History of Madness

By Michel Foucault, Jonathan Murphy (translator),

Book cover of History of Madness

Book description

When it was first published in France in 1961 as Folie et Deraison: Histoire de la Folie a l'age Classique, few had heard of a thirty-four year old philosopher by the name of Michel Foucault. By the time an abridged English edition was published in 1967 as Madness and Civilization,…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked History of Madness as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Foucault’s classic 1961 book, History of Madness, was republished in 2006 in its entirety, exposing the serious omissions of the earlier English translation. In its full form, it stands the test of time as a groundbreaking book that exposed the origins of the modern rational self as the product of repeated attempts to understand, exclude, contain, eliminate, and treat ‘madness’. Foucault’s main argument was that since the Renaissance, our understanding of madness shifted from a philosophical phenomenon into an objective medical science. In the Renaissance, madness could still provide wisdom and insight. Yet, during the 17th and early 18th…

From Bonnie's list on the making of the modern self.

Want books like History of Madness?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like History of Madness.

Browse books like History of Madness

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in mental disorders, psychiatry, and Michel Foucault?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about mental disorders, psychiatry, and Michel Foucault.

Mental Disorders Explore 155 books about mental disorders
Psychiatry Explore 27 books about psychiatry
Michel Foucault Explore 16 books about Michel Foucault