Dear colleagues, professionals, students and researchers from all medical professions,

The longer you think about it, the more you can come to the conclusion: warmth is actually very special and very important for anthroposophic medicine.

Without warmth, processes, plants, animals, people do not or hardly move. Solid forms are dissolved again by warmth processes and set in motion. Increased body warmth (fever) causes the immune system to move even more and invaders (viruses, bacteria) have to clear the field again.

Many people feel better about themselves after a period of high fever. We enjoy and relax with the warm sun on our skin and also a warm meeting with persons we love. We warm up to beautiful ideals that we want to realize in the future.

Beyond this general knowledge, anthroposophy provides much additional specific insight into the quality, importance, application and regulation of warmth in medicine/health care.

Rudolf Steiner described world evolution as having begun with warmth. He gave the warmth meditation for doctors and medical students, described warmth as the carrier of our I-organization and gave the so-called “Bridge” lectures, which describes warmth as a mediator between body and mind.

In all Care groups we find the role and importance of warmth and warmth regulation e.g. in natural maternity care (Care I. Pregnancy, birth and early childhood); in the warm inflammatory response and fever in infectious diseases (Care II. Dealing with fever and infectious diseases); in the warmth of the therapeutic relationship and the warmth that provides meaning (Care III. Common forms of anxiety and depression); in the generation and regulation of warmth through mistletoe therapy (Care IV. Oncology); and in the warmth care of the last stage of life (Care V. Palliative care).

Finally, warmth plays an important role in diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Rudolf Steiner describes that we need the warmth of love as a force of knowledge in order to know the essence of minerals, plants, animals and human beings. And we also need the love to act in order to achieve good, free action (Philosophy of Freedom). The purpose of this conference is to explore the status of the science of warmth (regulation), to get (even) better acquainted with the quality, importance, application and regulation of warmth in anthroposophic medicine. We hereby invite you all (researchers, doctors, therapists, nurses, students and all others interested in this field) to the 2025 Anthroposophic Medicine (AM) Research Congress with the main topics of:

The quality of warmth, its role and importance in somatic and mental healthcare and the development of Anthroposophic Medicinal Products
The use of warmth and thermoregulation in AM therapies healing processes
Thermoregulation as part of the self-healing autonomous regulation processes
Fever (management)
Care themes & AM therapies
What hypotheses or observations from anthroposophy have been empirically confirmed?
The latest AM research projects and results (all topics)
Workshops for young researchers
Workshops on research topics

For the preparatory group

Prof. Dr. Erik W. Baars

For the Medical Section

Dr. med. Marion Debus, Dr. med. Karin Michael and Adam Blanning M.D.