Anthroposophic Medicine in Science and Research: Current Situation, Methods, Perspectives

By: Medical Section of the School of Spiritual Science, Goetheanum (Dornach, Switzerland)

Science and research are integral elements of anthroposophic medicine. These however are not confined to scientific methods and criteria, but – as in the case of treatment – go a step further. The principal aim of anthroposophic medical research is to gain an understanding of the human being as an entity, and not to study individual physical reactions. One of the fundamental tasks of anthroposophic medicine is to overcome the arbitrary division of medicine into countless subsets, each with their own distinct foundations and terminology, which can sometimes lead to interdisciplinary conflicts and often lead to adverse therapeutic interactions. The anthroposophic guiding principle is to create a shared interdisciplinary picture of the human being – in such a way as to be clear and understandable for everyone. Anthroposophic medicine's main concern is the encounter between individuals with the aim of restoring or maintaining the health of the individual.

It is concerned with – recognising the reality – daily medical practice. This places the patient in the centre of the process and encourages the patients involvement, participation and ownership of the process. In view of this basic principle, anthroposophic medicines do not follow a mechanical concept with the aim either of replacing certain substances in the body or of suppressing overactive processes. Instead they aim to influence those processes that are off-balance so that their natural equilibrium is restored.

Anthroposophic medicine and therapy are therefore based on the ability of the human organism to regulate itself. Self-regulation means the ability to restore physical and mental imbalance, overcome crises, and turn every situation to good account. The internal and external capacity for self-regulation varies from person to person. It is therefore impossible to make the ability to self-regulate a prerequisite for all. Self-regulation reveals itself in strengths and weaknesses, which vary from individual to individual, and through personal reactions to accepted forms of treatment. What is good for one patient may be detrimental to another. Anthroposophic research must therefore aim to take not only the typical and general, but also the individual into account in its methodology. …

https://medsektion-goetheanum.org/en/anthroposophic-medicine/what-is-anthroposophic-medicine