The Osteopath Should Find Health

In our technocratic society it seems that philosophies and concepts loose their meaning. At the same time however, in spite of the influence of hard-liner technicians, there is a slowly but growing tendency in putting the value of the philosophy back in the front. But where to begin? The literature of A.T.Still is not easy to access, although the first impression may give a different idea. However, one thing is very clear, an osteopath should first and for all look for the health of the patient. According to Still, the key to it lies within the knowledge of anatomy. The knowledge of anatomy is at the same time also the key to his philosophy. Anatomy however is only one part of morphology which also includes knowledge of biochemistry, cytology, histology and embryology. These are all branches of a science which tries to create a picture of being a human. Being a human in all its dimensions and at the same time as a whole, so different and still so equal. A man is a man from its earliest beginning, the only thing which changes is his Gestalt, his form. Health is within each form continuously present, at all places and at any time. Within the increasing complexity of the human form, health in its simple way of being is thereby often put in the back by the complex descriptions of symptoms. It is challenge and an art to look over the symptoms and to recognize the mechanisms and principles of health. This is the strength of the philosophy of A.T.Still.