Time past, time present, time future -: The Alzheimer's disease sufferer as Stern's unitas multiplex

Two case studies of Alzheimer's disease sufferers are presented and analyzed in terms of William Stern's 'Science of Personalistics'. Despite a plethora of deficits in cognitive function as measured by standardized tests, the afflicted persons discussed herein show striking evidence of having goals of the autotelic and heterotelic variety, and the need to entertain such goals. Furthermore, the application of Stern's concepts of the 'personal present', 'convergence', 'assimilation', and the like, to the discourse of the afflicted permits us to understand the experience of the afflicted with a clarity not allowed by neuropsychological tests. Stern's approach to the study of persons is thus seen as an important addition to our understanding of cognitive life.