Dementia: Anthroposophical Perspectives

By Judith von Halle

'Those involved with this illness professionally or as a relative can learn much from this study, which motivates them to a deepening of anthroposophy. They will also be inspired by how the author brings the illness into the realm of the living impulse of Christ.' – Michaela Glöckler
Dementia, a broad category of brain diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, affects millions of people worldwide. Although its impact is primarily focused on populations of Western countries, orthodox medicine has not been able to discover the causes of dementia, let alone develop successful treatments or a cure. Given this situation, there are good reasons to investigate the psycho-spiritual factors connected to the outbreak of the illness. As the author states in her Preface: 'The conception of man that is given priority today by the scientific world hardly takes into account that in addition to the physical-material component, for which certain degenerative or pathological processes can be determined with the help of technical apparatus, there are other components of his being to be taken into account which cannot be investigated in that way. So long as the cause of an illness is not sought in connection with those spiritual components of the human being, a successful treatment of the patient cannot be assured.'
Developing successful methods of treatment requires a full understanding of the human being. This can not be achieved through observation with the outer senses only, but increasingly calls for spiritual-scientific perception. Through this method, as founded by Rudolf Steiner, great service can be rendered to humanity, including precise research into the causes of ill-health. The factors involved in the eruption of modern afflictions, such as dementia, can be determined by careful consideration of humanity's – as well as the individual's – destiny.
In this succinct but rich study, Judith von Halle describes her investigations into the phenomenon of dementia, beginning with a general outline of the anthroposophical conception of the human being and society, and applying that knowledge to what today is increasingly referred to as an epidemic. This book does not demand medical expertise, but requires an effort to engage with the psycho-spiritual conditions of dementia sufferers. It provides a wealth of insights and guidance to approaching one of the greatest challenges of our time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
• Release date: Dec 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781912230594

Judith von Halle

JUDITH VON HALLE, born in Berlin in 1972, attended school in Germany and the USA and subsequently studied architecture. She first encountered anthroposophy in 1997, and began working as a member of staff at Rudolf Steiner House in Berlin, where she also lectured. In addition she had her own architectural practice. In 2004 she received the stigmata, which transformed her life. Her first book was published in German in 2005, and she now works principally as a lecturer and author. She and her husband live in Berlin.

Book preview

Preface to First German Edition

This study was the result of a request for an architectural design by an institute caring for people with dementia. Whoever has been in contact with someone affected with dementia or has cared for him or her knows it is symptomatic that such a person is dependent upon a special arrangement of their environment. Because the inner as well as the outer lack of spatial orientation is a fundamental problem, the architectural designer must know the patient’s needs well. Such knowledge may be obtained through empirical enquiry. For me, however, it was obvious that the causes of the illness must be investigated before the real needs of the patient can be known, at least to a reasonable extent.

Given that the causes of dementia are unknown to contemporary orthodox medicine, there is reason to investigate which psycho-spiritual factors leading to the outbreak of this illness have not been analysed. The conception of man that is given priority today by the scientific world hardly takes into account that in addition to the physical-material component, for which certain degenerative or pathological processes can be determined with the help of technical apparatus, there are other components of our being to be taken into account which cannot be investigated in that way. So long as the cause of an illness is not sought in connection with those spiritual components of the human being, a successful treatment of the patient cannot be assured.

The design of the patient’s living space is of great importance for this treatment. Therefore, it is my opinion that just because of the limitations imposed by spatial orientation, an enormous responsibility is placed on the architect who plans a new living space for the patient. So the task of designing such a living space can only be undertaken on the condition that a previous analysis of the causes of dementia from the perspective of anthroposophical knowledge of humanity be undertaken. The study does not demand medical expertise, but requires an effort to be occupied with the psycho-spiritual conditions under which the dementia patient lives.

Judith von Halle

Dornach, 24 September 2009

Preface to the Second German Edition

On 28 November 2009, shortly after the first edition of this book appeared, a conference on the subject ‘Dementia’ took place on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the retirement home Sonnengarten in Hombrechtikon, Switzerland. The organizers asked me to give a talk on that subject based on the fundamentals of my work on dementia. The book on the subject, which had just appeared and included those fundamentals, required advanced knowledge of anthroposophy. But a great part of the public present at the conference, as became apparent, were only marginally or not at all acquainted with anthro-posophy, so I was confronted with the task of presenting my ideas in a way that could also be understood by them. After the lecture, not only many of the listeners who had no experience of anthro-posophy but also many of the anthroposophists who were present expressed their thanks and considered the lecture to have been more easily understood than the book.

Since the first edition was already sold out after a few weeks and a new one was necessary, I took advantage of the opportunity to respond to the comments I’d received by reformatting the original somewhat and, by means of an introductory chapter, to introduce some basic anthroposophical concepts as well as a number of demonstrative examples.

I hope the readers who had already obtained the first edition of my book will excuse the fact that an expanded version has now appeared. The contents of the first edition are almost unchanged in the new one. But I hope that the expanded version will be more revealing, also for those who perhaps have not studied anthroposophical spiritual science in depth but are interested in gaining access to an understanding of the causes and the human qualities of dementia.

Judith von Halle

Dornach, 6 January 2010

l. What is the Human Being?

Those who wish to occupy themselves with methods of treating dementia by investigating and acquiring knowledge can achieve positive results without having medical training. One can wonder about this, or doubt it, because dementia is one of the illnesses which are still considered to be incurable and about which orthodox medicine has so far been able to do little to change. This book is meant to show that it is really necessary that non-physicians occupy themselves with dementia, and also that the recent proliferation of cases demands a knowledge of the development of our consciousness and the nature of the human being.

Such consciousness about the human being, our true inner and outer nature, can be acquired if we begin to study our own being with the methods of anthroposophical spiritual science. Practising anthroposophical spiritual science is possible for everyone. No special qualifications are needed. By being human one is qualified. For it is not at all the task of anthroposophical spiritual science to investigate the spirit, but by means of the spirit to investigate the world and humanity. The fact that this spirit is available to the human being means that we are — without any kind of specialized training—very well equipped for anthroposophical investigative work, provided that we are really willing to do so.

Surely we can advance to higher knowledge with anthroposophical spiritual science, as is the case