Madness

This book is an introduction to the uncertainties about madness. Using case studies of real people in order to explain, humanise, and bring to life the subject, the book critically analyses how madness has been and is understood, or perhaps misunderstood. By contrasting past and present people who have been perceived as mad and/or perceive themselves as mad, it presents core ideas about madness and critiques their would-be robustness in explaining the specific madness of the person in question as well as their general relevance to the concept of madness overall.

Peter Morrall is an Associate Professor of Health Sociology at the University of Leeds, UK, who focuses on constructive critiques of the meaning of madness, madness and murder, and psychotherapy. He also rides motorbikes, sings, and plays the saxophone, but (so far) not all three at once.

Introduction Chapter 1. Madness Manufactured Chapter 2. Incarceration and Control Chapter 3. Sane Insanity Chapter 4. Insane Society Chapter 5. Science and Psychiatry Conclusion