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Previous Volume 343:1579 November 23, 2000 Number 21 Next

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By T.M. Luhrmann. 337 pp. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. $26.95. ISBN 0-679-42191-2.

Modern psychiatry began in the 18th century, with the reconceptualization of madness as a disease and not the result of witchcraft or demonic possession. This new idea led to dramatic successes, such as the delineation of syphilitic infection as a cause of general paresis, and more is expected in the near future as we unravel the genetics and neurobiology of schizophrenia and bipolar disease. It also led to the growing use of a medical model in psychiatric practice, with disease categories, diagnoses, and disease-specific therapies. A second, and in many respects competing, idea formulates problems of character, personality, and adaptation . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Luhrmann, T.M., Michels, R. (2001). Of Two Minds. NEJM 344: 937-938 [Full Text]