Traité medico-philosophique sur l aliénation mentale, ou la manie

PINEL, Phlippe

Published by Chez Richard, Caille et Ravier, Paris, 1801

About this Item

A LANDMARK WORK ON PSYCHIATRY. First edition of a landmark work on the treatment of the insane and mentally ill. It presented the textual foundation of psychiatry, stands as the first great publication of the nineteenth century in clinical medicine, and at the same time as one of the paradigmatic expressions of the medical and scientific revolution that was taking place in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In 1793 Pinel, newly appointed physician at the Bicêtre Hospital, the Paris asylum for men, ordered the chains and shackles removed from 49 patients (an event commemorated at the time in paintings and popular prints) in order to try his new, more humane methods of treatment. He did the same for the female inmates of Salpêtrière when he became the director there in 1794. "Pinel s psychiatric work effectively transformed the prison for the insane into a hospital. He did not merely initiate better treatment for the mentally ill, however, but rather concerned himself with establishing psychiatry as a discrete branch of medicine … Pinel s classification of mental diseases retained the old divisions of such illnesses as manic, melancholic, demented, and idiotic. He presented these classes (with a disclaimer it was necessary to retain them for the time being, since medicine was not advanced enough for subtler distinctions) as late as 1812. He nevertheless made finer distinctions, isolating mania from delirium, and pointing out that in this state the intellectual functions might be intact, and, in his description of idiocy, citing stupor, the first stage of some types of mental disease. Pinel recognized the relationship between periodic mania and melancholy and hypochondria and stressed the danger of suicide by the melancholic patient. He also mentioned the possibility of altruistic homicide. In establishing the cause of mental illness, Pinel was wary of metaphysical discussions or certain ideological ramblings, and he categorically rejected the notion of demonic possession or sorcery. Faithful to the doctrines of Locke and Condillac, he considered emotional disorders to be the primary factor in precipitating intellectual dysfunctions; he also took into account heredity, morbid predisposition, and what he called individual sensitivity. Pinel s psychiatric therapeutics, his traitement morale, represented the first attempt at individual psychotherapy. His treatment was marked by gentleness, understanding, and goodwill. He was opposed to violent methods although he did not hesitate to employ the straitjacket or force-feeding when necessary. He recommended close medical attendance during convalescence, and he emphasized the need of hygiene, physical exercise, and a program of purposeful work for the patient. A number of Pinel s therapeutic procedures, including ergotherapy and the placement of the patient in a family group, anticipate modern psychiatric care" (DSB). "Pinel was among the first to treat the insane humanely; he dispensed with chains and placed his patients under the care of specially selected physicians" (Garrison-Morton). "Pinel was born in the rolling hills of Jonquières, France. He was the son and nephew of physicians. After receiving a degree from the faculty of medicine in Toulouse, he studied an additional four years at the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier. He arrived in Paris in 1778. Pinel did much to establish psychiatry formally as a separate branch of medicine. He made notable contributions to the classification of mental disorders and has been described by some as the father of modern psychiatry . Pinel was also one of the first clinician who believed that medical truth was derived from clinical experience. Pinel considered migrating to America. In 1784 he became editor of the not very prestigious medical journal the Gazette de santé, a four-page weekly. He was also known among natural scientists as a regular contributor to the Journal de physique. He studied mathematics, translated m. Seller Inventory # 5631

Bibliographic Details

Title: Traité medico-philosophique sur l aliénation...

Publisher: Chez Richard, Caille et Ravier, Paris

Publication Date: 1801

Edition: First edition.