001. the Second Half of Episode 005e (005e2) script and annotations:
Standard Introduction:
Welcome to, as that robot voice says, The Naturocrit Podcast, and thank you for boldly listening.
What ARE we even talking about?
Well, this podcast series is my take on naturopathic medicine, an area I've been studying for about twenty years, including my time in so-called 'scientific nonsectarian naturopathic medical school'.
My approach is a pairing of scientific skepticism and a deep knowledge of naturopathy's intimate details.
In previous episodes of this series, I established that naturopathy is, essentially, a kind of knowledge blending, misrepresentation, and irrationality.
I have termed naturopathy both 'an epistemic conflation falsely posing itself as an epistemic delineation' and 'the naturopathillogical':
the science-exterior is mixed with what is scientific, then that whole muddle is absurdly claimed to be science as an entire category, while particular sectarian science-ejected oath-obligations and -requirements are coded or camouflaged, therein effectively disguising naturopathy's system of beliefs in public view.
Naturopathy's ultimate achievement is a profound erosion of scientific integrity and freedom of belief packaged in the marketing veneer "natural" and improperly embedded in the academic category "science".
Episode
Synopsis:
In this continuing [and finally ending!] Naturocrit Podcast
Episode 005, titled "The 'Science-Based'
Science Exterior Canadian-Based Naturopathic Interior" -- really -- I have been looking at naturopathy in
the province of Ontario, Canada chiefly through associations centered
around ND Iva Lloyd.
In Part One, I visited the biography
page of ND Lloyd at the AANP's Natural Medicine Journal, a journal
she sits on the editorial board of, and then other example NMJ pages.
I also visited web pages of the AANP proper, to get an idea of 'what-AANP-regards-as-science', which turns out to be anything, though AANP's NMJ is claimed to 'scientifically filter' its contents.
I also visited web pages of the AANP proper, to get an idea of 'what-AANP-regards-as-science', which turns out to be anything, though AANP's NMJ is claimed to 'scientifically filter' its contents.
In Part Two, I visited ND Lloyd's practice's web pages, and those of her alma mater and place of teaching, CCNM.
In Part Three, I visited the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors [OAND] and Ontario's Board of Directors Drugless Therapy - Naturopathy [The Board].
In Part Four, I visited the CAND, its ND Lloyd-edited journal Vital Link, and the naturopathy wiki ND Lloyd edits, ndhealthfacts.org.
In this Episode's final Part Five, I will visit two of ND Lloyd's paper-based books, and then summarize this episode.
Part One visited ND Lloyd's Canadian naturopathy "History" book, this Part Two visits ND Lloyd's "Energetics book", both published in 2009.
And, for the sake of organization, I will be tabulating the findings of all this rummaging in the transcriptions to this episode, which, as usual, will be posted at the Naturocrit blog.
Episode Question:
And my overarching, ongoing question
for this NPE5 is:
"what does naturopathy in Ontario
promise, preponderantly, and what is underneath, essentially?"
Overarching Focus:
For this episode's parts, I will
generally look for naturopathy's 'science, evidence, rigor and fact'
-type claims and then explore naturopathy's contents as commitments,
ideas and activities that belie those labels, such as:
naturopathy's essential vitalism belief, homeopathy and such activity, supernaturalism, and any other naturopathic off-the-wall-ness.
naturopathy's essential vitalism belief, homeopathy and such activity, supernaturalism, and any other naturopathic off-the-wall-ness.
ND Lloyd's ISBN 0443069557, 2009's "The Energetics of Health: A Naturopathic Assessment":
Note: for whatever absurd reason, this book is available at sciencedirect.com, in part.
This "Energetics" book employs the categorization of "science" mildly, and hugely gets into naturopathy's essential vitalism-spiritism [aka 'the energetic' or 'subtle energy'].
In that sense, it is the opposite of the ND Lloyd "History" book, from the first half of this Part 5, which hugely emphasized "science".
Together, you get a 'strong false science claim placed upon naturopathy's sectarian innards'.
Science Claims:
There are at least 47 instances of "science" or "sciences" in the book:
> "[xiii.] naturopathic doctors are trained in the biomedical sciences."
> "[p.008] the mechanists, influenced by Descartes’ followers, ‘widened the gap between science and spirit'."
Scientific:
There are at least 11 instances of the word "scientific".
For example:
For example:
>
"[p.004] the discussion of human life and medicine has been as much a
philosophical discussion as it has been a scientific discussion."
>
"[p.006] after Galen, scientific knowledge was kept alive for years
primarily by Arabic scholars who advanced the surgical art and study of
internal medicine."
> "[p.014, and I think this is very telling] the traditional forms of medicine, such as Ayurvedic, Chinese, and Unani medicine [...] they were not developed based on a scientific understanding of anatomy and pathology."
> "[p.014, and I think this is very telling] the traditional forms of medicine, such as Ayurvedic, Chinese, and Unani medicine [...] they were not developed based on a scientific understanding of anatomy and pathology."
>
"[p.041] The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine declared
that subtle energy or the invisible ‘life force’ is as much taken for
granted as a fundamental fact of healing by alternative therapies as it
is dismissed outright by the orthodox scientific medical world."
[Again, rather weak science labels, as compared to the "History" book.]
The root "integr" results in at least 42 occurrences:
[Again, rather weak science labels, as compared to the "History" book.]
That Which Belies:
Integrative, Distinct, Blends:
"Integr":
The root "integr" results in at least 42 occurrences:
"[p.004] we once again believe that human life is integrated with nature (holism) and that there is a force, beyond ourselves, that guides us (vitalism). What has changed, is that we now have the research and ability to understand the concepts that before
were taken on faith."
"[p.124, I accidentally say '24'] naturopathic medicine, as well as the eastern medicines, recognizes that it is the uniqueness of patients and the integration of all the parts that holds the key to achieving and maintaining health."
"[p.183, I accidentally say '83'] the full potential of breathing is the integration of the body,
mind, and spirit."
One thing that catches my eye is a diagram, which I'll call
The Cogs of Spiritual Figmentation [ / Personal Essence]
which is for me a certain kind of blending.There are two pictures in the book which involve "personal essence", and as we've seen, personal essence means spirit in naturopathy, as well as healing power of nature and VMN.
In both pictures we're shown GEARS representing parts of 'the person', with personal essence as one of those gears or involved in the picture.
In one, PE is the center and three gears surround it labeled functional, structural and psychological.
I guess PE, therein, is the remainder, in the naturopathic belief system, spirit.
In another, PE is one of the gears and we're told:
"the initial causes of signs and symptoms originate from the personal essence."
Now, "mechanism" is highly derided in the book, as separating spirit from science, as being analytical as opposed to what I'll call "animistic".
These pictures, with gears in them, for me they attempt to represent the supernatural / PE as, IMHO, physiochemical and 'in-evidence.'
And I think that's nonsense.
But, you can illustrate likely ANY point...
But, it doesn't make it real...
"Distinct" and "Distinguishes":
"Distin", as a root,occurs 9 times:
For instance, there's:
"[p.030] naturopathic medicine is more than just using natural agents and therapies for treatment. It is a model and set of operative principles and premises [...in] this model, the approach to health and disease, the relationship that is established with the patient, and the focus on stimulating the natural healing ability of the body [coded vitalism] by identifying and addressing the disrupting factors, that distinguishes naturopathic
medicine from other medical systems."
You'll have to forgive any overlaps, in what's been stated, that I'll list now below.
Repetition is rather inevitable since there are so many synonyms employed for this essential naturopathic premise.
Coded Vitalism:
"Medicatrix":
There are at least 8 instances of "medicatrix", such as:
>
"[p.039] healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae)."
>
"[p.032] the followers of Hippocrates used the term vis medicatrix
naturae, the healing power of nature, to denote the body’s ability to
heal itself [...] Georg Ernst Stahl [...] believed that the ‘soul’ was responsible for overseeing bodily functions and that the ‘soul’ held the power to heal."
>
"[p.032] the healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae) The
healing power of nature is an important principle of naturopathic
medicine. The basic philosophical premise of naturopathic medicine is
that there is an inherent healing power in nature and in every human
being. It is the doctor’s role to bring out or enhance this innate
healing power within their patients [...] the
definition of the healing power of nature, according to the American
Association of Naturopathic Physicians [...] is ‘the inherent
self-organizing and healing process of living systems, which
establishes, maintains and restores health.’ This healing process is
organized, ordered, and intelligent [...] it is the
naturopathic doctor’s role to support, facilitate and augment this
process [coded vitalism] by identifying and removing obstacles to health and recovery,
and by supporting the creation of a healthy internal and external
environment. A naturopathic doctor Dr. Papadogianis wrote ‘within you
lies a healing force more powerful than any treatment."
> "[p.030] the naturopathic principles and philosophy are [...] the healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae)."
>
"[p.xi, I say 9 by accident] the body has an innate ability to heal (vis medicatrix naturae)
and at times symptoms are a reflection of this innate ability."
And those are all coded vitalism: naturalistic language representing what essentially is a supernatural concept.
And those are all coded vitalism: naturalistic language representing what essentially is a supernatural concept.
A Trove of "Personal Essence":
Now, if you remember, from an earlier part of this Episode, the ndhealthfacts.org wiki ND Lloyd edits equates "personal essence" with spirit AND "vital or life force".
So, it serves as a code or alternate, perhaps 'a more palatable disguise', for something the author doesn't prefer to clearly label:
'a naturalistic camouflage for the supernatural'.
There are 51 instances of "personal essence" in this book, that unique-to-ND-Lloyd term for naturopathy's underlying vitalism-supernaturalism.
So, it serves as a code or alternate, perhaps 'a more palatable disguise', for something the author doesn't prefer to clearly label:
'a naturalistic camouflage for the supernatural'.
There are 51 instances of "personal essence" in this book, that unique-to-ND-Lloyd term for naturopathy's underlying vitalism-supernaturalism.
It is actually quite unique to ND Lloyd.
A current [2014-07-23] google.com web search >naturopathic principles "personal essence"< results in, ONLY:
> the ND Lloyd edited wiki ndhealthfacts.org;
> books.google.com's page for this ND Lloyd "Energetics" book that I'm citing from right now;
> a Naturocrit blog post of mine;
> and a PDF hosted at ND Lloyd's practice.
In this "Energetics" book:
> "[from the table of contents of Ch. 03, there's] naturopathic assessment model, personal essence."
> "[p.040] each patient’s personal essence and the psychological, functional and structural aspects are an inseparable whole [...] personal essence: the personal essence is a descriptive concept of an individual’s vital or life force. Vital force is considered the primary force of all forces. It is the divine creative intelligence. The collective life force, or vital force, is a common pool of subtle energy that connects everyone together and interconnects people to their environment [...] personal essence refers to an individual’s life force or vital energy, which comes from the collective life force [and there's a picture of this constellation she's posing...] when the personal essence is strong and in harmony with the individual there is health. Imbalance, lack of harmony or coherence in the personal essence is a precursor (even an actual cause) of subsequent disease. The task of the individual is to learn how to live a life that is aligned with their personal essence".
> "[from the table of contents of Ch. 03, there's] naturopathic assessment model, personal essence."
> "[p.040] each patient’s personal essence and the psychological, functional and structural aspects are an inseparable whole [...] personal essence: the personal essence is a descriptive concept of an individual’s vital or life force. Vital force is considered the primary force of all forces. It is the divine creative intelligence. The collective life force, or vital force, is a common pool of subtle energy that connects everyone together and interconnects people to their environment [...] personal essence refers to an individual’s life force or vital energy, which comes from the collective life force [and there's a picture of this constellation she's posing...] when the personal essence is strong and in harmony with the individual there is health. Imbalance, lack of harmony or coherence in the personal essence is a precursor (even an actual cause) of subsequent disease. The task of the individual is to learn how to live a life that is aligned with their personal essence".
> "[p.041] the personal essence resides in the inner core and permeates the psychological, the functional, and the structural aspects. It relates to our vital force, our sense of purpose, our spirituality and our connection with the collective consciousness. It provides a person with a sense of belonging to something that is greater than the self. The personal essence acts as a guide and a filter on a person’s life. It holds a person’s deep core beliefs and their values. It is their blueprint. This blueprint determines what they look like, their susceptibilities and influences, and how they perceive their world and interact within it. It determines an individual’s sense of purpose and identity."
> "[p.041] the personal essence is impacted by the parents’ health and their personal essence during conception. In Chinese medicine they speak of prenatal and postnatal essence. Prenatal essence is the energy that a child receives from their parents at conception; postnatal essence is the energy received from food, air, and water; together they determine a person’s total essence."
> "[p.085] all elements come from ether. Ether encompasses the two extremes – an individual’s personal essence, and their external environment. A person’s essence is their core, their inner self, or blueprint. Ether is the place of inner spirituality, tranquility, and neutrality."
> "[p.112] the causes of symptoms and disease occur on the level of the personal essence [...] the disruption of health arises due to three main factors [including]: disharmony between a patient’s life and their personal essence."
> "[p.113] the personal essence is the internal guide, it is what connects people on a spiritual plane or on the level of the collected consciousness, and it has the ability to make decisions without the parameter of time [huh?]. Life is like a play, and the personal essence is aware that in the upcoming act your role is changing, and hence you need to make changes in the present [huh?], in order to be ready for your new role in the future. Some holistic forms of medicine, such as homeopathy, believe that most chronic diseases originate at the level of the personal essence."
> "[p.121] in this book, health is defined as the harmonious vibration of the psychological, functional, and structural aspects of a patient with their personal essence and their external environment."
> "[p.125] a patient’s constitution is their baseline [...] it can be thought of as the energetic blueprint of their personal essence."
Explicit Vitalism:
"Vitalist" and "Vitalistic":
>
"[p.ix] traditional medical systems were based on observing the
interaction of people with their environment and they approach health
and disease based on holistic and vitalistic concepts."
>
"[p.ix] the naturopathic medical system developed partly out of
frustration with the shortcomings of the conventional medical system and
it embraces many of the concepts of traditional medical systems, such
as a belief in a more vitalistic and holistic approach to health. The
founders of naturopathic medicine recognized an inherent ability of the
body to heal."
>
"[p.xi] the model provided is based on naturopathic principles,
concepts common to the traditional medical systems of Ayurvedic, Chinese
and Unani medicine, and current theories that support the vitalistic
and holistic concepts of naturopathic medicine."
>
"[p.xiii] the traditional systems of medicine, such as Ayurvedic,
Chinese and Unani medicine, have been around for thousands of years and
have contributed greatly to the holistic and vitalistic approaches to
life."
Life Force:
There are 15 instances of "life force", which is a common term naturopathy uses when it does explicitly state vitalism:
>
"[p.021] qi is the animating life force and substance. It is considered
the essence of life and the origin of all other vital substances:
thoughts and emotions, tissue and blood, inner life and outer expression."
>
"[p.040] personal essence: the personal essence is a descriptive
concept of an individual’s vital or life force."
>
"[p.041] the concept of ‘vitalism’, a subtle life force or essence
guiding health and aiding in healing, dates back to the time of
Hippocrates and Paracelsus [...] this concept is integral to Chinese,
Ayurvedic, Unani, and homeopathic medicine, as well as other systems of
medicine."
> "[p.041] subtle energy or the invisible ‘life force’."
>
"[p.102] the naturopathic perspective is that health and disease is
logical; there is a meaning and purpose behind symptoms and disease
states. This perspective is similar to Chinese medicine where the belief
is that the continual overuse and depletion of the inherited qi or life
force is the cause of disease."
> "[p.121] a patient’s sense of spirituality or inner life force."
> "[p.196] the life force or qi."
>
"[p.238] life force is the force, power, or energy which enlivens the
material organism. In health, the spirit-like life force that enlivens
the material organism is dynamic [might be an OCR issue, 'as dynamis'], governs without restriction and keeps
all parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation."
That is a paraphrasing of, obviously, Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy.
That is a paraphrasing of, obviously, Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy.
>
"[p.238] prana is the life force, equivalent to the qi in oriental
medicine; the vital life-sustaining force of both the body and the
universe."
>
"[p.238] qi is a Chinese term for vital energy or life force. In
traditional Chinese medicine, qi is believed to regulate a person’s
spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance, and to be influenced
by the opposing forces of yin and yang. The concept of qi, or some
similar vital force, is incorporated into many therapies used in the
holistic approach to health."
"Vital Force":
There are 13 instances of "vital force", including:
>
"[p.025] Hahnemann [...] believed that there was a vital force within
everyone that was responsible for health and healing."
>
"‘[p.031] first, do no harm’ has been a principle of medicine since the
time of Hippocrates and it refers not only to the patient but to the
patient’s vital force."
>
"[p.041] according to homeopathy [...] the material organism, thought
of without the vital force, is capable of no sensation, no function, no
self-preservation; it derives all sensation and performs all the
functions of life solely by means of the immaterial being (the vital
principle) which animates the material organism in health and in disease."
That again is Hahnemann.
That again is Hahnemann.
> "[p.232] the aim of most naturopathic treatments is to stimulate a patient’s vital force."
> "[p.233] to evaluate vital force clinically."
> "[p.238] the concept of qi, or some similar vital force."
"Qi":
Now,
again, I'll emphasize that in Ontario, an ND doesn't have to get a separate license to do acupuncture, it is bound-up with their ND scope.
Therein, Ontario naturopath's web pages are much more likely to casually equate their HPN-VMN / life force with the qi or 'chi' of Chinese medicine.
When I was studying naturopathy in CT from 1998-2002, there was one mandatory course in TCM.
I'm
guessing that with that course, one could sit for the ND licensure
exam, pass the exam, and having NPLEX under their belt, practice naturopathy with TCM in Ontario as an ND.
In the US, most states, apparently, require a separate degree to do acupuncture unless you are an MD.
Coincidentally, ka-ching, ND-granting schools also have these Master's degrees to get people acupuncture licensed.
And, true to form with the false science label upon all things naturopathic, those acupuncture degrees are absurdly labeled "master's of science".
There are at least 25 instances of "qi" in the book.
Here are a few:
> "[p.102] the naturopathic
perspective is that health and disease is logical; there is a meaning
and purpose behind symptoms and disease states. This perspective is
similar to Chinese medicine where the belief is that the continual
overuse and depletion of the inherited qi or life force is the cause of
disease."
> "[p.235] Chinese medicine[...] is based on a concept of balanced qi
[...] or vital energy, that is believed to flow
throughout the body. Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi
being disrupted."
>
"[p.022] 'qi is an energy
which manifests simultaneously on the physical and spiritual level [...]
when qi condenses, energy transforms and accumulates into physical
shape’."
> "[p.033] the flow of energy (or qi)."
> "[p.196] the life force or qi."
I think the prescientific credential of qi really start to stick out here.
We know in terms of biology that the 'architect of form and function' is DNA and the evolutionary processes that have brought humans to this here now.
I think the prescientific credential of qi really start to stick out here.
We know in terms of biology that the 'architect of form and function' is DNA and the evolutionary processes that have brought humans to this here now.
Supernaturalism as "Spirit":
There are at least 40 instances of "spirit" as a word or root, and we should keep in mind that vitalism, in its many variants, is ALSO spiritism:
> "[p.102] naturopathic medicine recognizes that there is a higher power or
spiritual force that controls life."
>
"[p.072] in most religions and in many traditional and alternative
medical theories there is an understanding, a belief, that there is a
spirit essence."
> "[p.239, I say '39'] vitalism is the
view that life is governed by forces beyond oneself. These forces are
unique to living beings and permit them to go on living. The[se] forces
cannot be reduced to physical laws. Often it is associated with notions
of spirit or soul."
And there is the sectarian premise at the center of naturopathy.
And there is the sectarian premise at the center of naturopathy.
So, with these three quotes, I can't help thinking:
isn't, therefore, naturopathy a kind of religion?
isn't, therefore, naturopathy a kind of religion?
This is a specific KIND of supernaturalism.
I
can corroborate this with my own experience in ND school, when ND
Sensenig equated the "life force" supposedly within everyone as "god
power within you."
And
I fume, still, to this day, when I think about how the AANP-Alliance falsely stated that naturopathy is "not a belief system" but instead "science-based" [in 1999 listed as "AANP, Bastyr University, National College of Naturopathic Medicine and the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences.]
And one of the characteristics of this religion is its muddle.
> "[p.238] qi is believed to regulate a person’s spiritual, emotional, mental,
and physical balance."
>
"[p.037] according to Dr. William Mitchell, a naturopathic doctor,
‘body vitality + mental vitality + spiritual vitality = wellness’."
So,
as a summation of the spirits of naturopathy:
there's this huge universal spirit, there's one's vital force spirit overseeing all of the organism, and then within that organism is a sub-spirit, or something like that.
It's hard to differentiate these figmentations.
there's this huge universal spirit, there's one's vital force spirit overseeing all of the organism, and then within that organism is a sub-spirit, or something like that.
It's hard to differentiate these figmentations.
Now, the AANP has an award called "The Vis Award."
At their naturopathic.org page "AANP Awards" (2014 archived here), we're told:
"the
Vis Award honors and celebrates the life and work of Dr. William A.
Mitchell, N.D. [...] 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."
So,
there's an award for US NDs that is centered around naturopathy's
vitalistic-spiritistic central sectarian obligation, falsely rolled into
to its "science" self-categorization.
And I'll deal with holistic here too, in this supernatural section:
> "[p.144] with a holistic
approach to health and disease the importance of the therapeutic
encounter is paramount. During an assessment a practitioner considers
the spiritual, psychological, functional, and structural aspects of a
patient."
> "[p.102] wholistic medicine focuses on body, emotions, mind, relationships and spirit."
> "[p.237] holistic or holism
means all, entire, or total [...] when assessing human beings, it
refers to the consideration of the spiritual, psychological, functional,
and structural aspects of an individual, as well as the environmental and social factors."
>
"[p.121] the study of human health needs to include, at a minimum, a
patient’s lifestyle, their habits, the environment in which they live,
their work, their community, and a patient’s sense of spirituality or
inner life force."
> "[p.238] life force is the force, power, or energy that enlivens the material
organism. In health, the spirit-like life force that enlivens the
material organism as dynamis [I think I say 'is dynamic'], governs without restriction and keeps all
parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation."
There are at least 46 instances of the root "homeop."
Homeopathy That Belies the Science Label:
There are at least 46 instances of the root "homeop."
Related to the paraphrase I just mentioned, from Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, we're told:
> "[p.041] the concept of ‘vitalism’, a subtle life force or essence guiding health and aiding in healing [...] this concept is integral to Chinese, Ayurvedic, Unani, and homeopathic medicine, as well as other systems of medicine. According to homeopathy 'the material organism, thought of without the vital force, is capable of no sensation, no function, no self-preservation; it derives all sensation and performs all the functions of life solely by means of the immaterial being (the vital principle) which animates the material organism in health and in disease' [...and ND Lloyd states] when the personal essence is strong and in harmony with the individual there is health. Imbalance, lack of harmony or coherence in the personal essence is a precursor ([or] even an actual cause) of subsequent disease."
And there's:
> "[p.039] naturopathic medicine has always encompassed a wide range of treatment approaches. These approaches are based on the principles described above [...and include] homeopathic medicine [and] Chinese medicine and acupuncture [...and] colon therapy."
Because all this homeopathy and TCM is FUSED into naturopathy.
With, not to pun too strongly, regarding colon therapy, other CRAP.
Speaking of colon therapy, which I was required to do a lot of during ND clinic with one of those colon hydrotherapy machines which sticks a water pipe into peoples' anuses, another reason if stopped ND school:
in 2011's "Study Dumps Colon Cleansing as Useless and Dangerous", livescience.com tells us, as reported by Christopher Wanjek about a review in the August 2011 issue of The Journal of Family Practice:
"doctors have long argued that colon cleansing is money down the proverbial toilet, utterly useless for good health and a huge waste of time and money. A new study, however, finds that this is only half the story: colon cleansing [I think I say therapy] not only in unnecessary, but over time, it is also detrimental."
Various Sundries:
Weird Diagnostics That Belie the Science Label:
So,
once what's profoundly NOT scientific is allowed to be scientific, in the naturopathic thought structure, what
kind of strange diagnostics can naturopathy include?
How about ear lobes, fingers and toes!
> "[p.193] the ears are the most important and revealing aspect of a patient’s inner
strength. They indicate a patient’s inner nature and are associated with their
essence, vitality, and constitutional strength: the ether element [...] the lower part of the ear represents the upper part of the body, the middle part represents the middle part of the body, and the upper part of the ear represents the lower part of the body. The peripheral ridge indicates the health of the circulatory and excretory systems, the middle ridge [is] the nervous system, and the inner ridge indicates the digestive and respiratory system."
>"[p.204, a finger or toe with a] rounded edge indicates someone who is tactful in his or her expression, soft and gentle. Blunt edge indicates someone who says it like it is and is straightforward, honest, and blunt. Pointy edge indicates someone who has a tendency to let things build up and then expresses things sharply with direction and force. Bunion is caused by a large lateral shift of the ether toe. It reflects a pull from the external environment away from the core."
Which reminds me of PHRENOLOGY.
And honestly, I'm only scratching the surface of weirdness that's in this book.
And speaking of weirdness:
> "[p.193] the ears are the most important and revealing aspect of a patient’s inner
strength. They indicate a patient’s inner nature and are associated with their
essence, vitality, and constitutional strength: the ether element [...] the lower part of the ear represents the upper part of the body, the middle part represents the middle part of the body, and the upper part of the ear represents the lower part of the body. The peripheral ridge indicates the health of the circulatory and excretory systems, the middle ridge [is] the nervous system, and the inner ridge indicates the digestive and respiratory system."
>"[p.204, a finger or toe with a] rounded edge indicates someone who is tactful in his or her expression, soft and gentle. Blunt edge indicates someone who says it like it is and is straightforward, honest, and blunt. Pointy edge indicates someone who has a tendency to let things build up and then expresses things sharply with direction and force. Bunion is caused by a large lateral shift of the ether toe. It reflects a pull from the external environment away from the core."
Which reminds me of PHRENOLOGY.
And honestly, I'm only scratching the surface of weirdness that's in this book.
And speaking of weirdness:
Unani Medicine aka Welcome Back Middle Ages:
There are at least 43 instances of the word "unani" in the book.
To contextualize what Unani medicine is in modern scientific terms, according to Wikipedia.org's "Unani", it is:
"based on the teachings of Greek physician Hippocrates and Roman physician Galen [...and] is based on the concept of the four humours phlegm [...] blood [...] yellow bile [...] and black bile."
So, now we're in the middle ages, in terms of knowledge.
Remarkable!
The middle ages, medieval!
Ah, the medieval...
This reminds me of a position paper by Canada's Ontario-based Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism to Ontario's Post-secondary Education Quality Assessment Board titled "RE: Application from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine" [2013], which stated:
"the underlying conflict between naturopathy and medical science, however, goes much deeper than the lack of an evidence basis for many of the treatments offered. For naturopathy is based on the foundational principle of vitalism – the idea that living beings are animated by a vital force not found in inanimate nature – and the complete rejection of this principle is the cornerstone of modern biology. For this reason, even those courses which appear to provide standard medical knowledge [...] cannot be expected to adhere to what we know about living systems; the curriculum is infused throughout with a failed medieval paradigm."
Hear, hear.
And an example of that overarching infusion, so to speak, is the fact that when an ND graduates, they swear to the ND oath, which has all these principles in it:
VMN-HPN, and the term science.
There's also the 2011 Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology Letter to the Editor by Caulfield and Rachul, "Supported by Science?: What Canadian Naturopaths Advertise to the Public", which stated, in sum:
The History Book's Dust Jacket:
To contextualize what Unani medicine is in modern scientific terms, according to Wikipedia.org's "Unani", it is:
"based on the teachings of Greek physician Hippocrates and Roman physician Galen [...and] is based on the concept of the four humours phlegm [...] blood [...] yellow bile [...] and black bile."
So, now we're in the middle ages, in terms of knowledge.
Remarkable!
The middle ages, medieval!
Ah, the medieval...
This reminds me of a position paper by Canada's Ontario-based Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism to Ontario's Post-secondary Education Quality Assessment Board titled "RE: Application from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine" [2013], which stated:
"the underlying conflict between naturopathy and medical science, however, goes much deeper than the lack of an evidence basis for many of the treatments offered. For naturopathy is based on the foundational principle of vitalism – the idea that living beings are animated by a vital force not found in inanimate nature – and the complete rejection of this principle is the cornerstone of modern biology. For this reason, even those courses which appear to provide standard medical knowledge [...] cannot be expected to adhere to what we know about living systems; the curriculum is infused throughout with a failed medieval paradigm."
Hear, hear.
And an example of that overarching infusion, so to speak, is the fact that when an ND graduates, they swear to the ND oath, which has all these principles in it:
VMN-HPN, and the term science.
There's also the 2011 Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology Letter to the Editor by Caulfield and Rachul, "Supported by Science?: What Canadian Naturopaths Advertise to the Public", which stated, in sum:
"a
review of the therapies advertised on the websites of clinics offering
naturopathic treatments does not support the proposition that
naturopathic medicine is a science and evidence-based practice [...] as
noted in a recent speech by the President of the American Association of
Naturopathic Physicians [at the time that was ND Hangee-Bauer], 'if our profession is to be
taken seriously by the larger world of medicine, we must speak in a
language that everyone can understand and appreciate. That language is
the language of science.' We couldn't agree more. But the profession
should not just use the language of science, it must embrace and act on
the conclusions of scientific inquiry."
Bravo!
And I would add, the supposed profession of naturopathy should not forget, that science isn't a letterhead on a blank sheet of paper, which one then writes upon, and magically whatever is beneath that letterhead is therein categorically now science.
Science is first and foremost a method, an activity.
Bravo!
And I would add, the supposed profession of naturopathy should not forget, that science isn't a letterhead on a blank sheet of paper, which one then writes upon, and magically whatever is beneath that letterhead is therein categorically now science.
Science is first and foremost a method, an activity.
Overall End-of-Episode Summation:
Well, researching naturopathy in Ontario has been 'very fun'.
I particularly enjoyed ND Lloyd's wiki.
Since I'll be posting a tabulation of this episode's contents, I won't be that long in this conclusion.
I'll just deal with some promised revisitations.
The History Book's Dust Jacket:
I'd promised I
would return to what the ND Lloyd "History" book's dust jacket says
and interpret what I believe naturopathy's "ancient philosophy" aka
"principles" language there ACTUALLY means, as decoded by way of CNF and these two ND Lloyd books.
We were told on that jacket:
"the healing power of nature [...] the natural healing ability [...] this ancient philosophy [...] naturopathic doctors that embrace the principles of the healing power of the body."
At the CNF we're told in "Natural Therapies Used by NDs", archived in 2013:
"naturopathic therapies are all based on the same principles, they all assist the body’s healing response [...] homeopathic medicine: this powerful system of medicine [...] when carefully matched to the patient they are able to affect the body’s 'vital force' and to stimulate the body’s innate healing forces."
And then in the "History" book, that vital force was explained as "the spirit-like force which animates the material body"
or as the "Energetics" book stated "the divine creative intelligence [...] a common pool of subtle energy."
Therein, we've got supernaturalism-spiritism-vitalism fused to some kind of theology aka divinity / deification.
We're also told on the dust jacket:
"naturopathic medicine has established accredited academic institutions and programs."
Ah, yes, like the CT school I attended that labels as 'doctoral nonsectarian science':
that which is patently sectarian and science-exterior or -ejected.
And, the jacket mentions:
"strong national and provincial associations."
Yes, like the AANP, and CAND, and OAND:
who label as "science-based" such patent nonsense as homeopathy.
And finally, there's mention of:
"the naturopathic profession."
But, have you ever heard of a profession based on falsehood, that you cannot trust?
How values are SO reversed:
therein, naturopathy is not strong, not professional, not natural, not powerful, not ethical, not science, not honest, not rational.
Not so much it poses as.
The "Energetics" Book Title Issue:
There's ND Lloyd's now quite abundantly obvious use of the term "energy" as a label when what's really being talked about is spiritism-vitalism-supernaturalism.
In science, energy is the capacity to do work, and it's a measurable change in this here physical world.
Spirit, well, that has never been physically measured.
Spirit explains no tangible phenomena, and there is no room for it in-sum thermodynamically speaking, if we're going to be scientific in terms of energy.
Spirit explains no tangible phenomena, and there is no room for it in-sum thermodynamically speaking, if we're going to be scientific in terms of energy.
Generally speaking of course, I highly respect a person's freedom to practice such beliefs: I highly value personal civil liberties.
But, when such 'freedom of belief' stuff is wrongly disguised in scientific costume, and commerce is engaged in under false labels, there must be analysis, criticism and exposure!
Speaking of energetics, at Bastyr University, just over the border from Canada in the US, there's the course in the 2013 catalog:
"NM9118 Energetics of Natural Medicine 0.5 credits: this course presents an analysis of the vital force."
So, ND Lloyd's equation of 'energy as vitalism as spiritism' is very much institutionally preponderant in the land of naturopathy, excepting apparently, as I've mentioned, her unique "personal essence" synonym for all that.
Vital force is actually in that Bastyr catalog 5 times:
the four other times are in the descriptions of Bastyr's naturopathy program's homeopathy courses.
Incidentally, Bastyr's new University seal has the motto VMN on it.
Bastyr states:
"the seal includes the year of Bastyr’s founding along with the Latin phrase, 'vis medicatrix naturae,' which means 'the healing power of nature.'"
The year is 1978, the year ND Pizzorno of course states he coined the term "science-based natural medicine" to [quite falsely!] describe naturopathy.
VMN, of course, is vitalism-supernaturalism-spiritism, disguised as natural, disguised as energy.
The disguised religion of personal essence?
Speaking of energetics, at Bastyr University, just over the border from Canada in the US, there's the course in the 2013 catalog:
"NM9118 Energetics of Natural Medicine 0.5 credits: this course presents an analysis of the vital force."
So, ND Lloyd's equation of 'energy as vitalism as spiritism' is very much institutionally preponderant in the land of naturopathy, excepting apparently, as I've mentioned, her unique "personal essence" synonym for all that.
Vital force is actually in that Bastyr catalog 5 times:
the four other times are in the descriptions of Bastyr's naturopathy program's homeopathy courses.
Incidentally, Bastyr's new University seal has the motto VMN on it.
Bastyr states:
"the seal includes the year of Bastyr’s founding along with the Latin phrase, 'vis medicatrix naturae,' which means 'the healing power of nature.'"
The year is 1978, the year ND Pizzorno of course states he coined the term "science-based natural medicine" to [quite falsely!] describe naturopathy.
VMN, of course, is vitalism-supernaturalism-spiritism, disguised as natural, disguised as energy.
The disguised religion of personal essence?
An Answer to My Overarching, On-going Question for This NPE5:
For five parts of this Episode 5,
titled "The 'Science-Based' Science-Exterior Canadian-Based Naturopathic Interior",
I've asked the overarching question:
titled "The 'Science-Based' Science-Exterior Canadian-Based Naturopathic Interior",
I've asked the overarching question:
"what does naturopathy in Ontario
promise, preponderantly, and what is underneath, essentially?"
Let me be brief, because this MUST END!
I can't go on any further, with Episode 005 that is!
In Ontario, naturopathy promises:
I can't go on any further, with Episode 005 that is!
In Ontario, naturopathy promises:
natural but underneath essentially is the supernatural,
science but underneath essentially is the either science-ejected or science-exterior,
professionalism
but because naturopathy's contents are SO DIFFERENT from what's posed aka a ruse,
what's underneath that professionalism is dishonesty.
what's underneath that professionalism is dishonesty.
The
result of all this duplicity is great harm to scientific integrity and
freedom of belief, IMHO, by way of violations of consumers' educational,
commercial, and academic rights.
And I'm glad it took all summer to get this episode written, recorded and edited, because just recently, an interesting article was published.
ND Lloyd, who has been the hub of this episode, lists as a credential reiki master.
MDs Gorski and Novella, of sciencebasedmedicine.org, recently published "Clinical Trials of Integrative Medicine: Testing Whether Magic Works?" in Trends in Molecular Medicine.
They write:
"acupuncture and reiki remain widely practiced and even embraced at academic institutions, and even homeopathy continues to be practiced, despite clinical trials and meta-analyses that demonstrate effects indistinguishable from placebo [...] reiki: ‘energy medicine’ that involves using hand and touch to direct into the patient's ‘healing energy’ from what reiki masters call the ‘universal source’ [...] for such modalities, the pre-trial likelihood of a positive effect greater than placebo is negligible, if not zero, given that there is no evidence that this healing energy even exists, much less that humans can manipulate it [...] there is no evidence that reiki has specific therapeutic effects for any condition. Yet RCTs to test whether reiki, TT, homeopathy, reflexology, craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, and other modalities equally lacking in preclinical plausibility are ongoing [...] in RCTs testing modalities with low pre-test probability (i.e., low plausibility), confounding effects are vastly magnified, easily producing false-positives. In these days of extreme scarcity of research funding, it is difficult to justify spending precious research dollars carrying out RCTs of treatments where the likelihood of producing a true positive trial is so low [...] all clinical trials, not just RCTs, should be based on scientifically well-supported preclinical observations that justify them, preferably with biomarkers to guide patient selection and follow-up. Until specific CAM and IM modalities achieve that level of preclinical evidence, RCTs testing them cannot be scientifically or ethically justified. That is science-based, rather than evidence-based, medicine."
Note: Elsevier publishes that journal, and also is the publisher of this ND Lloyd book.
Yet, comparatively, on ND Lloyd's practice web pages:
reiki is promoted on the page "Energetics",
acupuncture on the page "Acupuncture Services",
and homeopathy on the page "Naturopathic Foundations".
Also, there's a PowerPoint up at that practice titled "The Bridging of Naturopathic & Energetic Medicine", from July 2014, which:
has a slide with the covers to these two Part 005 ND Lloyd books,
promotes the ND Lloyd wiki,
and has a slide with those 'Cogs of Personal Essence' I'd mentioned.
And there is, no lie, a picture of the 5 elements and where they indicate their imbalance symptomatically.
Did you know that ether symptoms are in your head?
It's a fact, I read it at ndhealthfacts.org.
And this is the end of Episode 005.
And I'm glad it took all summer to get this episode written, recorded and edited, because just recently, an interesting article was published.
ND Lloyd, who has been the hub of this episode, lists as a credential reiki master.
MDs Gorski and Novella, of sciencebasedmedicine.org, recently published "Clinical Trials of Integrative Medicine: Testing Whether Magic Works?" in Trends in Molecular Medicine.
They write:
"acupuncture and reiki remain widely practiced and even embraced at academic institutions, and even homeopathy continues to be practiced, despite clinical trials and meta-analyses that demonstrate effects indistinguishable from placebo [...] reiki: ‘energy medicine’ that involves using hand and touch to direct into the patient's ‘healing energy’ from what reiki masters call the ‘universal source’ [...] for such modalities, the pre-trial likelihood of a positive effect greater than placebo is negligible, if not zero, given that there is no evidence that this healing energy even exists, much less that humans can manipulate it [...] there is no evidence that reiki has specific therapeutic effects for any condition. Yet RCTs to test whether reiki, TT, homeopathy, reflexology, craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, and other modalities equally lacking in preclinical plausibility are ongoing [...] in RCTs testing modalities with low pre-test probability (i.e., low plausibility), confounding effects are vastly magnified, easily producing false-positives. In these days of extreme scarcity of research funding, it is difficult to justify spending precious research dollars carrying out RCTs of treatments where the likelihood of producing a true positive trial is so low [...] all clinical trials, not just RCTs, should be based on scientifically well-supported preclinical observations that justify them, preferably with biomarkers to guide patient selection and follow-up. Until specific CAM and IM modalities achieve that level of preclinical evidence, RCTs testing them cannot be scientifically or ethically justified. That is science-based, rather than evidence-based, medicine."
Note: Elsevier publishes that journal, and also is the publisher of this ND Lloyd book.
Yet, comparatively, on ND Lloyd's practice web pages:
reiki is promoted on the page "Energetics",
acupuncture on the page "Acupuncture Services",
and homeopathy on the page "Naturopathic Foundations".
Also, there's a PowerPoint up at that practice titled "The Bridging of Naturopathic & Energetic Medicine", from July 2014, which:
has a slide with the covers to these two Part 005 ND Lloyd books,
promotes the ND Lloyd wiki,
and has a slide with those 'Cogs of Personal Essence' I'd mentioned.
And there is, no lie, a picture of the 5 elements and where they indicate their imbalance symptomatically.
Did you know that ether symptoms are in your head?
It's a fact, I read it at ndhealthfacts.org.
And this is the end of Episode 005.
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