Duelling Ontologies: Might Vitalism Offer Balance and Value?

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine and philosophy of science.
• Exploration of chiropractic and biomedical ontologies.

Background:

• Current epidemics of non-communicable diseases pose significant public health challenges.
• Biomedicine primarily relies on atomism, reductionism, materialism, and mechanism.
• Chiropractic incorporates vitalism alongside biomedical ontologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present fundamental ontologies in biomedicine and their role in addressing non-communicable diseases.
• To examine vitalism as a fundamental ontology within chiropractic.
• To discuss how imbalances in ontological approaches may hinder epidemic management.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of philosophical underpinnings in healthcare.
• Literature review on biomedical and chiropractic ontologies.
• Exploration of the role of vitalism in chiropractic practice.

Main Results:

• Biomedical ontologies may limit the scope of addressing complex non-communicable diseases.
• Vitalism is a distinct ontological framework within chiropractic.
• Imbalances in applying mechanistic versus vitalistic approaches may impede effective disease management.

Conclusions:

• A balanced approach integrating chiropractic vitalism with biomedical ontologies could enhance strategies for non-communicable disease epidemics.
• Further investigation into the synergistic application of these diverse ontologies is warranted.
• Chiropractic's philosophical foundations may offer novel perspectives for public health challenges.