The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Dec 1988
Historical ArticleThe history and present status of moral insanity.
Psychiatric taxonomies, always a little uncertain, are most confused and illogical when they endeavour to encompass the moral and legal aspects of human behaviour. The concept of moral insanity represented a step backwards when it came into being, but it has persisted for a century and a half, changing only its title. Its creation and its subsequent history exemplify some of the common errors in psychiatric theorising.