Madness is something that frightens and fascinates us all. It is a
word with which we are universally familiar, and a condition that
haunts the human imagination. Through the centuries, in poetry and
in prose, in drama and in the visual arts, its depredations are on
display for all to see. A whole industry has grown up, devoted to
its management and suppression. Madness profoundly disturbs our
common sense assumptions; threatens the social order, both
symbolically and practically; creates almost unbearable disruptions
in the texture of daily living; and turns our experience and our
expectations upside down. Lunacy, insanity, psychosis, mental
illness - whatever term we prefer, its referents are disturbances
of reason, the passions, and human action that frighten, create
chaos, and yet sometimes amuse; that mark a gulf between the common
sense reality most of us embrace, and the discordant version some
humans appear to experience. Social responses to madness, our
interpretations of what madness is, and our notions of what is to
be done about it have varied remarkably over the centuries. In this
Very Short Introduction, Andrew Scull provides a provocative and
entertaining examination of the social, cultural, medical, and
artistic responses to mental disturbance across more than two
millennia, concluding with some observations on the contemporary
accounts of mental illness. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short
Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds
of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books
are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our
expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly
readable.
General
Imprint: |
Oxford UniversityPress
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Very Short Introductions |
Release date: |
August 2011 |
First published: |
September 2011 |
Authors: |
Andrew Scull
|
Dimensions: |
173 x 121 x 10mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
160 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-19-960803-4 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Psychology >
Abnormal psychology
|
LSN: |
0-19-960803-2 |
Barcode: |
9780199608034 |
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