A treatise on insanity

by Philippe Pinel

Excerpt from A Treatise on Insanity, in Which Are Contained the Principles of a New and More Practical Nosology of Maniacal Disorders Than Has Yet Been Offered to the Exemplified by Numerous and Accurate Historical Relations of Cases From the Author's Public and Private Practice; With Plates Illustrative of the Craniology of Maniacs and IdeotsOF all the afflictions to which human naturiélis subject, the loss of reason is at/once the most calamitous and in terestlng. Deprived of this faculty, by vvhich man IS principally distinguished from the beasts that perish, the human form is frequently the'most remarkable attribute that he retains of his proud distinct1on. His character, as an individual of the species, is always perverted some times annihilated. His thoughts and actions are diverted.i from their usual and natural course. The chain which connected his ideas in just series and mutual subserviency.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

288 pages, Leather Bound

First published February 6, 2010

About the author

Philippe Pinel was a French physician, precursor of psychiatry and incidentally a zoologist. He was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the custody and care of psychiatric patients, referred to today as moral therapy. He worked for the abolition of the shackling of mental patients by chains and, more generally, for the humanisation of their treatment. He also made notable contributions to the classification of mental disorders and has been described by some as "the father of modern psychiatry".

After the French Revolution, Dr. Pinel changed the way we look at the crazy (or "aliénés", "alienated" in English) by claiming that they can be understood and cured. An 1809 description of a case that Pinel recorded in the second edition of his textbook on insanity is regarded by some as the earliest evidence for the existence of the form of mental disorder later known as dementia praecox or schizophrenia, although Emil Kraepelin is generally accredited with its first conceptualisation.

"Father of modern psychiatry", he was credited with the first classification of mental illnesses. He had a great influence on psychiatry and the treatment of the alienated in Europe and the United States.

Reviews

[Swavik Dittmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first English edition of a seminal textbook by Pinel on mental disorders. Its second edition has a far superior and more recent translation by Hickish, Healy and Charland, one that I can recommend, unlike this dated translation. Five stars because of its significance.