Chewing method as therapy; a discussion with some philosophical conclusions.

THE SIMPLICITY of the chewing method and the far-reaching conclusions drawn from it present a challenge to look again and again for new insights and to revise our thoughts. 1 A person who has not paid special attention to the movements involved in chewing knows very little about them. If he is asked to observe the movements closely, he is astonished at the constant movements of the tongue. The tongue has a weak kinesthesia, probably because, unlike the other voluntary muscles, it is only attached to bones at one of its ends. The main factor in orientation concerning a position taken by the tongue is the sense of touch which comes into play if, for example, the tip of the tongue touches the upper incisors or the back of the tongue touches the palate. Yet it seems that even these tactile impressions do not, as a rule, proceed on a