A rational materialistic definition of insanity and imbecility : with the medical jurisprudence of legal criminality, founded upon physiological, psychological and clinical observations . ey who, while theypretend to pity the offender, would punish him Avith the utmost rigorof the law, even unto death, who mistake the spirit of vengeance forjustice, and all for the sake of their idol that they fall down andworship—Society. These are they who dont ? want to knowscientific truths themselves, nor wish others to know them, whoseonly weapon is the unmanly one we call ridicule. These arethey who are
A rational materialistic definition of insanity and imbecility : with the medical jurisprudence of legal criminality, founded upon physiological, psychological and clinical observations . ey who, while theypretend to pity the offender, would punish him Avith the utmost rigorof the law, even unto death, who mistake the spirit of vengeance forjustice, and all for the sake of their idol that they fall down andworship—Society. These are they who dont ? want to knowscientific truths themselves, nor wish others to know them, whoseonly weapon is the unmanly one we call ridicule. These arethey who are constantly misrepresenting science and men of science,who, having themselves no fixed principles, but always in doubt, Hketo keep others in a similar state with themselves. I doubted that weknew what was insanity, and followed the advice of St. George Mivart :When any man has become the victim of doubt he has no rationalchoice, as he has no duty, but to reason out his doubt to the end; toseek to escape them by calling up a cloud of emotion is not onlyuseless but blameworthy. If I have not the pleasure of removingthe doubts of others I have had the pleasure of removing my CHAPT] Insanity ? The Chicago Medical Review^ Vol. V., page (i^^^ makes the followingstatement: Dr. Howard, like Dr. Nichols and others of the more scientific members ofthe Asylum Association, holds that imbecility is a result of teratological defectsinsanity a result of pathological defect; they therefore classify the primary monormania of the Germans with imbeciles as imbecility of the fiirst grade^ both beingequally insane in the sense of the law. This is a correct statement of the views I hold. But while hold-ing these views I maintain that the teratological defect of the imbecileor idiot does not exempt them from pathological defect also. Conse-quently, we have imbeciles, who in the eye of the law arealready insane, suffering like other men from pathological defect;which renders them insane from a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectinsanit, bookyear1882