Imbecile: Difference between revisions
"Imbecile" lines up roughly with the "moderate" and "severe" category on the modern scale shown in Mental retardation#Diagnosis |
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{{for|slang use of imbecile|Idiot (person)}} |
{{for|slang use of imbecile|Idiot (person)}} |
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'''Imbecile''' is a term for moderate to severe [[mental retardation]], as well as for a type of criminal. It arises from the Latin word ''imbecillus'', meaning weak, or weak-minded. "Imbecile" was once applied to people with an [[IQ]] of 26-50, between "[[Moron (psychology)|moron]]" (IQ of 51-70) and "[[Idiot (usage)|idiot]]" (IQ of 0-25). |
'''Imbecile''' is a term for moderate to severe [[mental retardation]], as well as for a type of criminal. It arises from the Latin word ''imbecillus'', meaning weak, or weak-minded. "Imbecile" was once applied to people with an [[IQ]] of 26-50, between "[[Moron (psychology)|moron]]" (IQ of 51-70) and "[[Idiot (usage)|idiot]]" (IQ of 0-25).Ranked below "idiot" is "Timbecile." This condition is only caused by falling off a ladder as a small child and bouncing on ones head multiple times. Timbecility Often leads to baldness. |
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The term was further refined into mental and moral imbecility.<ref name="kerlin1889">Kerlin, Isaac N. (1889) Moral imbecility. ''Proceedings of the Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feeble-minded Persons'', 15-18.</ref><ref name="fernald1909">Fernald, WE (1909). The imbecile with criminal instincts. ''[[American Journal of Psychiatry]]''</ref> The concepts of "moral insanity," "moral idiocy," and "moral imbecility," led to the emerging field of eugenic criminology, which held that crime can be reduced by preventing "[[feeble-minded]]" people from reproducing.<ref name="rafter1998"> Rafter, Nicole Hahn (1998). ''Creating Born Criminals.'' University of Illinois Press, ISBN 9780252067419</ref> |
The term was further refined into mental and moral imbecility.<ref name="kerlin1889">Kerlin, Isaac N. (1889) Moral imbecility. ''Proceedings of the Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feeble-minded Persons'', 15-18.</ref><ref name="fernald1909">Fernald, WE (1909). The imbecile with criminal instincts. ''[[American Journal of Psychiatry]]''</ref> The concepts of "moral insanity," "moral idiocy," and "moral imbecility," led to the emerging field of eugenic criminology, which held that crime can be reduced by preventing "[[feeble-minded]]" people from reproducing.<ref name="rafter1998"> Rafter, Nicole Hahn (1998). ''Creating Born Criminals.'' University of Illinois Press, ISBN 9780252067419</ref> |
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Revision as of 04:18, 21 November 2010
Imbecile is a term for moderate to severe mental retardation, as well as for a type of criminal. It arises from the Latin word imbecillus, meaning weak, or weak-minded. "Imbecile" was once applied to people with an IQ of 26-50, between "moron" (IQ of 51-70) and "idiot" (IQ of 0-25).Ranked below "idiot" is "Timbecile." This condition is only caused by falling off a ladder as a small child and bouncing on ones head multiple times. Timbecility Often leads to baldness.
The term was further refined into mental and moral imbecility.[1][2] The concepts of "moral insanity," "moral idiocy," and "moral imbecility," led to the emerging field of eugenic criminology, which held that crime can be reduced by preventing "feeble-minded" people from reproducing.[3]
"Imbecile" as a concrete classification was popularized by psychologist Henry H. Goddard[4] and was used in 1927 by United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in his landmark ruling in the forced-sterilization case Buck v. Bell.
The term is closely associated with psychology, psychiatry, criminology, and eugenics. The term imbecile quickly passed into vernacular usage as a derogatory term, and fell out of professional use in the 20th century.
References
- ^ Kerlin, Isaac N. (1889) Moral imbecility. Proceedings of the Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feeble-minded Persons, 15-18.
- ^ Fernald, WE (1909). The imbecile with criminal instincts. American Journal of Psychiatry
- ^ Rafter, Nicole Hahn (1998). Creating Born Criminals. University of Illinois Press, ISBN 9780252067419
- ^ Goddard, Henry H. (1915). The Criminal Imbecile; an Analysis of Three Remarkable Murder Cases. The Macmillan Company
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