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Madness and Society in Eighteenth-Century Scotland$
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R. A. Houston

Print publication date: 2000

Print ISBN-13: 9780198207870

Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207870.001.0001

Being Sane

Chapter:
(p. 237 ) 5 Being Sane
Source:
Madness and Society in Eighteenth-Century Scotland
Author(s):

R. A. HOUSTON

Publisher:
Oxford University Press
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207870.003.0006

This chapter discusses sanity — which was seen as showing no evidence of insanity or incapacity. The dividing line between physical illness and insanity, and between temporary or voluntary states and true madness or stupidity, are investigated. At one level, being sane means being able to carry on a normal life. On the other hand, the criteria of normality are predicated on the degree to which a person was socialized.

Keywords:   sanity, insanity, incapacity, physical illness, true madness, stupidity, temporary state, voluntary state, normality

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