To illuminate the current situation with regards to the controversies in Chiropractic surrounding the profession’s many stances with regards to philosophy, I put forward a thought experiment.
Imagine 3 human tribes, which have 3 different lifestyles and ways of coping with problems. The members of the first tribe are called the “Conservatives”. They have a long written history, and the young members of the tribe are obliged to memorize this history and learn the lessons of the past. The past is sacred, and past actions form a binding example for the members of the Conservative tribe to follow. Many of the tribe’s men and women are busy maintaining their vast archives, memorizing and transmitting the wisdom written in their books. These books have the answer to the changing patterns of life. When things change, the Conservatives rely on their knowledge of the way their ancestors handled the situation, and do the same. This often solves the problem, but when facing the totally unknown or unpredictable, the Conservatives are rather helpless. Only very rarely and by accident (or by some hidden order) do some members of the tribe stumble on a solution and manage to survive such an emergency. The survivors then become sanctioned as “ancestors”, and their deeds are added to the sacred books.
The people of the second tribe, the “Explorers”, have the very opposite philosophy. They see that the world is in constant flux and often changes, and believe that, for many things, past experience is limiting and misleading, so should be forgotten. The present and future require a constant process of reevaluation. The Explorers stress the central role of individual discovery, and the lack of any preconceived ideas. When they encounter an emergency, whether similar to past emergencies or completely new, they respond by encouraging everyone to find new creative solutions to the problem. Usually someone does find a solution, which is then adopted by all the members of the tribe, but often many perish before this solution is found.
The members of the third tribe, the “Interpreters”, respect the past, just like the Conservatives, but they are not bound by it in the same way, and encourage exploration and controlled deviation from tradition. According to their philosophy, their ancestors had divine wisdom, and their sacred words must be the inspiration for all times, but the deep wisdom of the ancestors is written in metaphorical language. This means it requires a new interpretation in each generation, according to the changing needs of the society, but still in accordance with certain rules. When they face a state of emergency that is similar to one described in their books, interpretation is easy and they act more or less like their ancestors, slightly updating their behaviour according to the needs of the present. They give freedom to their interpretative imagination, and try to find new solutions that do not contradict the old wisdom.
Which tribe do you belong to?
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