Research Catalog

Title

The unread mind : unraveling the mystery of madness / Morris Rosenberg.

Author

Rosenberg, Morris.

Publication

New York : Lexington Books ; Toronto : Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International, ©1992.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 125 pages; 25 cm.

Summary

Throughout history, we have been intrigued and baffled by mental illness. Our confusion is nowhere more apparent than in the ways we have dealt with the mentally ill. We have tortured, exiled and burned them at the stake. Yet at other times we have supported, cared for and nurtured them. It is apparent that society has never quite known how to respond to the insane--whether to punish them for their acts or to pity them for their sickness. In an original look at the nature of mental illness and the distinction between sanity and insanity, Morris Rosenberg rejects most psychiatric, psychological and sociological theories. Instead, he defines insanity as "role-taking failure", the inability to grasp the thoughts and emotions of other human beings. According to Rosenberg, we characterize a person's ideas and behaviors as insane when we are unable to put ourselves in his place or to see the world through his eyes. If we can comprehend the reasons for a person's speech or action, we think of it as sane; if not, we consider it insane. He contends that it is society's confusion about the mentally ill, its inability to penetrate the unread mind, that actually defines mental illness. His radical thesis, that mental illness is characterized by society's response, not the individual's action, gives us a new way to look at a subject that has puzzled society for centuries.

Series Statement

The Lexington Books series on social issues

Uniform Title

Lexington Books series on social issues.

Subject

• Psychology, Pathological > Philosophy
• Mental illness
• Role playing
• Social role
• Psychology, Pathological
• Psychoses
• Mental Disorders
• Psychopathology
• Psychotic Disorders
• Role Playing
• mental disorders
• Psychoses
• Psychology, Pathological
• Mental illness
• Psychology, Pathological > Philosophy
• Role playing
• Social role
• Psychose
• Soziale Rolle
• Soziale Norm

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-118) and index.

ISBN

• 0669277274
• 9780669277272
• 0669277282
• 9780669277289

LCCN

91022729

OCLC

• ocm23975055
• 23975055
• SCSB-1951566

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library