Anthroposophic medicine

Part of a series on
Alternative medicine
General information
Fringe medicine and science
Controversies
Classifications
Traditional medicine
Alternative diagnoses
Part of a series on
Anthroposophy
General
Anthroposophically inspired work
Philosophy

Anthroposophic medicine (or anthroposophical medicine) is a form of alternative medicine based on pseudoscientific and occult notions.[1] Devised in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) in conjunction with Ita Wegman (1876–1943), anthroposophical medicine draws on Steiner's spiritual philosophy, which he called anthroposophy. Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques based upon anthroposophic precepts, including massage, exercise, counselling, and administration of substances.[2]

Many drug preparations used in anthroposophic medicine are ultra-diluted, similar to those used in homeopathy. Homeopathic remedies are not medically effective and are generally considered harmless, except when used as a substitute for a scientifically proven and effective prevention and cure.[3] In certain European countries, people with cancer are sometimes prescribed remedies made from specially harvested mistletoe, although no evidence of clinical benefit exists.[4][5] Some anthroposophic doctors oppose childhood vaccination, and this has led to preventable outbreaks of disease.[6]

Anthroposophic medicine departs from fundamental biological, physical and chemical principles in several respects. For example, Steiner said that the heart is not a pump, but that the blood in a sense pumps itself.[7][8] Anthroposophic medicine also proposes that patients' past lives may influence their illness and that the course of an illness is subject to karmic destiny.[9][10] Professor of complementary medicine Edzard Ernst and other physicians and scientists including Simon Singh and David Gorski have characterized anthroposophic medicine as pseudoscientific quackery,[11][12] with no basis in reason or logic.[13][14][15]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference teils was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ernstmist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference krit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ACS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference coch-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference measles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ The Dynamic Heart and Circulation, ed. Craig Holdrege, AWSNA, 2002, p.145
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marinelli was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference qw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference deadly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference seop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference thes-aberdeen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference mckie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Gorski, David (14 March 2011). "A University of Michigan Medical School alumnus confronts anthroposophic medicine at his alma mater". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  15. ^ Singh, Simon; Ernst, Edzard (2008). Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06661-6.[page needed]