IN8 THOTS Green Book Series Section 1 of 8, The Science of Chiropractic

IN8 THOTS Green Book Series Section 1 of 8, The Science of Chiropractic

“Why Chiropractic Needed Its Own Science”

In the opening episode of the IN8 THOTS series on The Science of Chiropractic, Dr. Joe Sheppard introduces one of Dr. B.J. Palmer’s most intellectually significant Green Books and explores why he believed chiropractic required its own scientific foundation.

This episode examines the historical challenges facing the young chiropractic profession and explains why Dr. B.J. Palmer sought to establish chiropractic as a science built upon timeless principles rather than techniques alone. Dr. Joe discusses the meaning of science as a process of observation, critical thinking, and the pursuit of truth, while highlighting Dr. B.J.'s belief that principles must always precede procedures. Listeners are introduced to the philosophical and scientific framework that shaped chiropractic's identity and continue to influence the profession today.

Topics include the definition of science, the relationship between philosophy and scientific inquiry, the importance of observation, the role of the nervous system in human function, lifelong learning, intellectual humility, and how modern neuroscience continues to reinforce many of the concepts that Dr. B.J. Palmer explored decades ago. The episode also emphasizes that chiropractic is more than a collection of techniques—it is a discipline grounded in principles that seek to better understand life, health, adaptation, and human potential.

Key Topics:

• Why Dr. B.J. Palmer believed chiropractic needed its own science
• The difference between principles and procedures
• Science as observation, inquiry, and critical thinking
• The relationship between chiropractic philosophy and scientific reasoning
• The nervous system and the organization of life
• Lifelong learning and intellectual humility
• Modern neuroscience and chiropractic principles
• Building the scientific foundation of chiropractic

This introductory episode sets the stage for the entire Science of Chiropractic series and invites listeners to explore how Dr. B.J. Palmer's pursuit of scientific understanding helped define the philosophy, identity, and future of the chiropractic profession.

Stay specific. Stay connected. And keep thinking from Above-Down, Inside-Out.

Transcript

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Welcome to Innate Thoughts, the Green Book Series The Science of Chiropractic Section One of Eight Why Chiropractic Needed Its Own Science Welcome back to Innate Thoughts, the chiropractic podcast dedicated to the timeless wisdom of the Palmer Green Books. I'm doctor Joe Shepherd. Over the last two Green Book series, we've taken an incredible journey through some of Dr. BJ Palmer's most influential writings. We explored the subluxation specific, the adjustment specific, where we discussed the importance of specificity, vertebral subluxation, and the evolution of the chiropractic adjustment. Then we moved into the bigness of the fellow within, where doctor BJ Palmer challenged us to think beyond symptoms and appreciate the incredible intelligence that exists within every living person. Today we begin another remarkable book, one that in many ways ties everything together The Science of Chiropractic. At first glance, the title seems very straightforward, but don't let that fool you. This book is not simply about anatomy. It is not simply about physiology. It is not a collection of research papers, nor is it a textbook in modern sense. Instead, this green book asks a much larger question. Can chiropractic truly be considered a science? That may seem like a very obvious question today, but when doctor BJ Palmer wrote this book, chiropractic was still a very young profession. Medicine questioned it. Scientists criticized it. Government agencies challenged it. Even chiropractors themselves debated what chiropractic truly was. Was it simply another treatment? Was it a mechanical therapy? Was it an art? Or was it something entirely different? Those questions motivated doctor BJ Palmer to write one of his most intellectually challenging green books. Before we can understand what doctor BJ Palmer meant by the science of chiropractic, we first have to ask a more basic question. What is science? Today, many people think science simply means research, laboratories, microscopes, statistics, or clinical trials. Those are certainly part of a modern science, but science is actually much broader. Science is a systematic method of observing reality. It begins with curiosity. It asks questions. It gathers observations. It searches for patterns. It develops explanations. It tests ideas. And perhaps most importantly, science never stops asking questions. That last point is one of the reasons I admire Dr. BJ Palmer so much. Whether you agree with every conclusion he reached or not, no one can deny that he was relentlessly curious. He questioned everything. He questioned accepted beliefs. He questioned his own profession. He questioned traditional assumptions. And throughout his life, he continually refined his thinking. That mindset is scientific. One of the greatest misconceptions about chiropractic is that it developed an opposition to science. Historically, that simply isn't true. Dr. BJ Palmer wanted chiropractic to become more scientific, not less. He believed chiropractors should observe carefully, measure carefully, analyze carefully, and above all else, think critically. This one reason the green books remain valuable today. They are not simply collections of answers, they are invitations to think. As we study this green book together, you'll notice something different from our previous series. Dr. BJ Palmer spends far less time trying to convince readers that chiropractic works. Instead, he spends much more time asking why it works. What principles explain it? What natural laws support it? What observations led chiropractors to these conclusions? These are scientific questions. They are also philosophical questions, and doctor BJ Palmer believed that the two should never be separated. One of the themes running throughout this green book is that every true science begins with principles. Physics has principles, chemistry has principles, and biology has principles. Engineering has principles.

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BJ Palmer believed chiropractic also rests upon principles, not merely opinions, not merely techniques, but principles. And according to him, if those principles are understood, the procedures naturally follow. This is important because techniques change, technology changes, research evolves, but principles endure. Think about gravity. Long before anyone understood the mathematics of gravity, apples still fell from the trees. The principle existed before people fully understood it. Dr. BJ Palmer argued that chiropractic principles existed, whether chiropractors fully understood them or not. The responsibility of our profession was to continue studying them. This raises another fascinating question. If chiropractic is based on principles, what is its central principle? For Dr. BJ Palmer, the answer was remarkably consistent through his career. Life is organized. The body possesses intelligence. The nervous system coordinates function. Interference may reduce the body's ability to express its fullest potential. Specific chiropractic adjustments seek to reduce that interference. Whether one completely agrees with that framework or not, it represents the logical foundation upon which doctor BJ Palmer built chiropractic. Every chapter of this green book returns to those ideas in one form or another. Today, modern neuroscience has explained our understanding of communication within the nervous system. We know sensory information constantly travels between the body and the brain. We know that the brain continually adapts through neuroplasticity. We know posture influences sensory input. We know movement changes brain activity. We know stress alters neurological processing. Obviously, Dr. BJ Palmer did not possess MRI scanners or advanced neurophysiology laboratories. Yet he consistently recognized something that modern science continues to confirm. Communication is essential for function. The language has changed, the technology has improved, but the underlying principle remains remarkably familiar. One of the greatest lessons we can learn from this green book is intellectual humility. Science is never finished. Every generation believes it understands more than the generation before. Yet history repeatedly reminds us that knowledge continually is expanding. The best scientists remain curious. The best physicians remain curious. The best chiropractors remain curious. doctor BJ Palmer certainly did. He expected chiropractors to think deeply, study continuously, and remain lifelong students. That expectation may be one of his greatest gifts to the profession. As we begin this new series together, I encourage you not only to listen and agree or disagree, but listen to think. Listen to ask questions. Listen to understand how one of the greatest chiropractic thinkers attempted to build a scientific foundation for an entirely new profession. Because understanding chiropractic science begins by understanding chiropractic's principles. Can chiropractic truly be considered a science? To answer that question, doctor BJ Palmer believed chiropractic had to be built upon something much stronger than just opinion. It had to be built upon principles. Throughout history, every lasting science has been founded on principles that remain consistent even as our understanding grows. Physics continues to evolve, but gravity remains. Chemistry advances, yet the fundamental behavior of the atom persists. Biology expands, but the principles governing living organisms remain remarkably consistent.

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BJ Palmer believed chiropractic deserved the same foundation, not a collection of isolated techniques, not a series of personal preferences, but a coherent system built upon fundamental principles that could guide observation, analysis, and clinical decision making. One of the ideas that appears repeatedly throughout this green book is that procedures should always follow principles. Think about that statement for a moment. In healthcare today, people often asked what technique do you use? What instrument do you use? What adjustment do you perform? Those are reasonable questions, but doctor BJ Palmer would likely respond with another question. What principle guides that procedure? Because without principle, technique becomes little more than just a habit. One doctor adjusts one way, another adjusts differently. But both obtain results. But unless those procedures are rooted in an understanding of why they are performed, the profession risks becoming fragmented. This concern was real during Dr. BJ's Palmer's lifetime. Numerous techniques were emerging. Different schools of thought were developing. Some chiropractors focused primarily on symptom relief. Others emphasized biomechanics. Others explored neurological relationships.

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BJ Palmer believed chiropractic needed a common foundation that united these different approaches. For him, that foundation was the body's innate capacity to organize, adapt, and express life through the nervous system. One of the reasons this green book remains valuable is that doctor BJ Palmer continually challenged chiropractors to distinguish between observation and interpretation. An observation is something we detect. A patient's posture changes, balance improves, range of motion increases, symptoms decrease. Those are obvious observations. Interpretation as why those changes occur. Science depends upon careful observation before drawing a conclusion. doctor BJ Palmer repeatedly encouraged chiropractors to become exceptional observers. Observe posture, observe movement, observe patterns, observe adaptation, observe responses over time. Because the better we observe, the better questions we will ask. And better questions often lead to a better understanding. Today, modern neuroscience continues emphasizing between something doctor BJ Palmer intuitively recognized. The nervous system is an adaptive network. Every experience you have influences it. Movement changes, learning changes it, stress changes it, sleep changes it, exercise changes it, and nutrition influences it. Human beings are constantly adapting. We now describe many of these processes as neuroplasticity, sensory integration, autonomic regulation, and the brain body communication. Although doctor BJ Palmer used different terminology, he repeatedly returned to one consistent idea. The body is dynamic, not static. It is continuously responding to its environment. That insight remains one of chiropractic's greatest strength. Another fascinating aspect of the science of chiropractic is that doctor BJ Palmer refused to separate philosophy from science. Today, those words are often treated as opposites. Science has how.

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BJ Palmer believed both were necessary. Science without philosophy can become mechanical. Philosophy without observation can become speculation. When the two work together, they strengthen one another. As chiropractors, we benefit from understanding anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and neuroscience. But we also benefit from asking larger questions. Why is health valuable? What allows adaptation? What responsibilities accompany caring from another human being? Whose questions give purpose to scientific knowledge? One of the most remarkable characteristics of doctor BJ Palmer was that he viewed chiropractic as a living profession. Living things grow, they adapt, they mature, the profession itself should do the same. He never wanted chiropractic to become frozen in time. Instead, he wanted future generations to continue investigating the principles upon which chiropractic was founded. That is one reason these green books continue to inspire discussion. They are not simply historical documents. They are invitations to continue exploring. As we move forward in this series, we'll spend considerable time examining one of the most important concepts in chiropractic philosophy, the major premise. Many chiropractors have memorized it. Far fewer have spent time unpacking its meeting. We'll examine why doctor BJ Palmer believed the major premise served as the philosophical cornerstone of chiropractic and how it connects with the body's remarkable ability to organize and adapt. We'll also explore how those ideas intersect with modern understanding of systems of biology, neurological regulation, and human physiology. Our goal is not simply to repeat historical language. Our goal is to understand what doctor BJ Palmer was attempting to explain and why those ideas continue to influence chiropractic thinkers today. I also want this series to encourage thoughtful discussion. Throughout the Green Books, Dr. BJ Palmer expressed ideas that have inspired generations of chiropractors. Some concepts have been supported by later scientific discoveries. Others continue to generate debate and interpretation. And that is healthy. Science grows through thoughtful examination. Professions mature by asking difficult questions. One of the greatest ways we honor doctor BJ Palmer is not by accepting every sentence without reflection. It is by studying carefully, thinking critically, observing honestly, and continuing the pursuit of understanding that defined his career. Perhaps that is the true science of chiropractic, not memorizing facts, not defending opinions, but remaining committed to lifelong learning, remaining curious, remaining humble, remaining willing to refuse and refine our understanding of knowledge as it expands. That mindset has driven every great scientific advancement throughout history, and it should continue guiding chiropractic into the future. As we conclude today's episode, I want to leave you with one final thought. Every profession reaches a crossroad. One path leads toward complacency. The other leads toward growth. Dr. BJ Palmer challenged chiropractors to choose growth, to become students for life, to pursue truth, wherever careful observation and honest inquiry may lead you. Whether you're a chiropractor, a student, or simply someone fascinated by a remarkable design of the human body, I hope this series encourages you to approach chiropractic with both confidence and curiosity. Confidence in the remarkable intelligence expressed through life, curiosity about how much more there is still to learn. Because the science of chiropractic is not merely a collection of facts. It is an ongoing search to better understand the principles that govern life, health, adaptation, and human potential. In our next episode, we'll explore one of the most foundational ideas in all of chiropractic. That is the major premise. We'll discuss why doctor BJ Palmer believed every scientific discipline begins with the first principle. Why chiropractic is no exception, and how understanding that principle helps explain the profession's unique identity. Thank you for joining me as we begin this new green book journey. This is Innate Thoughts. Thanks again for joining me on another episode of Innate Thoughts. If today's discussion strengthened your understanding of chiropractic philosophy, please follow the podcast. Share this episode with one chiropractor, a student, or a philosophy minded friend. Your recommendation is the greatest way we can preserve and share the principle with the next generation. Join me next week as we continue our journey through the green book and uncover another timeless principle that remains just as relevant today. Until then, keep reading the green books. Keep discussing the philosophy. Keep applying the principles. Keep asking questions. Keep seeking for better understanding. I'm Dr. Joe Shepherd. This is an eight thoughts, where we just don't read the green books. We preserve their wisdom. We live their principles and we pass them on. Stay specific, stay connected, and keep thinking from above down to inside out. Keep the principle alive.