by E. Fuller Torrey and Judy Miller
(c) Copyright 2002.
This book, written in part by a psychiatrist with expert knowledge of schizophrenia, addresses the question of why mental illness has become increasingly pervasive since 1750. Starting with this date and proceeding towards the present, Torrey and Miller make a commanding case that the prevalence of mental illness has increased steadily since the age of Enlightenment, at least in English-speaking countries. The argument is forceful.
They argue against the common argument – pushed forward by many in prominence like Michel Foucault – that the diagnosis of insanity/psychosis is merely a way of pushing away societal nonconformists into asylums. The finding of MRI changes in those with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, for one, argues for some kind of biology of disease, not merely a sociology. Further, the contention that genetics provides a key does not answer the question: What in modernity has led to the spread of mental diseases? Why did we not see this prior to 1750?
The authors propose a wide variety of possible (but unconfirmed) causes, all centered around the hypothesis that urbanization plays a key role. This case is well-argued and deserves attention and research.