Bases Quote by Michel Foucault
“The constitution of madness as a mental illness, at the end of the eighteenth century, affords the evidence of a broken dialogue, posits the separation as already effected, and thrusts into oblivion all those stammered, imperfect words without fixed syntax in which the exchange between madness and reason was made. The language of psychiatry, which is a monologue of reason about madness, has been established only on the basis of such a silence.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Madness and Civilization, 1961
The concept of madness was transformed into a medical condition, silencing its dialogue with reason and establishing a monologic psychiatric language.
In simple terms: Madness was turned into a medical label, silencing its voice.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how language shapes power over mental health.
Themes
psychiatry
power
language
history
Mood
critical
reflective
Type
philosophical
historical
When to use this quote
- clinical practice
- policy making
- public discourse
Key Concepts
social construction
discursive analysis
Questions to Reflect On
- How does language influence our view of mental illness?
- What alternatives exist to the psychiatric monologue?
A Different Perspective
May overlook lived experiences of those labeled mad.
![“…modern man no longer communicates with the madman […] There is no common language: or rather, it no longer exists; the constitution of madness as mental illness, at the end of the eighteenth century, bears witness to a rupture in a dialogue, gives the separation as already enacted, and expels…” quote by Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/177/michel-foucault-1134_communication_modern-man-no-longer-communicates-with-t_446934.jpg)
![“Avant-garde theatre, with its distrust of the individual (that bourgeois invention), tends to go beyond [character] and the psychological approach in search of a syntax of types and characters which are "deconstructed and post-individual.” quote by Patrice Pavis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c22/patrice-pavis-72351_approach_avant-garde-theatre-with-its-distrust-of_59690.jpg)
