Abstract
The term “mental health” is of comparatively recent origin in medicine and related disciplines, but it has always been the concern of philosophers. The concept of Utopia by Plato (427–437 BC) in the Republic is an attempt to construct and develop optimal social conditions for the development of mental health. Aristotle (384–322 BC) defined the soul thus:
The soul is the entire vital principle of any organism, the sum of its powers and processes. In plants the soul is merely a nurtritive and reproductive power; in man it is as well the power of thought. The soul as the sum of the powers of the body cannot exist without it; the two are as form and wax, separable only in thought but in reality one organic whole...
Life is the gift of nature But beautiful living is the gift of wisdom
Greek Adage
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aristotle 1961 Story of Philosophy. Will Durant, Washington Square Press Inc.
Binitie, A.: 1976 Mental Health Implications of Economic Growth in Developing Countries. Mental Health and Society 3: 272–285.
Birley, J. L. T. and Brown, G. W.: 1970 Crisis and Life Changes Preceding the Onset of Relapse of Acute Schizophrenia. Brit. J. Psychiat. 116: 237–33.
Brown, G. W., Birley, J. L. T., and Wing, V. K.: 1900 Influence of Family Life on the Course of Schizophrenia. Brit. J. Psychiat. 121: 241–58.
Cassels, J. and Tyroler, H. A.: 1961 Epidemiological Studies of Culture Change. Archives of Environmental Health 3: 25–33.
Erikson, E. H.: 1950 Childhood and Society, Middlesex, Pengu in Books.
Forde, D.: 1954 African Worlds Studies in the Cosmological Ideas and Social Values of African Peoples. Oxford University Press.
Forde, D. and Kaberry, P. M.: 1967 West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century. Oxford University Press.
Francis Bacon 1961 Story of Philosophy. Will Durant, Washington Square Press Inc.
Freud, S. 1900 New Introductory Lectures to Psychoanalysis. London Hogarth Press.
Hall, S. S. and Lindsey, G. 1957 Theories of Personality. New York, John Wiley and Son.
Harding, T. W. 1977 Mental Health Research in Africa — Preliminary Results of a Questionnaire Survey. Afr. J. of Psychiatry 1, 2: 31–37.
Harding, T., Moser, J., and Raman, A. 1977 Mental Health Training in Africa — Analysis of Information from 23 Countries. Afr. J. of Psychiatry 1, 2.3: 17–30.
Holmes, T. H. and Rahe, R. H. 1967 The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 11: 213–218.
Imokhai, C. A. 1979 The Missionization of Uzaire: A Study of Missionary Impact on Traditional Marriage. Ph.D. Thesis, Columbia University.
Jablensky, A. 1978 Mental Health Care in South Africa. Lancet 1: 270–1.
Jaspers, Carl 1926 and 1946 General Psychopathology. Manchester, The University Press.
Kettle, A. 1963 Karl Marx. London: Morison Cubb.
Kramer, M., Rosen, B. N., and Willis, E. M. 1900 Definitions and Distribution Mental Disorders in a Racist Society. Reprinted from, Racism and Mental Health.
Lewis, A. 1969 Edward Mapother and the Making of the Maudsley Hospital. Brit. J. Psychiat. 115.
Lieberman, D. 1971 In Wolf, L. (1971) (ed.). Social and Cultural Factors in Mental Health and Mental Illness, C. C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A.
Margolis, C. 1971 Socio-Psychological and Ideological Perspectives on the Black Communities. In: K. Wolff (ed.). Social and Cultural in Mental Health and Mental Illness.
Mead, Margaret 1948 Social Change and Cultural Surrogates. In: C. Cluckhorn and H. A. Murray. Personality in Nature, Society and Culture.
Mead, Margaret 1970 Optimum Mental Health. In: Albert Deutsch and Helen Fishman (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Mental Health, New Jersey: Mini Print.
Morris, Desmond 1967 The Naked Ape. London, Corgi Books.
Murphy, E. and Brown, G. W. 1980 Life Events, Psychiatric Disturbances and Physical Illness. Brit. J. Psychiat. 136, 326–338.
Musgrove, F. 1966 The Family, Education and Society. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, p. 46.
Osahon, N. 1976 Black Power, Lagos, DI NIURO Press.
Paykel, E. S., Emmes, E. M., Fletcher, and Rassaby, E. S. 1900 Life Events and Social Support in Puerperal Depression. Brit. J. Psychiat. 136: 399–346.
Peterson, M. D. 1975 Thomas Jefferson. U.S.A., Viking Press.
Piddington, R. 1950 An Introduction to Social Anthropology. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. Prince, R.
Prince, R. 1976 Culture and Psychosis Among the Loma Tribe of Liberia, West Africa. African J. of Psychiat. 3: 381–3983.
Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. and Forde, D. 1950 African Systems of Kinship and Marriage. Oxford University Press.
Senghor, L. 1976 Prose and Poetry. Translated by Reed and Wahe, London, Weinman.
Szasz, T. 1971 The Manufacture of Madness. London, Routledge and Keegan Paul.
The International Communist 1975 Leninist Theory of Social Revolution and the Contemporary World. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
Weber, Max 1948 Essays in Sociology. Translated by H. H. Gerth and C. W. Mills, London: Rout-ledge and Keegan Paul.
Wolff, L. 1971 Social and Cultural Factors in Mental Health and Mental Illness. Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A., Charles C. Thomas.
Zilboorg, C. 1941 A History of Medical Psychology, New York: W. W. Norton.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1984 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Binitie, A. (1984). Mental Health and the Third World: Mental Health in African Societies. In: Nann, R.C., Butt, D.S., Ladrido-Ignacio, L. (eds) Mental Health, Cultural Values, and Social Development. Priority Issues in Mental Health, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7670-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7670-3_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8386-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-015-7670-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive