Question

Explain how the age of reason and enlightenment influenced the treatment and perception of psychological disorders in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Answer 1

1. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Age of Reason and Enlightenment revolutionised the perception and treatment of psychological diseases. This age emphasised logic, science, reason, and human dignity, confronting centuries of superstition and fear associated with mental illness.
2. Before the Enlightenment, individuals with psychiatric problems were assumed to be possessed by evil spirits or punished for moral or religious shortcomings. Treatments were harsh, involving beatings, exorcisms, confinement in dark chambers, and even torture. Mental illness was considered a threat rather than a health concern.
3. Enlightenment theorists emphasised that human behaviour and mental states may be understood through observation, scientific reasoning, and empirical evidence. This shifted the focus from supernatural explanations to a medical and psychological understanding of mental disease. Disorders were considered as conditions to be researched and treated, rather than punished.
4. During this period, several key reformers emerged. Philippe Pinel, a French physician, famously removed chains from inmates in Paris asylums, claiming that those with mental illness deserved kindness, structure, and moral treatment. William Tuke, a Quaker from England, established the York Retreat, where patients were treated with kindness, given meaningful activities, and encouraged to live peacefully. These facilities were in sharp contrast to the jails and madhouses of previous ages.