“SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT”

Otago Witness, Issue 3882, 7 August 1928, Page 75

“SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT”

ADDRESS BY DR MOORE. The series of lectures which are being given at the Otago . University on “ Social Adjustment ” were continued on Thursday last when Dr Stuart Moore spoke on “ Mental and Physical Causes of Abnormal Behaviour.”

Dr Moore said that to-day science had explained abnormal behaviour. The nineteenth century view was that all mental disorder was due to bodily conditions. Mental symptoms had no meaning and could be ignored. The twentieth century view was that not only bodily causes but purely mental causes might determine mental disorder. Mental symptoms had a meaning. In this last respect the twentieth century agreed with the mediaeval view of witchcraft. That view regarded mental symptoms as having a meaning. Abnormal behaviour was not only insanity, crime and mental deficiency but also “ crankiness ” and what was called “ nerves.” It was said that that every one was more or less mad, which, scientifically expressed, meant that the normal differed from even extreme abnormals, only in the degree to which they were controlled by emotional logic as contrasted with rational logic. Abnormality was a danger to which all mankind was exposed. The abnormal person was feared either because he was not understood or because in him was seen what w r as most dreaded in one’s self. The instinctive feelings to the abnormal were fear and .fascination. Fear gave rise to flight, hostile aggression and credulity, so that mere impressions such as the idea that the mental defective was extremely prolific were regarded as carefully observed and critically examined facts. Fascination was evidenced by the way in which peopjp read the reports of murders and other ways in which interest was evinced. If these reactions was sublimated fear would be found to give rise to rational protection of society and fascination to lead to study and understanding.

The stigma of insanity was but another name for the emotional reaction that occurred in one to the abnormal. Its continued existence showed that society had not developed properly beyond its primitive, instinctual response. The nineteenth century view of physical causes of insanity and its belief that heredity was all-important had done good work for society and medicine. This doctrine, however, was now recognised to be so incomplete that it was retarding progress.

The British National Council of Mental Hygiene advocated that: (1) Mental clauses, as well as physical, might cause mental disorder. (2) A mistake had been made in the past in attributing all sorts of things to heredity and to heredity alone. Heredity was not the basic factor in all forms of mental abnormality.

Dr Gray in his lecture here recognised that the importance of environment was very great. Mental defectives who were anti-social were so because they were badly trained. Civilisation was transmitted by the environment into which a child was born and abnormal behaviour was a breakdown in civilisation. The twentieth century contention that mental symptoms had a meaning was due to the genius of Professor Freud. This view stressed the importance of environment. To many, Freud’s work had seemed subversive of morality. It had to be remembered however, that science worked step by step and slowly, and as Freud’s later work in the analysis of the ego and of the conscience had developed, some interesting findings resulted. Repression that was harmful was the repression of the development of normal capacity. Repression was often necessary, but, when practical, sublimation of an impulse was better. Modern work made it necessary to extend the deterministic view of behaviour that admitted that adenoids might make a child naughty, to the mental sphere and recognise that purely mental causes might cause abnormal behaviour, for which the individual could not be held responsible in law. Punishment was necessary for the protection of society and for the good of a culprit, but the idea of vengeance in it would disappear in time as illogical. Dr Moore gave some interesting illustrations of the meaning of mental symptoms. The principle of brotherly love, he explained, was said to be social suicide when the abnormal was being dealt with, but in the abnormal science had shown locked secrets, which, when unlocked, would redound in a startling manner to the welfare of mankind. When society had learned how to deal with the abnormal it should deevlop a higher intersocial or international morality. The problem of war, therefore, was probably quite closely related to the problem of the abnormal.

Dr Moore then enumerated the following practical conclusions:— 1. The main line of attack in the problem should be through environment, for the whole trend of scientific opinion to-day pointed in that direction.

2. Evidence was not wanting to show that the problem of reproduction by mental defectives might be solved by education.

3. The great need was scientific study of the problem.—The Government should endeavour to mobilise the brains of the universities . ■■ and of . the philosophers, lawyers, socialists,, etc., in the study of this subject, but the Government could

not solve the problem without the cooperation of the community. One of the best means to secure this, it had been found in other countries, was the promotion of national councils of mental hygiene. The councils existed in several countries now, and the movement was an international one.

4. There should be a proper school of social science in the University to train the social workers. 5. The curricula of medicine, law, teaching should be altered, so that our experts should be retrained.

6. There was need for the endowment of a lectureship in- experimental psychology in the Otago University. 7. Dr Gray’s clinics were very desirable, but the threat of sterilisation would create very great difficulties and should in the meantime be withdrawn. If the four clinics he suggested did not materialise, the problem could be approached by the creation of one wellstaffed clinic in the Otago Medical School. This would enable the worth of . these clinics from a scientific viewpoint to be demonstrated and would serve as a guide to what should be done. The clinics were a sound idea as a first step toward an immediate attack on the problem, through environment. Clinics staffed and constructed with the views of promoting science and benefiting those who are abnormal would lack the odium attached to clinics which had the power of putting names in a register.