The AANP President Whining About Science Bloggers' Criticisms (2011-02-16)

Hangee-Bauer, C. (ND Bastyr 1984) states in "President's Message: Science and Naturopathic Medicine" (2011-02-16) [and my musings]:

"I am no stranger to science. I still find it fascinating and appreciate the many ways it helps us understand the workings of nature and the world, helping us separate what appears to be the truth of things from reality [...] in school, I was a science geek and took every course in biology, chemistry, physics, etc., I could. When I went to college at Florida State University, my major was biology, with dual minors in chemistry and physics [...and he speaks of] the natural world around me [...and] natural settings."

So, we got science admittedly leading to knowledge about the natural, real world.

"Our medicine, as well as all other systems of medicine, are really a combination of science and art. When we work with our patients, we draw from both in order to stimulate the vis [!!!] and provide well-rounded care to our patients."

Ut-oh.  So, the vis appears.  This is naturopathy's science-ejected vitalistic premise.  It couches all that is naturopathic.  And it truly is science-exterior, like naturopathy's supernaturalism.  Interesting that Hangee-Bauer's web page supposedly explaining naturopathy codes this concept. I, personally, think that's not enough information for the public to gauge naturopathy upon.  Vis should be clearly stated as the science-ejected medically irrelevant belief centered upon a figmentatious 'purposeful life spirit' which is believed to be responsible for physiology.  Then, informed consent could better happen.

"It has become an increasing concern to me when I read articles and blogs on the Internet [probably not my blog, perhaps Orac's] blasting naturopathic medicine for being 'unscientific' [...they're] biased misrepresentations of the truth. They often lambast our profession and philosophy as unscientific."

But, YOU just invoked vitalism as the centerpiece of the naturopathic, and your naturopathic philosophy that falsely places the label of science upon that which is not within science or supportable by science.  Please, stop whining.  The nonscientific status of the nonscientific is not bias, it's logical fact.

"As a student at Bastyr University, I remember Dr. Joe Pizzorno saying that 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, and few have done more over the past 25 years than Dr. Pizzorno to increase the credibility of the naturopathic profession using this approach [...] when evaluating the efficacy of our therapies and approaches to practicing medicine, advancing the research and science agenda remains an important step for our profession to move forward, especially with the continued interest in evidence-based approaches to health care."

Ah, that great thinker ND Pizzorno who calls the science-ejected science [see his book Total Wellness].  In fact, Bastyr's whole 'science-based body mind spirit nature' nonsense is the hugest institutional irrationalism I've ever seen.

"On August 16, 2011, the Tuesday before the start of the 2011 AANP Convention, the AANP will be sponsoring a scientific summit."

Great.  Suggestion: invite the crew from the Science Based Medicine blog.  Have them objectively evaluate your current contents.  Gut what isn't medically scientific and is in fact science-ejected.  Look at what is left.  It won't be 'the naturopathic'.  It will be the areas of health care that stand alone anyway, and are scientifically supported.

ASTC on the Naturalistic Basis of Science

the Association of Science-Technology Centers [ASTC] states in "Evolution in Science Centers":

"the theory of evolution by natural selection is a unifying concept that explains the incredible diversity of living things, their genetic relationship, and evidence that living things change over time [...it is] central to modern science [...]

'[from 2005] ASTC and its members -- science centers and museums around the world -- present information based on scientific evidence [...we're] committed to advancing the public understanding of science and contributing to the development of a scientifically literate society. Science is a human endeavor that uses observations and experimentation to develop explanations of the natural world. Scientific theories are grounded in and compatible with evidence [...and] is based on hundreds of years of scientific observation and experimentation and many thousands of peer-reviewed publications' [...] 

in response to public discussion about evolution [science] and creationism [nonscience] in museums, Jeffrey Kirsch, Director of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego, California, wrote in the May 3, 2005 issue of the online newspaper Voice of San Diego:

'scientists parse the unanswerable into something they can answer through experiment, reasoning, or observational discovery. And, in general, the new answers lead to other questions that provide the basis for future studies and...future questions. Seen this way, science is a seemingly never-ending human quest to understand how living and non-living things work. It is quintessentially open-ended, and curiosity is the universal prerequisite for a working scientist [...] belief-based explanations have one aspect in common: they cannot be tested the way a scientific model can be. The scientific understanding of biological development on earth, usually referred to as evolution, is derived from the search for natural explanations for phenomena such as the fossil record, the geological record, and our planet's biosphere. And these explanations must be tested again and again until they become generally accepted or changed to fit the facts. So, when an institution uses the word science in its name...it is understood by all to be concerned with natural and verifiable explanations for the way things work' [...]

[and ASTC recommends the following excellent resources]

 

Understanding Evolution [...] by the University of California Museum of Paleontology and the National Center for Science Education;

 

National Center for Science Education: Defending the Teaching of Evolution in the Public Schools;

Evolution Resources, National Science Teachers Association;

Evolution and Creationism: A Guide for Museum Docents [...] by the Museum of the Earth at the Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY;

.Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion: Evolution, American Association for the Advancement of Science;

The Evolution Controversy in Our Schools - Letter to Academy members from President Bruce Alberts. National Academy of Sciences.  March 4, 2005;

Explore Evolution, a new exhibit at the University of Nebraska State Museum;

Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads, Howard Hughes Medical Institute on-demand webcast of 2005 Holiday Lectures and student discussion session on reconciling religion and evolution;

Thomas Jefferson Fossil Collection, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia."

Note: while ASTC advances science understanding, it seems to me that naturopathy -- at its core -- does the opposite.  And while science is preponderantly based upon naturalism and evidence, naturopathy seems to think that it's fine to throw in supernaturalism and not worry about evidence at all.  And while mainstream science heartily admits that articles of faith aren't, roughly speaking, processable through the methodologies of science, naturopathy seems to think that what science is, ultimately, is merely the process of putting ink to page to create [mythical] facts.

But what I love most is this:

"when an institution uses the word science in its name...it is understood by all to be concerned with natural and verifiable explanations for the way things work."

That's not true with naturopathy.  Naturopathy labels the supernatural nonverifiable and downright science-ejected science at the institutional level.