[The relativity of abnormity]. 2006

Annika Nilson
anders.vigren@malmo.mail.telia.com

In the late 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th century, mental diseases and abnormal behavior was considered to be a great danger to culture and society. "Degeneration" was the buzzword of the time, used and misused by artists and scientists alike. At the same time, some scientists saw abnormity as the key to unlock the mysteries of the ordinary mind. Naturalistic curiosity left Pandoras box open when religion declined in Darwins wake. Two swedish scientists, the physician Bror Gadelius (1862-1938) and his friend the philosopher Axel Herrlin (1870-1937), inspired by the French psychologist Theodule Ribots (1839-1916) "psychology without a soul", denied all fixed demarcation lines between abnormity and normality. All humans are natures creatures ruled by physiological laws, not ruled by God or convention. Even ordinary morality was considered to be an utterly backward explanation and guideline for complex human behavior. Different forms of therapy, not various kinds of penalties for wicked and disturbing behavior, are the now the solution for lots of people, "normal" as well as "abnormal". Psychiatry is expanding.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011570 Psychiatry The medical science that deals with the origin, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders.
D001523 Mental Disorders Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function. Mental Illness,Psychiatric Diseases,Psychiatric Disorders,Psychiatric Illness,Behavior Disorders,Diagnosis, Psychiatric,Mental Disorders, Severe,Psychiatric Diagnosis,Illness, Mental,Mental Disorder,Mental Disorder, Severe,Mental Illnesses,Psychiatric Disease,Psychiatric Disorder,Psychiatric Illnesses,Severe Mental Disorder,Severe Mental Disorders
D013548 Sweden Country in northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Finland and Norway. The capital is Stockholm.
D049672 History, 19th Century Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era. 19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049673 History, 20th Century Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era. 20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History

Related Publications

Annika Nilson
June 1946, Case reports. Children's Memorial Hospital (Chicago, Ill.),
Annika Nilson
July 2013, Zhonghua er bi yan hou tou jing wai ke za zhi = Chinese journal of otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery,
Annika Nilson
November 1984, Science (New York, N.Y.),
Annika Nilson
December 1985, Science (New York, N.Y.),
Annika Nilson
November 1922, Science (New York, N.Y.),
Annika Nilson
June 2003, Medical humanities,
Annika Nilson
January 1950, La Medecine aeronautique,
Annika Nilson
May 1910, Science (New York, N.Y.),
Annika Nilson
October 2021, Entropy (Basel, Switzerland),
Annika Nilson
January 2022, Frontiers in neurology,
Copied contents to your clipboard!