Reconciling scientific and religious discourse about madness during the age of reason: lessons for today?
This paper argues that the secularization of madness, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, occurred as a consequence of cultural change that accompanied the social upheavals of the age. In examining the reconciliation of competing explanations for madness, from theological and empirical viewpoints, it is suggested that these paradigms were never totally separated and argued that developments during this period were a consequence of continual interaction and dialogue between these contrasting views. Furthermore, it is suggested that an understanding of these changing times can illuminate present debates surrounding mental illness.
Weeks
N P
NP
D001294:Attitude to Health; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000266:history* / Q000628:therapy; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012586:Science / Q000266:history; D006113:United Kingdom