University of Bridgeport's "Health Science" [False-]Advertising 03 [pictoral] - 2010-12:

here, I post a roadside picture I took today along I-95 in the West Haven, CT area wherein the University of Bridgeport [UB] advertises its "Health Science" programs [see 001., below]; then I list what's included in that "division" [see 002.a.]; and what is essential to naturopathy [see 002.b.]; and the fact that that makes naturopathy not science, and therein falsely advertised [see 002.c.]; then, I muse [see 003., below]:

001. this is a picture taken today with a cell phone, so its resolution is not so hot:

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The advertisement says:

"UB. UBelong Here.  www.bridgeport.edu.  Our degrees in Health Science make everyone feel better.  University of Bridgeport [and I can't read the rest]."

But, if it's anything like the 2009-12 one I'd posted [hey, this is a holiday-season ritual for me], and I think it is the exact same poster,  it says in its tiniest print "Opening doors.  Building futures."

002. now for some analysis:

002.a. at UB, we're told that within its "health sciences division" is naturopathic medicine.  Their web page "Health Science Students" [vsc 2010-12-06] states:

"why study at UB?  State-of-the-art programs [the best!].  The University’s professionally accredited health sciences programs [...include] the College of Naturopathic Medicine [...offering a degree in] Naturopathic Medicine (N.D.) [...a] state-of-the-art curricula and significant clinical experiences. The members of the faculty include skilled instructors with backgrounds in the biomedical and clinical sciences."

Note: science, science, science!  And supposedly 'the best' science, too! And 'of the professions' ethically, possessing "significant clinical experiences."  Promises, promises, promises.

002.b. now, it doesn't take much effort to discover 'the essentially naturopathic' and how UB embodies naturopathy's 'reversal of values':

002.b1. UB tells us in "Naturopathic Medicine (N.D.) - Program Details" [vsc 2010-12-06]:

"are you interested in a career in a field of medicine that works to support the natural healing power of the body, mind, and spirit? In naturopathic medicine we call this vis medicatrix naturae (the healing power of nature) [VMN-HPN], and it is our guiding philosophy [...] the College conducts research to advance the understanding and knowledge of the natural health sciences."

Note: so, supernaturalism is [absurdly] considered / labeled natural and within science, obviously.  Yet, we're not really informed here, though we're promised "details", concerning the true context of naturopathy's VMN-HPN, which is also labeled science.

002.b2. and naturopathy's primary textbook, "The Textbook of Natural Medicine", tells us that that HPN is the context known as vitalism.  In "Chapter 3 - A Hierarchy of Healing: The Therapeutic Order: The Unifying Theory of Naturopathic Medicine" [vsc 2010-12-06] we're told:

"the therapeutic order, or hierarchy of healing, is now incorporated into ND college curricula throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand [p.031...] the therapeutic order [...consists of #2] stimulate the healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae): the self-healing processes [...#3] address weakened or damaged systems or organs [...including] harmonize with your life force [p.035...] many naturopathic modalities can be used to stimulate the overall vital force [...] these strategies are used to restore optimal function to an entire physiologic system (immune, cardiovascular, detoxification, life force, endocrine, etc.) [p.036...] the vis medicatrix naturae [occurs 9x in chapter], [is] the vital force, [is] the healing power of nature [p.034]."

Note: so, this is the essentially naturopathic: HPN=VMN=SHP=LF=VF.  We're told, at the TNM homepage, "you can trust Pizzorno.  Unsurpassed in its authority and scope."  And ND Pizzorno is the one who equates HPN directly with "spirit" [vsc 2010-12-06].

002.c. how do I know that vitalism and supernaturalism are indeed science-ejected?  Because national science organizations have stated so:

002.c1. regarding the science-ejected nature of vitalism, this is one of my favorite finds:

the Marine Biological Laboratory of Wood's Hole states in "Biological Lectures Delivered at the Marine Biological Laboratory of Wood's Hole In the Summer Session of 1894" (1896; publ. Ginn and Co):

"there is no warrant for the assertion that life is something different from, and independent of, matter an energy. That is the mistake of vitalism."

Yes, that's 1896.

002.c2. regarding the science-ejected nature of the supernatural:

the American Association For the Advancement of Science [AAAS] states in "A Study Guide For The Evolution Dialogues" (2007):

"what science is and is not. The scientific method uses observation and logic to develop testable hypotheses. Scientific theories encompass many tested hypotheses and are continually refined as new data is discovered. [But,] no aspect of science can address supernatural questions [p.020...e.g.] creationism and 'intelligent design' deal with supernatural questions that [truly] cannot be addressed through the scientific method. Science and religion ask and answer different questions [p.031...] supernatural entities by definition operate outside of natural laws and so [truly] cannot be investigated using methods of experimentation [...] one reason that modern science has flourished since the seventeenth century is that it has limited itself to natural explanations alone [p.032]."

Note: yes, that is the HUGE scientific preponderance known as the AAAS.  Of course, natural medicine is based upon the supernatural yet labeling itself science -- conflating the natural and supernatural.  But there is a reasonable distinction, and maintaining that distinction protects the integrity of science and the integrity of freedom of belief.

003. musing:

we were / are promised state-of-the-art science, and professionalism.  But, values have been reversed, in terms of naturopathy: you get, instead, the archaic pseudoscientific, and not that high standard of credat emptor that professionalism embodies, not even the lower general commerce standard of caveat emptor.  

What you get instead is complete bass-ackward dain-bramagedness.