title: Insanity and the realities of history in early modern England.
abstract: This paper argues that the attack on religious enthusiasm, a campaign against popular religious radicalism, prompted the governing classes in late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England to embrace secular explanations of the nature of insanity and to repudiate treatments which were based on religious and magical beliefs. An objection to the argument is considered, and some of its implications are discussed.
mesh_terms: D004739:England; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000266:history*; D012069:Religion and Psychology