{"product_id":"mad-travellers-transient-mental-illnesses-0674009541","title":"Mad Travellers: Reflections on the Reality of Transient Mental Illnesses","description":"\u003ch2\u003eWho Should Read This Book?\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis volume is a must-read for students and scholars of psychology, psychiatry, and the history of medicine, as well as philosophers intrigued by the nature of reality and classification. The case studies are particularly engaging for general readers fascinated by unusual psychological phenomena. Although the writing is rigorous, it remains accessible enough for upper-level undergraduates and beyond. It is an ideal text for course adoption or independent study.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eKey Themes and Milestones Covered\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTransient Mental Illnesses\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hacking posits that certain disorders are ephemeral—they emerge, spread, and then disappear. The fugue is the  example, but he also explores multiple personality disorder and its late 20th-century rise.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRole of Culture\u003c\/strong\u003e: Social and medical contexts create niches for diagnoses. The fugue was partly a product of railway travel and the era's travel memoir craze.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHistorical Case Studies\u003c\/strong\u003e: Detailed accounts of individuals like Albert Dadas, who walked across Europe without knowing why, bring these conditions to life.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePhilosophical Reflections\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hacking challenges the real vs. fake dichotomy, proposing that transient disorders are both culturally constructed and genuinely experienced.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch2\u003eComparison with Other Works in the Field\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike standard histories that emphasize great men and schools, \u003cem\u003eMad Travellers\u003c\/em\u003e focuses on a single, peculiar symptom. It complements Hacking's own \u003cem\u003eRewriting the Soul\u003c\/em\u003e and Foucault's \u003cem\u003eHistory of Madness\u003c\/em\u003e. Where Foucault examines broad structures of confinement, Hacking dissects a specific diagnostic category. The book is more targeted than textbooks and offers depth absent from general histories.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWho Are the Pioneers of Psychology Discussed?\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eHacking draws on early psychiatrists like Philippe Pinel, Jean-Martin Charcot, and Pierre Janet, along with debates over hysteria and dissociation. He also engages with Emil Kraepelin and Sigmund Freud, showing how they shaped understanding of transient mental states. This is not just a historical account but a philosophical inquiry into how we define and recognize mental illness across time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOverview of the Book\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat if some mental illnesses were temporary, appearing only in specific historical and cultural moments? In \u003cem\u003eMad Travellers: Reflections on the Reality of Transient Mental Illnesses\u003c\/em\u003e, philosopher Ian Hacking investigates the curious world of fleeting psychiatric conditions. He focuses on the late 19th-century phenomenon of fugue states—where people would suddenly travel far from home with no memory of their journey—and uses this to explore broader themes of diagnosis, reality, and social construction. The book raises profound questions about the nature of mental illness itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003e and Final Thoughts\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMad Travellers\u003c\/em\u003e remains a seminal work for understanding how mental illnesses can be both real and transient. Hacking's careful blend of history, philosophy, and case analysis provides a model for thinking about diagnostic categories. This paperback edition makes the work accessible for course adoption or personal study. It is a thought-provoking read that will change how you view the reality of psychiatric disorders.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis book is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or therapeutic advice.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ian Hacking","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48337987764462,"sku":null,"price":81.48,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0816\/1158\/7822\/files\/71Fg9ChzNiL._SL1500.jpg?v=1784299072","url":"https:\/\/vitamin4ca.com\/products\/mad-travellers-transient-mental-illnesses-0674009541","provider":"vitamin4ca","version":"1.0","type":"link"}