Looking For Naturopathy's HIDDEN Essential Vitalism - naturopathic.org 2009-07:

here, I share some search results from naturopathic.org [see 002., below], the website of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians [AANP], in terms of their dishonest communication of the essential vitalism that underlies naturopathy [see 001., below]:

01. the central premise of naturopathy is of course vitalism, particularly as evidenced by their central textbooks.

Note: this is, overall, a science-ejected figmentation.

002. at naturopathic.org, an internal search for "life force" and "vital force" and "vitalism" reveals...NOTHING. There are no hits! Wow, do they not wish for us to be informed, in order to make informed decisions? But, a synonym does produce 2 hits, "medicatrix":

002.a. in "AANP Awards":

"the Vis Award honors and celebrates the life and work of Dr. William A. Mitchell, N.D. (1947-2007). Dr. Mitchell embodied the Vis with his passion for life, for naturopathic medicine, for teaching, and for the loving care of his patients. The Vis Award acknowledges persons who represent the Vis, the healing power of nature, as demonstrated through their work, life, and community service. The Vis Award recipients are naturopathic students, faculty members, or clinicians who exemplify the vis medicatrix naturae by their understanding and application of the healing power of nature."

Note: this is their vitalistic premise, coded.

002.b. in "Speakers":

"[etc.] stimulate the vis medicatrix naturae leading to the patient healing."

003. so, are they purposely concealing their central concept at this site? Me thinks. Their motto is "physicians who listen", but, do they honestly inform? On their web page "What is Naturopathic Medicine?", which should hit the nail on the head in terms of honest description, we are told:

"naturopathic physicians base their practice on six timeless principles founded on medical tradition and scientific evidence: [#1] let nature heal. Our bodies have such a powerful, innate instinct for self-healing. By finding and removing the barriers to this self-healing—such as poor diet or unhealthy habits—naturopathic physicians can nurture this process."

Note: there is not 1 incidence of "force" on this page. And notice that we are told INSTEAD that this is SCIENCE.

004. yet, when you go to the BIG consortia statement regarding naturopathy, there's the vitalism overarching all of the supposed profession. Well, actually, you can't go there right now. They've taken that site down. Perhaps it was too honest. But, you can get to it on archive.org:

"heir to the vitalistic tradition of medicine in the Western world, naturopathic medicine emphasizes the treatment of disease through the stimulation, enhancement, and support of the inherent healing capacity of the person. Methods of treatments are chosen to work with the patient's vital force, respecting the intelligence of the natural healing process [...aka] the healing power of nature, vis medicatrix naturae. The body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. The healing process is ordered and intelligent; nature heals through the response of the life force. The physician's role is to facilitate and augment this process [...] the process of healing includes the generation of symptoms which are, in fact, an expression of the life force."

Note: do you sense quite a nonexistent honesty? It is nice to see though that AANP's Pizzorno wrote the foreword for the 2008 Chaitow naturopathy text book I right now hold in my hands (ISBN 0443103909) which states in "Physical Medicine in a Naturopathic Context" co-written with AANP NDs Zeff and Snider [and remember, naturopathic.org is AANP's website!!!]:

"the key principle in naturopathic medicine is a major distinguishing element. That first principle is vis medicatrix naturae, 'the healing power of nature', which establishes naturopathic medicine as a vitalistic medicine, a modern inheritor of the vitalistic tradition."

At least paper can't be so easily expunged.