ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing on the concepts discussed in this book. The book begins with a quotation from the seventeenth century playwright Nathaniel Lee in which he refers to how 'they' had voted him mad. The stories told in the book of people who have been voted mad or who have voted themselves mad is only one story which could have been told about them and the ideas which purport to comprehend their madness are only one set which could have been chosen. Madness from this perspective has a reality but that reality is muddied due to the individual's specific biological and psychological characteristics and those of his/her social context. Madness may serve a purpose in society. Patently, it helps people and society to separate acceptable from unacceptable human performance, and clearly what is acceptable and unacceptable changes from place to place and time to time.
