The Past and Future of Mental Illness

Abstract

The puzzles that mental illnesses present have perennially beguiled both professional and lay observers. Throughout history they have asked questions regarding what qualities of madness distinguish it from sanity, the extent to which mental and physical pathologies are similar or different, the kinds of factors that lead people to become mentally ill, and the sorts of treatments that might restore their sanity. Across time, knowledge about these issues does not show any steady growth or, arguably, much progress. The immense recent technological advances in brain science have not yet led to corresponding improvements in understandings of and treatments for mental illnesses. These perplexing phenomena remain almost as mysterious now as they were millennia ago.