"He studied nature always starting from within, from the heart, and as a subject rather

than an object. " Ernst Tucker i

"Life and its origin are not only a problem of chemistry but also, and above all, a problem of cognitive science, that is, of intelligence."ii Chris Fields, and Michael Levin

 

 

Osteopathic medicine is currently at a crossroads in France, as elsewhere. Since its

inception in the United States at the end of the 19th century, osteopathy has been

cyclically confronted and threatened by conformism resulting from its desire for

professional recognition. The osteopathic profession is thus regularly tempted to

abandon what makes it unique and gives it its raison d'être: practicing a truly systemic

manual medicine of health and not just an allopathic manual technique for treating

musculoskeletal disorders.

In other words, what osteopaths must defend by studying and deepening their

knowledge is their ability to treat the body as an intelligent subject and not just as a

biomechanical object.iii

The old prejudices and reductionist scientific concepts that see the body as an object

and not as a subject can and must now be overcome. To do this, we must, like Dr. A.T.

Still, consider the living body as a subject capable of intelligence and communication at

all levels of its organization.

Numerous recent scientific studies confirm and reinforce Dr. A.T. Still's intuition by

considering biology not only as a matter of chemistry but also, and above all, as a matter

of cognitive science, i.e., intelligence. Thus, pioneering research currently being

conducted at Michael Levin's laboratory at Tufts University (Boston) focuses on the

study of non-neuronal cognition, in particular the emergence of proto-cognition in

cellular collectives on an evolutionary and developmental scale, and reveals the

existence and importance of non-neuronal bioelectric communication networks at the

origin of morphogenesis . Their work on developmental bioelectricity reveals the ways in

which all the cells in the body connect in somatic bioelectric networks that store,

process, and act on information to control and regenerate the body's structure on a large scale.

The osteopathic model, which is still dominant today, is based primarily on

neurophysiology and still completely ignores the existence and importance of these

non-neuronal bioelectrical communication networks, which give all tissues the

attributes of non-neuronal intelligence: perception iv , memory v , communication vi, anticipation/prediction vii , plasticity and learning viii , local teleology ix , problem solving x and, finally, self-organization xi

 

It is therefore possible and necessary to revisit our old osteopathic concepts in light of

this new scientific data, which rediscovers and corroborates Dr. Still's founding

intuitions.

To accomplish this conceptual revolution, we can and must begin with bone, because

bone and our narrow conception of it is the secret frontier that we can and must

penetrate, cross, and transcend if we wish to broaden our horizons and delve

deeply into Dr. A.T. Still's osteopathic project.

 

Jo Buekens is therefore right when he says that, in osteopathy, bone is "the best-

kept secret. " This is because it is too often conceived of as merely an inert

biomechanical object, whose systemic endocrine, erythropoietic, immune, and

bioelectric functions are easily overlooked. The sensory and mnemonic capacities of

bone give it its own intelligence, making it a subject with which to communicate and

enabling the osteopath to eVectively help and support the body's capacity for

adaptation and homeostatic regulation, in other words, health.

By taking bone as the main subject of our research project, we invite you to join us

in a fundamental osteopathic and scientific exploration of the intelligence of bone

and the entire body.

 

This mainly European research project is also an opportunity for our organizations,

S.O.F.A. and The School of Bones, to collaborate and jointly devise an original research

program designed and carried out by and for osteopaths of diVerent generations and

from diVerent countries.

 

Organized mainly in the form of synchronous and asynchronous videoconference

symposiums (Zoom), the BONE Project will run for three years with at least eight

symposiums, and a presentation is planned for the fall of 2028 at a major conference in

Beaune, Burgundy.

 

An international research group, composed of experienced and motivated osteopaths,

will be in charge of the various research directions and the general monitoring of the

project: symposium reports, summaries, bibliographic monitoring, and communication.

 

A scientific committee and a steering committee, bringing together many leading

international osteopathic figures, will supervise the project and act as advisors,

providing testimony and assistance in the implementation of this pilot project.

In order to implement this project eVectively, we will develop and follow an original

method inspired by osteopathy and the philosopher of science Bruno Latour, which will

enable us to dig deeper and formulate a new scientific osteopathic reference model.

This method will respect the ethics of osteopathic study and research that A.T. Still

summarized as: "Dig On"xii , an injunction encouraging us to always continue

searching, because the solution is always there, but we have to find it. This "Dig On"

method will consist, like an osteopathic treatment, of using conferences as a place and

time for contact, communication, and the formulation of issues that we wish to explore

together, step by step. Each conference should serve as a fulcrum from which a

common thread of questions can emerge, leading us to the next conference. Lively

dialogue and exchanges can and should arise and develop between meetings, fueling

collective inspiration. In a concentric progression, from symposium to symposium, an

eVective research community will emerge, capable of welcoming and adapting to new

discoveries that are useful for the development of a new osteopathic consensusxiii

.

The steering committee of the BONE Project xiv

 

 

i JAOA January 1918, 247. 27.

ii Chris Fields , and Michael Levin Life, its origin, and its distribution: a perspective from the Conway-

Kochen Theorem and the Free Energy Principle Article: 2466017 | Received January 8, 2025, Accepted

February 7, 2025, Published online: February 17, 2025 https://doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2025.2466017

iii As one of his contemporaries, Ernst Tucker, testified, Dr. Still "put himself in harmony with the body he

was studying, he tried to be that bone; he thought like measles, he placed himself inside the spleen,

or in the greater trochanter to feel its functioning as part of the great unity of action and logic and life

that was that body. " JAOA September 1928, 22.

Thus Dr. A.T. Still "had trained his power of visualization so conscientiously that Tucker noted that he

"discerned a<ections and processes as a whole, and through this ability was able to grasp the

mechanical key to the disturbed function that the patient knew only as discomfort or disease."

ivCells and tissues perceive their chemical, mechanical, and electrical environment via sensors

(membrane receptors, ion channels, mechanosensitive proteins such as Piezo, etc.). This perception is

not limited to local signals: it integrates bioelectrical, biochemical, and mechanical gradients.

v Tissues retain bioelectrical imprints (polarization patterns, ionic gradients) that guide their future

behavior. Levin's experiments show that the memory of a shape (e.g., axial orientation in salamanders)

can persist even after regeneration.

 

vi Cells communicate via gap junctions, connexins, and pannexins, local electric fields, and calcium

waves. This communication forms a "cognitive network" where information circulates without passing

through the nervous system.

vii Tissues do not passively wait for a signal: they "predict" a morphological trajectory (for example, skin

healing follows a predictive logic of optimal closure). This is consistent with the Bayesian logic of the Free

Energy Principle (Friston) applied to tissues.

viii Tissues can change their behavior based on past experiences (growth reorientation, adaptation to

mechanical or bioelectric constraints). We can talk about "morphogenetic learning": the ability to adjust

responses to achieve a goal of form or function.

ix As Levin says, tissues pursue "morphogenetic goals"—for example, restoring a complete hand, not just

healing in an anarchic way. This "intelligence" is oriented toward attractors of form and function.

x If obstacles disrupt a process (e.g., grafting, amputation, electrical disturbance), tissues find alternative

paths to achieve functional integrity. This demonstrates an ability to adapt comparable to a cognitive

strategy.

xi Tissues spontaneously self-organize according to physical and bioelectric laws, without a central

conductor. This is a form of "distributed intelligence," similar to that of ant colonies or myxomycetes.

xii Testimonials from students at the American School of Osteopathy (Kirksville, founded in 1892) report

that Still frequently said "Dig On!" during dissections or practical classes. Kirksville College (now A.T.

Still University) made "Dig On" an unofficial motto of osteopathy: perseverance in study, practice, and

research. Some authors, such as Louisa Burns (the first osteopathic researcher, early 20th century),

continued this spirit: she pointed out that the scientific method applied to osteopathy required relentless

digging.

xiii The word consensus comes from the Latin consentire, meaning "to feel together."

xiv Sheila Brenan, Jo Buekens, Emmanuel Roche (September 15, 2025)