Life and adaptation
Limitations of Matter
Adaptation has limits because physical material has limits.
The big idea
This principle qualifies the idea of an organizing intelligence. Within Stephenson’s account, that intelligence does not override the properties and limits of matter. It is an essential companion to discussions of adaptation and health.
An everyday illustration
A skilled gardener can tend a plant carefully but cannot make damaged soil or a broken stem irrelevant.
An original illustration to help explain the idea, not a quotation or evidence of a biological mechanism.
In the author’s words
“Innate Intelligence adapts forces and matter for the body as long as it can do so without breaking a universal law, or Innate Intelligence is limited by the limitations of matter.”
1927 edition · PDF page 30
Explore this book
Short excerpts from the indexed edition; line breaks are normalized. PDF page numbers refer to the source file, and may differ from printed page numbers.
Read it in context
Principle 24 explicitly limits adaptation. It does not support a promise that any condition can be overcome, or that a person is responsible when recovery is limited.
Keep the question going
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How does the Green Books discussion of limitations of matter help a new reader understand chiropractic philosophy? Explain simply, cite the relevant passages, and distinguish historical philosophy from current clinical evidence.
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