600? BC Anaximandros is generally
acknowledged to be the first on record to articulate a theory of
evolution.
490-430 BC Empedocles explains
evolution through survival of the fittest.
480-411 BC Protagoras Theorizes
the idea that man is in essence a physical entity, with thought being
somehow the result of physical processes, as opposed to the view of
man as a spirit, divine and deathless.
1487 Malleus Maleficarius
(Hammer of Witches) is published in Germany by two Dominican Monks,
subverting the Christian humanitarian approach, and legitimizing and
fueling the witch-hunt craze. The Pope, the King of Rome and the
University of Colgne all approve the text. Many thousands are burned
and otherwise executed throughout Europe as mentally ill and other
undesirables are accused of being under the influence of the devil.
1676 A law is drafted concerning
madmen in Massachusetts, ordering "selectmen" to care for
such persons so they "doe not Damnify others."
1694 Massachusetts law drafted
called "An Act for the Relief of Ideots and Distracted
Persons." Such people, in the absence of families to care for
them, became the responsibility of the community. The state had the
authority to dispose of their property and make them work. By the end
of the century, laws were adopted which allowed commitment to a house
of correction any person considered dangerous to the "peace or
safety of the good people."
1715-1780 Etienne de Condillac,
French philosopher, reduces all knowledge to experience and all
experience to sensation, thus reducing all perception to a
physiological basis. This approach views psychology and philosophy as
natural sciences. (Precursor to eugenics.)
1735 Carolus Linnaeus of Sweden
(physician and botanist) classifies plant and animal life into genus
and species and includes man in this Order, putting him under
"primates" as "homo sapiens"— and as an
animal.
1744-1829 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
proposes a theory of organic evolution based on "inheritance of
acquired characteristics" (structural changes due to
environmental influences passed on to progeny). Suggests there is an
inherent tendency in living things toward greater complexity.
1774 Under Leopolo of Tuscany,
Italy, medical treatment for the insane becomes law.
1788 First law in the US for
commitment of the insane, in New York.
1798 Thomas Malthus (English
economist and historian) publishes An Essay on the Principal
of Population wherein he theorizes that social unrest, crime,
etc., are unavoidable because population will always exceed food
production and that war, famine and disease exist to check population
growth. He suggests that the "lower classes" refrain from
breeding to solve this problem. (This lays groundwork for
Eugenics.)
Ancient 19th Century 20th Century World War I Psychiatric Holocaust Hitler's Reign Post War Bibliography