Funktionskreis, Gestaltkreis, and Situationskreis in the context of integrated medicine

Abstract This paper explains Viktor von Weizsäcker’s Gestaltkreis model as a reinterpretation of Jakob von Uexküll’s Funktionskreis. Also derived from the Funktionskreis is Thure von Uexküll’s Situationskreis model. Both Weizsäcker’s Gestaltkreis and Thure von Uexküll’s Situationskreis have evolved in the context of integrated medicine in Germany throughout the twentieth century. Focusing on the role of language in health and medicine, this paper addresses important concepts associated with the project of integrated medicine in Germany, especially the biographical approach practiced by Viktor von Weizsäcker and developed by Thure von Uexküll through the concept of the biographical organ. While their efforts to reform the practice of medicine and the training of physicians were unsuccessful, recent research in the psychology of language and health and recommendations for more patient-centered communication resonate with the principles underlying Viktor von Weizsäcker’s and Thure von Uexküll’s integrated medicine.