that Jan Christiaan Smuts  (1920's) coined the word "holism" to categorize these dynamic theories. Taken from the Greek word "holo," the term has prevailed to the present. Taken further, it has probably influenced the thinking that has advanced the new theories in complexity science that defines the possibility of a superimposed function on top of, or coexisting with, a structural component.
4.3. The advancement of science lies in the recognition that old theories serve only as a stepping-stone to other possibilities. Progress in science is not restricted to pure technical accomplishment. It is influenced by cultural factors as well. Advancement in science is partly dependent upon how man views change.
4.4. Change for science in the early twentieth century was influenced by cultural changes. It was a time when men dreamed dreams. It was a time influenced by people like Rudyard Kipling (1899), Mahatma Gandhi (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1915) and the League of Nations. It was the enchantment with foreign lands and dominance in the power of nations. It was the improprieties in the struggle for freedom and self-determination. No longer did the dynamic theories of science apply only to technical interrelationships, but man and his role to nations, the parts to the wholes, was challenged.
4.5. It was here, too, that D.D.Palmer  (1895) (4.5) introduced chiropractic to the world. How much the vitalist notions of the day influenced his thinking is speculative. How much the culture of today influences our thinking on holistic care is also speculative. Perhaps the ultimate question is "How do we study holism as a science?"

5.0  Holism and Complexity: Cybernetics and Systems Theory  (5.0)

5.1. While the mechanist has devoted his time to the intricacies of nature, the holist has been searching for something more remote, something that ties it all together as a unifying theory that explains why it might all work as it does. Neither the mechanist, nor the holist, is certain about what he may find in his search. Either way, they both rely on ideas and theories to guide their search. Each has a unique idea or perspective that guides his inquiry into his particular and peculiar interests.
5.2. Holism as an approachable science began somewhere with the introduction of General Systems Theory (von Bertalanffy, 1968).  Systems theory was preeminently mathematical pursuing novel inquiry into the problem of overspecialization. It focused on computer science, cybernetics, automation and systems engineering. It approached systems as part of the problem of system and "control;" that everything was interconnected and organized in some way as a structured model of activity. It provided the basis for the "scientific exploration of 'wholes' and 'wholeness'" of things; something that transcended the metaphysical constructs in thinking to become more tangible as a scientific inquiry; something that blended philosophy and mathematics into less abstract, more concrete methods of viewing evolving systems in a "real world" setting as a modeling of the real thing (5.2)
5.3. The projection of a cybernetic system demonstrated itself as a simulation of events through mathematical and computational applications. Its application became part of information theory as a statistical and mathematical inquiry into various phases of the mechanistic systems that explored function through control and communication principles. It was readily adaptable to system studies involving biology, thermodynamics and life sciences to that of psychology, history, cultural and sociological trends, business applications, and even the medical paradigmatic inquiry (5.2).
5.4. The ability to view the holistic model in alternative medicine may require a construct in thinking normally reserved to the more exotic sciences. The emerging role of complexity science in the search for interrelationships between the parts and the wholes subordinates the mechanistic inquiry to that of an informational inquiry. It ventures into a paradigmatic shift from biomedicine to infomedicine.

6.0   Is it Biomedicine or InfoMedicine? (6.0)

6.1. The emergence of alternative medicine as a viable methodology in health care has transfixed the attention of paradigmatic biomedicine to a more liberal holistic paradigm. The latter, while not yet definable, encompasses an array of procedures that challenge the reigning paradigm of biomedicine. The cultural endorsement of holistic health care suggest that a scientific revolution (Kuhn, 1962) is underway leading to a paradigm shift that addresses the anomalies of classical medicine. How medicine (and chiropractic) address these problems depends upon the viewpoints from the different thinking that has emerged in recent years.
6.2. Some of this thinking has focused on a conceptual shift away from biological systems infrastructure to that of a self-organizing infrastructure. This latter position deals with the concept of information from multiple sources (body, mind, culture or psycho-social interrelationships, and environment) and less from the somatic biological model. This viewpoint is expressed by Foss and Rothenberg who see the transition from "biomedicine" to "infomedicine" as part of a "Second Medical Revolution." They view the single causal links (initial trigger) to disease as a problem. The mechanistic process cannot account for feedback that demonstrates itself as an open system of information exchange and entropy transfer. This portrays a nonlinear interconnectedness that identifies a "cybernetic circularity" in which the physical body cannot be accepted as a passive machine. Rather, it appears to display a "self-organizing (cybernetic) unity which, as a complex system, can internally interact." This boldly translates into the idea that mutual causal loops operating within the system can "increase structuredness within the system. (6.0)"
6.3. This latter observation becomes interesting from the perspective of holistic claims. The idea that the body responds to multiple influences in its environment might be understood from an information perspective. Furthermore, for the chiropractor, claiming that physical, chemical, and spiritual (mind) elements contribute to structural changes (subluxations) within the system is interesting in view of the above. Expanding the idea a little further, one might conjecture whether the existence of mutual causal loops predetermine the structuredness of the system (body) as a manifestation of disease (or health and healing) in a brief time period or acts as a predetermining causal relationship in long term (evolutionary) changes in the system?
6.4. Either way, the insurgents (holistic, behavioral) approach as a countermovement to reductionist, classical medicine cannot be viewed as anything more than tautological. Holism has not fulfilled Kuhn's invocation that paradigmatic changes are projected on "accepted examples of actual scientific practice---examples which include law, theory, application, and instrumentation together---[and] provide models from which spring particular coherent traditions of scientific research. (6.0)"
6.5. Holism, and particularly chiropractic, has not contributed beyond the theory and the application. Its fulfillment as a law remains in limbo depending upon the ability to articulate the argument and refine the research to accommodate the application and the determination that a process [for chiropractic, the subluxation] is, indeed, instrumentive in disease causation. If holism follows the biomedical legacy of reductionist inquiry it supports the predominantly pathophysiological model in establishing diagnostic laws. On the other hand, if holism (and chiropractic) attempt to establish a research parameter invoking the information paradigm, the search requires a strategy that translates structure into function (control and communication within information exchange).

7.0  Holism, Chiropractic, and the Philosophy of Science  (7.0)

7.1. Understanding holism as a science has been difficult for the professions of both medicine and chiropractic. The contextual nature of holism does not permit ready access to tools that begin an analysis of its deeper mechanism as one that fits the reductionist model for inquiry. Indeed, definition is yet to be formulated. Options for analysis are limited to theoretical inquiry. Holism, as a foreseeable, predictable science cannot be understood without definition. In this sense, any scrutiny of holism as a potential science is forced into an area of inquiry more suitable to the philosophy of science. The identification of parameters that constitute a science may be more critical at this stage of inquiry.
7.2. Some attempt to find tangible relationships between holism and chiropractic have already emerged in the literature. The discussion addresses holism as a core paradigm in the chiropractic model of treatment. The first discussion suggests that the ability to understand chiropractic centers around the interpretation of the placebo effect and how the interpretation varies from the holistic model to the mechano-engineering model of inquiry. A second discussion emphasizes theoretical model building and the "contextual" versus "molecular" nature of manual methods from a holistic perspective. Both shed light on the nature of the inquiry that needs to be addressed within chiropractic.

7.1  The Placebo Effect (7.1)

7.1.1. The outcome of any study that introduces a placebo effect is epiphenomenal. It is a nonsequator of known cause-effect relationships. The contextual nature of placebo that describes an inert, innocuous intervention into a scientific study serves the reductionist model for inquiry. (7.1.1)  Jennifer R. Jamison, however, notes that while the mechanist/engineering paradigm views the placebo effect as one that "...distorts evaluation of the patient's response to therapy; from a holistic perspective, the placebo is a valued and valuable therapeutic tool." (7.1)
7.1.2. Manual therapy, and particularly chiropractic, is confronted with a clinical experience that is often labeled as due to "nonspecific (placebo) effects." (7.1.2)  Much of this is due to the inability to quantify the experience between the patient - practitioner encounter. It claims an interaction that remains elusive to mechano-reductionist examination. Jamison, however, has used the "infomedical" model that views the relationships between the patient - practioner as a feedback loop of interaction that is non reducible. It represents a psychobiologic relationship that is, for the moment, beyond the ability to define in the reductionist model of inquiry.
7.1.3. The treatment (placebo) outcome must be globally viewed in the holistic perspective. The placebo outcome is part of an interrelationship that manifests in three ways: 1) the symptom - centered effect is that combination of treatment history coupled with previous experience that anticipates the positive outcome. It is attributional in that previous treatment experience by the patient conditions the patient to a learning experience that encourages an expectational positive/negative outcome, 2) the expectation effect is one that is modulated by the practitioner in response to the perception of symptoms by the patient. It is probably better viewed as an information - expectation effect in that it is dependent upon the patient's psychological expectation of the treatment outcome. It deals with the imagery content of the patient's expectations to a treatment, those preconceived notions about a treatment that can, in itself, be positive or negative in determining the outcome to treatment. In this sense, the outcome is dependent upon the practitioner's ability to provide knowledge (information) about the mechanism of the treatment (placebo) in relation to symptoms that determines the outcome, and 3) the attributional placebo effect is inductive in that it centers around the patient's ability to rationalize the treatment outcome. While the symptoms could be self - limiting, the relief from symptoms are inclined to be attributed to the treatment (placebo) itself. (7.1)
7.1.4. Identification of the placebo effect from a holistic perspective suggests that the placebo can be a valuable therapeutic tool for the practitioner, whether medical or chiropractic. The advantage for chiropractic, as a physical contact system, encourages the use of touch, attitude, and tone of voice to encourage this placebo effect. The holistic paradigm and the placebo effect suggest a communication that "allows the patient an active, participatory role in the patient - practitioner encounter."  (7.1) It is this clinical communication that encourages a participatory role from the patient, that, for Jamison, characterizes the essence of clinical legitimacy of the holistic paradigm.

7.2  Holism: The Contextual Nature of Manual Methods  (7.2)

7.2.1. The nature of manual methods may be viewed from another perspective, one that uses theoretical model building as a tool for inquiry. Robert D. Mootz examines this model building by defining a Type A versus a Type B theory. Much of this overlaps into definition that has been around awhile but he attributes the perception of "molecular" and "contextual" healing to Dean Black (7.2.1) as defining a characteristic between traditional and alternative approaches to health care. Black emphasizes the molecular model as a physiological reaction to the bioengineering model in which causal relationships appear as a reducible form to "one cause, one effect" as a root cause to disease. In contrast, the contextual nature of disease may be viewed as a physiological reaction in response to a biopsychosocial encounter. It contains the ingredients of the infomedical model (6.0) previously discussed.
7.2.2. The problem of complexity for Mootz appears to be one of separating the two types of approaches as mere contrasting features. The range of theoretical approaches may vary from micro to macro (global), from simple to complex, molecular to contextual, or in vitro to in vivo, etc. While Type A theories tend to reduce the problem to a smaller component that is subject to technological analysis, the Type B theory tends to be more subjective, possibly relying on "creative inspiration" as the basis for observation of phenomenon. The former would appear more capable of data management by organizing and classifying data. Furthermore, dealing with micro features permits experimentation with relative predictability since single variables can be more rigorously approached as part of a reducible equation. On the other hand, Type B theory tends to be contextual; it captures the gestalt of the phenomenon by observing the pattern relationships which "can neither be derived from the elements of the whole, nor considered simply as the sum of these elements." There would appear to be advantages ...and disadvantages... to both theories.
7.2.3. The "middle ground" approach, for Mootz, would appear as a problem for "fuzzy logic;" that everything is a matter of degree and that "shades of gray" exist in all things complex. The options for inquiry seem limited and yet, the nature of social and economic changes in health care demand accountability. Finding simplicity in nature may be possible, but the social context of medicine has forced innovative changes in experimental design and assessment of clinical outcomes. The emphasis on random clinical trials (7.2.3) places the clinical outcome on "the effectiveness and value to the society as a whole." The accentuation depends less upon biological or theoretical rationale.
7.2.4. The building of theoretical models is dependent upon a discipline's philosophical approach to health care. Emphasis on biochemical and genetic research into disease by medicine has prioritized the research budget toward the Type A model for inquiry. The problem for some disciplines, including chiropractic, is the reliance upon the Type B model that only provides observations and incomplete theories. These theories are inadequate to develop a foundation for research technology. The nature of manual therapy prevents the "perfect blinding and uncontaminated shams" required in a blinded placebo control. On the other hand, some progress in demonstrating clinical successes might be possible using psychopathological models for diagnostic screening. Outcomes, for chiropractic, must be "reasonable, predictable, and reproducible." Increasingly, the trend is toward "evidence based" medicine.
7.2.5. Finding solutions may be dependent upon how chiropractic views its theoretical model. While opportunity exists for more liberal inquiry, the middle ground between Type A and Type B theory may not be sufficient to support research design and investigation of chiropractic. Theoretical model building may require a change in thinking.

8.0  Sorting Out the Myth from the Mysticism  (.8.0)

8.1 While Jamison recognizes that a communicating, interactive relationship contributes to the placebo effect in the holistic paradigm (7.1), Mootz is willing to carry the idea further suggesting that alternative medicine (including chiropractic) may need to "explore beyond contemporary patterns of thinking (7.2)." How we do this is anyone's guess since noone seems to be able to define what holism is all about. The definitive characteristics of holism have yet to emerge that pinpoint the use of tools for inquiry.
8.2 Chiropractic, in particular, has not been able to fulfill Kuhn's requirements for paradigmatic change; that modeling of the subluxation complex along present lines of inquiry is not sufficient to explain the effects of chiropractic intervention (manipulation). Nor, for that matter, when Keating questions the emergence of a "new holistic biology (8.2)," can holists (and chiropractors) consider themselves as forerunners of a new paradigmatic shift without evidence to support their claim.
8.3 Obviously, if tools for inquiry into holistic (and chiropractic) care cannot be found using present reducto - mechanistic methods, then some reexamination of the original theory may be appropriate. To avoid contention, this is not the same as arguing that chiropractic "doesn't work." For all practical purposes, chiropractic clinician's appear quite satisfied that something is working. The mechanistic model of the subluxation (and its complex) has been a pragmatic indicator to representational changes within the paradigmatic definition of chiropractic theory 
[8.3].It has not, however, found the ability to find tools for inquiry that provide a cumulative record consistent with the observable findings.
8.4 Previous discussion has focused on constructs in thinking that define holism within a contextual sense. Much of this thinking stresses the role of information as an artificial construct to explain the effects of the holistic encounter. It involves a global approach in which information modules/constructs are subjected to analysis as a model of the real event. More elaborate analysis might involve computational modeling in an attempt to find probability in the data.
8.5 While the above may appear straight-forward using a contextual model as a possible tool for analysis, the problem for holism, however, is complicated by the classical ideas of holism. Sorting the myth from the mysticism in the classical holistic sense is slightly different than viewing holism from a contemporary perspective. The distinctions between mind and body are remarkable but nowhere near the ability to examine with demarcational exactitude. Holism, and chiropractic, continue to explain their art from the classical Platonian perspective in which the continuity of life is contained within the thread that links man to his creator. In a Descartian sense, the dualism that represents the "stuff" and the "stuff'n" suggest that a direct link from material to nonmaterial is not possible. Those who pursue inquiry into artificial intelligence as a quantum leap from classical physics might argue that "we do not yet understand physics sufficiently well that the functioning of our brains can be adequately described in terms of it, even in principle (8.5)." Perhaps the myth is contained in this inability to traverse the gulf between the mechanistic, bioengineering model of body function versus that of an information system that seeks self-organization through a communicative intelligence. The former relegates intent and design to a deterministic, fatalistic outcome whereas the latter interacts through mutual causal loops in which the intent and design is through self-organization that manifests as a biological function. The nature of man, in the former context, is one containing a dualistic description of opposites that can only be supported by a leap of faith in the mechano-engineering model of inquiry. On the other hand, taken from the perspective of an information system, a coordinational system begins to emerge that represents an integration of mutual causal loops with self-organization as a non deterministic attribute.

8.1  Chiropractic Philosophy: Communicating an Idea  (8.1)

8.1.1. The ability to examine the philosophy of chiropractic is not possible without discussing the theory. Both are interrelated, and yet, both are confused as separate elements to the same thing. The subluxation theory defines a mechanism and the philosophy (theory) of innate function attempts to define why it works, not necessarily how it works.
8.1.2. The predicament is understandable. Caught in the mechano-engineering model of scientific inquiry, it was a leap of faith from the mechanistic constructs of thinking into a cognitive realm that science was not prepared to grapple as a valid construct. Science was still looking at the pieces, rather than the whole.
8.1.3. Chiropractic is not alone in the challenge for reconceptualization. Other disciplines wrestled with the constraints of conceptual impasse. The cognitive sciences also had to deal with the limitation of the reflex arc as an extension of behaviorist theory. The reflex arc was too limiting (as it is for chiropractic), that human mental function (language) is not imposed from without the organism but originates from within (8.1.3). This material/cognitive dimension of communication is probably more appropriate within the purview of cognitive science than it is within a chiropractic format of discussion. It is, however, within this frame of reference that chiropractic has retained the Cartesian dualist concept in its philosophy as a preemptive statement to the relationship of disease (as a physical state) and the mind/nervous system (cognitive) as an interrelated function.
8.1.4. Perhaps an analogy is needed to convey the idea that what is interpreted as literal truth may, in fact, contain all sorts of meanings not originally intended as axiomatic but provisional, as simple guidelines for future interpretation and understanding. The fervor over "innate intelligence" (and vitalism) is one such example of a metaphorical description that has assumed the proportions of a literal truth. Those arguments assume a biblical dogmatism in which metaphor and parable can be interpreted in different ways. Perhaps it is no more frustrating than Job's metaphorical plight to seek answers from an abstract mind in determining his relationship to his creator when he says in Job 23:8-9, "I go forward, but he is not there (Id, Ego, strategem); and backward, but I cannot perceive him (visual); On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him (logic); he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him (abstract, creative)." None of this would make sense without the findings of neuroscience that identify regions of the brain in relation to function and the denial mechanism found in split brain personalities after brain injury (c.f. "Neil's Brain"). Perhaps the frustration of the sages might be appeased. Perhaps this illustrates that while some truths are self-evident, other truths must wait for a chronological maturity before recognition, or, more often than not, methods of inquiry must be devised to uncover that truth.
8.1.5. The question for chiropractic is what methods of inquiry might be devised in order to accommodate a philosophy that implicates a communicative intelligence? How does chiropractic relinquish the metaphors that have perpetuated the myth contained in classical holism and embrace contemporary holism as a possible science? How does chiropractic integrate the philosophy of an "innate" function of the body as an "intelligence" that communicates as a coordinational system through integration of mutual causal loops in a self-organizing system?
8.1.6. Chiropractic, by adhering to a philosophy of innate function without further elaboration cannot hope to pursue scientific inquiry into that innate function. In essence, chiropractic doesn't know what it is looking for. It has not been able to define itself in terms that might be amenable to the scientific process. On the other hand, the appearance of contemporary holism as a science may support the basic idea of communicative complexity. Jamison attempts to satisfy this requirement in definition by examination of holism, communication, and the placebo effect (7.1). The ability to commit the idea into a formal inquiry would appear to be a step in the right direction.
8.1.7. However, for chiropractic, the problem ...and the answers... are still viewed from that of classical holism. Elaborating upon the innate ability of the body to perform within the context of unknown principles accepts the principle of an extended intangible (innate) that is inaccessible to inquiry. It attempts to explain the mechanistic, structural component of subluxation theory with a function relegated to an unknown cause, an "intelligence" that is "innate" within the body but without definable characteristics. On the other hand, introducing the "cybernetic interactionism" argument of infomedicine [6.0] presents a type of thinking in which "coordinated function" supersedes the autonomy of a subsystem activity. It can be accessible to examination by introducing coordination as an objective, tangible observation.
8.1.8. Much of the discussion about innate must remain brief in its explanation in this article. It is, however, important to note that inquiry into innate has, essentially, been nonproductive. What is not understood is that inquiry into innate is another way of asking about "intent and design" of an organism (or the universe, for that matter). What is not recognized is that knowledge of the universe (and our link with the "creator") is derived through understanding of a coordinational system of objects and events based upon mathematical interrelationships in the universe. The hypothesis that much of chiropractic is based upon coordinational interrelationships of structure to function has not been considered as a critical focus for inquiry.
8.1.9. The conflict between the chiropractic philosopher and the scientist may not really exist except in the minds of the respective polemicist. The acceptance of extended intangibles (that "something else going on" notion of things) has carried the chiropractic science community into the same line of reasoning as the philosopher with one exception: science asks "why" and "how" ...and attempts to do something about it through the inquiry process. The problem has been the inability to view the philosophical assertions as a descriptive explanation of a "function" that has not yet been recognizable as accessible through scientific examination.
8.1.10. In principle, the holistic argument contains similarities to the innate argument. It appeals to chiropractic from a classical holistic perspective by providing arguments revolving around the holistic notion of an extended intangible (innate intelligence). It is the leap of faith in mechano-engineering, reductionist methodology and the assurance of that "something else going on" notion without the necessary understanding of the exact mechanisms. Classical holism encourages the vitalistic notion of extended intangibles. Chiropractic confuses classical holism with contemporary holism. It accepts contemporary holism in the classical sense as an attempt to broaden the definition of generic holism, as a concept, by recognizing the interactiveness with man to his environment. In this sense, it is teleological in linking causes with an external environment as an extension of linear logic within mechanistic, teleological constructs.
8.1.11. Jamison's examination of holism is that of contemporary holism. It is the interaction between the patient - practitioner encounter that contributes to a participatory role in the holistic context. It relies upon examination of extended intangibles as a psychosocial interactionism that can be subject to examination. While the focus for Jamison is on the patient - practitioner encounter in a contemporary holistic setting (7.1), its importance for chiropractic is that it is a transition in thinking. It represents a formal process of inquiry into the philosophy of science as it applies to chiropractic through sociological examination.
8.1.12. Underlying all this, however, is the notion of self organization. That this ability to function as a self organizing system could lie within a neurological context of relationships has been suggested by chiropractic through its theory coupled with its philosophy. In a manner similar to the infomedical paradigm statement (self organization through cybernetic interactionism), chiropractic has focused on single level explanations (the "pinched nerve" concept or the subluxation as a single level lesion linked to an innate function) as its primary argument for a disease causation principle. The problem, however, is that the mechano - engineering principles of subluxation theory conflict with a philosophy of innate function that cannot be identified or differentiated as a functional, coordinated unit of interactive self organization.
8.1.13. The possibility that the subluxation theory (single level lesion) prevents the ability to examine the neurological interactionism at different levels of organization within the body requires further examination. Chiropractic has maintained a philosophy ("innate intelligence") to explain a "function" of the healing process. It has not been able to examine this function, in part, due to the restrictions of the theory.

8.2   Chiropractic Theory: An Incomplete Explanation...or Misinterpreting the Idea  (8.2.)

8.2.1. That which is referred to as "Chiropractic Philosophy" is really theory; the theory that an "Innate Intelligence 8.2.1" exists underlying the ability of the body to heal itself. As stated, science has no way of verifying this theory using present methods for inquiry. On the other hand, the theory of "vertebral subluxation" contains elements that may be subjected to the scientific process of inquiry. It is an observable phenomenon that should, somehow, be verified through scientific protocol. The inquiry process, however, has left more questions than answers. In principle, the results of inquiry suggest that either the reductionist method could, at the very least, be inappropriate as a tool for inquiry or, the methodology is simply wrong and [therefore], as a logical conclusion, reductionist methods are wrong. That neither assumption may be entirely correct does not seem to occur as another option.
8.2.2. From a chiropractic perspective, the inability to designate specific lesion areas (subluxations) in the research that provide a cause-effect relationship suggest that anatomical variances exist to somato visceral complaints that cannot support a reductionist inquiry. This, in itself, does not suggest that reductionist method is wrong, merely that something is going on that prohibits strict reductionist verification of the subluxation theory. In principle, it means that reductionist inquiry has, possibly, reached a limit in verifying present theory or that, possibly, the theory (subluxation complex) may need to be revised.
8.2.3. Further studies in support of reductionist method, but not that of the subluxation theory, is found in the recognition that reductionist limitation exists in the ability to anatomically dissect the neurological pathways (8.2.3a )...further supports an argument that questions the single level lesion (the subluxation) and somato-visceral responses. Convergence from multiple pathways to the spinal interneurons are in turn diverted through axon collaterals that prohibit a signal tracing of communication pathways (8.2.3b ). Interneuronal network behavior is implicated in dorsal spinocerebellar tract cells and sensory receptors in which monosynaptic functions are replaced by population discharge of cells that exclude a delineable circuitry (8.2.3c ).
8.2.4. The problem of reductionist inquiry is further complicated by the entrance of the cognitive sciences as a contemporary explanation of functional elements of the cerebral cortex and topobiological characteristics of the brain; that immunoregulatory effects may be linked to right cortical hemispheric activity or that testosterone is postulated in effecting hemispherical development ( 8.2.4a). Additional complexity emerges as the exact nature of neuronal influences overlap into neuroendocrine perimeters in the choroid plexus and cerebrospinal fluid systems (8.2.4b ). Nor can we dismiss the theory of neuronal group selection as an indicator of a dynamic selection process to explain the plasticity of synaptic connections ( 8.2.4c).
8.2.5. While the above statements reflect the possible limitations to a reductionist methodology as it pursues a biological inquiry in the neuro-subluxation connection, it does not suggest that reductionist methodology is wrong. It might, however, suggest that the syntactic, hierarchical structure of biological systems leads to asymptotic relationships in which the complexity of design and function (or intent and design) merge into imperceptible relationships that cannot find a definitive pathway. If this is the case, it could mean that, in principle, there may be another dimension to the theory that has not been discussed. This would favor the hypothesis that the vertebral subluxation theory cannot sustain examination because, in principle, an information processing system overrides the neuro physiological nature of the single level subluxation complex.
8.2.6. This latter idea finds support in studies that link the existence of supraspinal mechanisms to higher centers in the brain or, to pain studies that, while focusing on the morphological schematic of the wiring system, does not anticipate the plasticity of synaptic connections. Nor, for that matter, can it be said that pain can be described as nociception or neuropathy (8.2.6a). The entrance of sensory, emotional, and behavioral factors superimpose in a complex interaction that expresses itself as a "perception" of pain as a qualitative variable rather than a strict mechano - quantitative description. The preconceived notion of a stimulus - response to the nervous system cannot fit the changes occurring in central sensitization in which changes to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord after injury results in anatomical changes. The sprouting of myelinated afferent terminals confirm a plasticity to the nervous system that preempts the idea of a "hard-wired" schema of the nervous system (8.2.6b).
8.2.7. The ability to view the nervous system from the viewpoint of a wiring system schema and the effect of the subluxation complex may not entirely explain the coordinational nature of interactive connectedness. The plasticity of the nervous system suggest accommodation to changes that could deal with higher centers of communication that may be more appropriately defined within an "information processing" schema. The importance of the vertebral subluxation complex as a mechanism that plays some role in maintaining entropy within the system might be viewed from that of non equilibrium physics and dynamical systems in which far-from-equilibrium states are descriptions of dynamical events within a coordinational system. It is no longer examination of a motor/sensory wiring system schema that commands attention, but the examination of a dynamic, coordinational, system within an information processing schema.

9.   Dynamical Systems and Information Theory

9.1 The opportunity to find tools for inquiry into the chiropractic protocol is dependent upon the willingness to examine chiropractic theory within the findings of contemporary science. The possibility that chiropractic could be recognizing a dualistic function of the nervous system can only be appreciated in view of contemporary examination of the brain/body connection and the contributions of neuroscience. The tools to examine this connection, however, require sophisticated technology along with more sophisticated mathematical applications into the inquiry process.
9.2 The possibility that chiropractic could find similar technics for inquiry into its protocols has not previously been considered. Part of this problem is the unwillingness for the profession to examine its theories within a real-world context of relationships. The inability to recognize the distinctions between "classical" versus "contemporary" holism is one example of stagnation in the development of chiropractic toward a scientific foundation for its precepts and application. The emergence of "complexity" science supports the possibility that a superimposed function may coexist with structural components. The ability for chiropractic to examine its protocol as a significant intervention into the health process cannot be possible without linking structure to function.
9.3 While emphasis in research has prioritized the mechanistic model of inquiry as structure (the mechanics of subluxation) in relation to function (the physiological component), the ability to examine the dynamics of mechanical systems as a coordinational system of interrelationships has not found similar support. That tools might be available has not occurred to the profession. The ability to simulate control of dynamical systems through numerical simulation of function has become a science in itself (robotics, artificial intelligence, biomechanics, etc.).
9.4 For a profession that has placed emphasis upon the importance of structure to function, the ability to provide credible support to this theory requires introduction of those sciences that actively examine this mechanism. A de-emphasis upon the subluxation theory as a single level, linear lesion is a requisite for emergence into an inquiry that examines a coordinational, nonlinear system of multiple level lesions (subluxations). The possibility that the "tools" for inquiry already exist may not, however, benefit the chiropractic profession if it cannot reexamine its theories within a contemporary, real-world setting.

References
1.0   Prologue
1.1 Phillips R. Philosophy and chiropractic divisions and directions. J Chiropractic Humanities, 1995;5:1;2-7. http://www.national.chiropractic.edu/humanities/phillips.html
1.3. Self Organization. Principia Cybernetica Web. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SELFORG.html
1.3. Kimmel CB, Ballard WW, Kimmel SR, Ullmann B, Schilling TF.  Stages of Embryonic Development of the Zebrafish. Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403; *Department of Biology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755  http://zfish.uoregon.edu/zf_info/zfbook/stages/stages.html
2.0   Holism: An Anthropological Concept Applied to Medicine
2.1. The Brunel M.A. in Medical Anthropology. http://http1.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~hssrsdn/courses/medanth.htm
2.1. Suzanne BF. Plato and His Dialogues. Exploring Ancient World Cultures. Essays on Ancient Greece. http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/suzanne.htm#Republic
2.1. Plato.  http://paul.spu.edu/~hawk/plato.html
2.1. Holistic Medicine. National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu./pdq/600099.html
2.1. Rogers AM. Holistic concepts of health and disease. http://www.med.auth.gr/~karanik/english/vet/holist1.htm
2.2. Campbell J. The Mythic Dimension: Selected Essays. http://www.jcf.org/moment/
2.2a. Campbell J, Moyers B. The power of myth. New York. Doubleday, 1988.
2.2b. "It is the fact that mortality is an emergent phenomenon, one that is dependent upon "intent and design." Comment: The metaphysical implications of mortality as an emergent phenomenon could be easily misconstrued. The recurrent use of "intent and design" is not intended to underscore the metaphysical nature of man's mortal nature, nor consciousness as a discussion of free will, but to reveal some starting point in the search for a neuro cognitive relationship to biological function. What is observed in the phenomenon of life is "form." It is, in essence, the "design" of the organism that manifests as the "intent" of the organism in fulfilling...whatever purpose he might imagine. A chiropractic premise that stresses "structure" as related to "function" has not been able to find tools for inquiry that might reveal the underlying nature of this relationship. While chiropractic research has satisfied inquiry into the intrinsic nature of the subluxation complex, the possibility that a more global approach is needed, one that evaluates functional changes in structural relationships may require the use of computational models for inquiry. How this is done is yet to be determined. This merely represents a starting point in the discussion.
3.0.  Holism: From Myth to Mysticism and Science Caught In Between 
3.2  Stahlman S. Defining Mysticism: Commentary on William James' "The Varieties of Religious Experience" and "A Suggestion about Mysticism." 1992. http://www.well.com/user/elliotts/smse_james.html
3.3. The Gaia Hypothesis - Lovelock & Margulis - Introduction. http://magna.com.au/~prfbrown/gaia_int.html
3.3. Abram D. The Perceptual Implications of Gaia. http://www.webcom.com/gaia/percept.html
4.0.  Holism: Terminology and Culture: Defining the Phenomenon 
4.1  THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES by Charles Darwin 1859. http://coombs.anu.edu.au/Depts/RSSS/Philosophy/Texts/OriginTOC.html
4.1  Antoine Henri Becquerel (1852-1908): On the rays emitted by phosphorescence. http://maple.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/becquerel.html
4.1  Albert Einstein. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Einstein.html
4.1  Sir Issac Newton (1643-1727).  http://spruce.evansville.edu/~al22/newton.html
4.2. Holism. http://www.holostroika.com/holism.htm
4.2. Holistic Method. http://www.nd.edu/~cwilber/pub/recent/edpehol.html
4.2  Comments on "Complexity and the Future of Science."  http://www.santafe.edu/~jpc/SciAmPublic.html
4.4.  "The White Man's Burden" and Its Critics By Jim Zwick, Syracuse University http://www.accinet.net/~fjzwick/kipling/
4.4. The Way To Peace: Mahatma Gandhi's Novniolent Revolution with links. Beck Index. http://www.west.net/~beck/WP19-Gandhi.html
4.5. From One to 50,000: The Evolution of a Profession from the Chiropractic Centenial Foundation. http://www.life.edu/Other/tc/evoluti.html
4.5 The Association for the History of Chiropractic: Preserving the Legacy of the Profession by Mildred L. Kimbrough, B.S., D.C. http://www.life.edu/Other/tc/kimbrou.html
5.0.  Holism and Complexity: Cybernetics and Systems Theory 
5.2  What is Systems Theory. Heylighen F.,  Joslyn C. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SYSTHEOR.html 
5.2. Ludwig von Bertalanffy 1901-1972. R511 Instructional Technology Foundations: Historical Timelines Project. http://copper.ucs.indiana.edu/~ssloffer/page2.html
5.2. von Bertalanffy L. General systems theory. New York: George Braziller; 1988.
5.3. Cybernetics and the Integration of Knowledge. Heylighen F. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/CYBINT.html
5.3  Entropy on the World Wide Web. Chris Hillman. Shannon's Information Theory.   http://www.math.washington.edu/~hillman/entropy.html
5.4. Comments on "Complexity and the Future of Science." http://www.santafe.edu/~jpc/SciAmPublic.html
6.0.  Is it Biomedicine or InfoMedicine? 
6.0  Comments are based upon the following source:  Foss L, Rothenberg K. The second medical revolution: from biomedicine to infomedicine. Boston: New Science Library, 1987. The authors examine the role of alternative medicine in relation to the established medical paradigm. The "insurgents" are those groups that portray a countermovement against the medical model. The authors recognize the alternatives to the medical model as "holistic, behavioral, and environmental medicine." The ineffectual nature of countermovements to challenge medicine is due to the failure "to offer distinct laws and premises" that are based upon scientific principles mandating an approach to disease causation. And, disease causation that "encompasses all significant etiological factors" must demonstrate an effectual response along scientific parameters.  Part of this failure to undermine foundational principles of biomedicine is the nature of the biomedical legacy. This legacy has developed its own vocabulary in which certain presuppositions are reflected "in such content terms as disease, cure, system, and cause." In essence, any ability to establish laws, premises that challenge the reigning paradigm (biomedicine), must "overcome the embeded bias of the language."
6.1.  Paradigm.   http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/PARADIGM.html
6.1. Thomas Kuhn's Theory of Scientific Revolutions. http://www.kaiwan.com/~lucknow/horus/guide/cm106.html
7.0  Holism, Chiropractic, and the Philosophy of Science 
7.1  The Placebo Effect
7.1.  A synopsis is provided on Jamison's article. Comments are provided as an evaluation. Source: Jamison JR. Chiropractic holism: accessing the placebo effect. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1994;17;339-451.
7.1.1. The placebo effect. The skeptic's dictionary. http://dcn.davis.ca.us/~btcarrol/skeptic/placebo.html
7.1.1. The placebo response. HomeArts. http://homearts.com/gh/health/0197amb8.htm
7.1.2. Jamison includes the observation that much of the effects of manual therapy (and physiotherapy) can be attributed "to nonspecific (placebo) effects." Source for this statement is based on the following source: Koes BW, Bouter LM, Van Mameren H, Essers AH, Verstegen GM, Hofhuizen DM, Houben JP, Knipschild PG. The effectiveness of manual therapy, physiotherapy and treatment by the general practitioner for nonspecific back and neck complaints: a randomized clinical trial. Spine 1992;17:28-35.
7.12. Foss L, Rothenberg K. The second medical revolution: from biomedicine to infomedicine. Boston: New Science Library, 1987.
7.2  Holism: The Contextual Nature of Manual Methods
7.2.  Comments are based upon the following article: Mootz R. The contextual nature of manual methods: challenges of the paradigm. J Chiropractic Humanities. 1995;5;28-40. This article examines the contextual nature of manual methods and the difficulty in obtaining scientific validation and/or consensus. Opportunities, at least for Mootz, appear in the nature of emerging technologies and the nature of investigative strategies. Innovation in these areas may be "conducive to greater recognition of the importance of the contextual nature of manual methods." http://www.chiro.edu/humanities/mootz.html
7.2.1  Black D. Fine Tuning: The promise of Contextual Healing. Springville Utah; Tapestry Press, 1991.
7.2.1  Black D. Inner Wisdom: The Challenge of Contextual Healing. Springville Utah; Tapestry Press,1990. 
7.2.3.  Fuzzy logic background. http://www-dse.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_96/journal/vol4/sbaa/report.background.html
7.2.3. What Is A "Clinical Trial"?  http://www.nccf.org/nccf/cln_trl.htm
7.2.3. Critical Assessment Reference Page. Contributions from members of the Chiropractic Science/Research Listserv. Courtesy of Douglas W. Smith, D.C., Sheelah R. Smith, L.Ac., Health and Fitness Information. Provides a checklist for clinical trial evaluation. http://silcom.com/~dwsmith/Critical_Assessment/research.html
7.2.4.  Recent trends in personality and related fields. http://fas.psych.nwu.edu/revelle/publications/AnnRev/recent.html
7.2.4. Evidence Based Medicine. http://hiru.hirunet.mcmaster.ca/ebm/overview.htm
8.0  Sorting Out the Myth from the Mysticism 
8.2.  Thomas Kuhn's Theory of Scientific Revolutions. http://www.kaiwan.com/~lucknow/horus/guide/cm106.html
8.2.   Keating J. Commentary: belief in science and medicine (letter). J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1991;14;437-438.
8.3.  Chiropractic theory.  The skeptic's dictionary. http://dcn.davis.ca.us/%7Ebtcarrol/skeptic/chiro.html
8.5  René Descartes (1596-1650)  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/5507/descartes.html
8.5  René Descartes (1596-1650)  http://paul.spu.edu/~hawk/descartes.html
8.5  Dualism  http://wheel.dcn.davis.ca.us/~btcarrol/skeptic/dualism.html
8.5.  A Computational Foundation for the Study of Cognition. David J. Chalmers. Department of Philosophy University of California. http://ling.ucsc.edu/%7Echalmers/papers/computation.html
8.5  Penrose R. The emperor's new mind: concerning computers, minds, and the laws of physics. New York; Penguin Books, 1989.
8.5  Review of The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose. This review appeared in Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 1990 October. http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/reviews/penrose.ps
8.5  The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics by Roger Penrose. Reviewed by Jenny Monesson. 1996. http://fiat.gslis.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/reviews/jenny.htm
8.5  Self-Organization. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/Self-Organi.html
8.5  Deterministic. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/Determinist.html
8.5  Information System. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/Inform_syste.html
8.1  Chiropractic Philosophy: Communicating an Idea 
8.1.3.  Pagels H. The dreams of reason: the computer and the rise of the sciences of complexity. New York; Bantam, 1989.
8.1.3. Review of ``The Dreams of Reason: The Computer and the Rise of the Sciences of Complexity'' by Heinz R. Pagels. Melanie Mitchell. In Bulletin of the Santa Fe Institute, Entire review  (in postscript).
8.1.3.  Dualism. The skeptic's dictionary. http://wheel.dcn.davis.ca.us/~btcarrol/skeptic/dualism.html
8.1.4  Innate Intelligence. INTELLIGENCE. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/asc/Intelligenc.html
8.1.4   Vitalism.  EQUIFINALITY  http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/Equifinalit.html   TELEOLOGY  http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/TELEOLOGY.html  
8.1.4. Metaphorical.   http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/Metaphor.html
8.1.4  Calvin WH, Ojemann GA. Conversations with Neil's Brain: The Neural Nature of Thought & Language. Addison-Wesley, 1994.   http://weber.u.washington.edu/wcalvin/bk7/bk7.htm
8.2.   Chiropractic Theory: An Incomplete Explanation...or Misinterpreting the Idea 
8.2.1.  Chiropractic Philosophy for the 21st Century. Stephen R. Seater, CAE Executive Director. Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research.  http://www.healthy.net/fcer/Articles/Philos.htm
8.2.1.  The Subluxation Complex: A Literature Review. Deb Callahan, M.A. Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research. http://www.healthy.net/fcer/Research.htm#34
8.2.3a  Nansel D, Szlazak M. Somatic dysfunction and the phenomenon of visceral disease simulation: a probable explanation for the apparent effectiveness of somatic therapy in patients presumed to be suffering from true visceral disease. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1995;18;379-97.
8.2.3b  McCrea DA. Can sense be made of spinal interneuron circuits? In: Harnard S., ed. "Behavioral and Brain Sciences." New York: Cambridge Univ Press. 1992;15;633-43.
8.2.3c.  Osborn CE, Poppele RE. Parallel distributed network characteristics of the DSCT. J Neurophysiol. 1992;68;1100-12.
8.2.4a.  Neveu PJ. Asymmetrical brain modulation of the immune response. In: Purpura DP, ed. "Brain Research Reviews." London: Elsevier. 1992;17;101-7.
8.2.4b.  Nilsson C, Lindval-Axelsson M. Neuroendocrine regulatory mechanisms in the choroid plexus-cerebrospinal fluid system. In: Purpura DP, ed. "Brain Research Reviews." London: Elsevier. 1992;17;109-38.
8.2.4c.  Edelman GM. Brilliant air, brilliant fire: on the matter of the mind. USA: Basic Books, 1992.
8.2.6a.  Silent Ischemia as a Central Problem..., Annals 1 Jun 96. Neuroscience Web Search. http://www.acsiom.org/cgi-bin/nsr/web_fetch_doc?dataset=server26.ds&db=neuro&doc_id=101329&query=angina+pain
8.2.6b.  Siddall PJ, Cousins MJ. Spine update: spinal pain mechanisms. Spine. 1997;22:1;98-104.

Further Reading
History of Western Biomedicine  http://www.mic.ki.se/West.html