От нравствената уродливост до ексцентричността: употреби на понятието „морална лудост“ в България от края на XIX век до Втората световна война
From Monstrosity to Eccentricity: Uses of the “Moral Insanity” Concept in Bulgaria from the End of the 19th Century to World War II

Summary/Abstract: This article traces certain meanings of the concept of moral insanity that were used, discussed and criticized in Bulgarian culturalhistorical context from the end of the 19th century to World War II. First, key elements of the term moral insanity and its variations within the Western psychiatric discourse are outlined. Then, the analysis sheds light on local constructions of the morally insane as an object of normative definitions, (popular-)scientific discussions, (forensic-)psychiatric conclusions and medicopsychological critiques of social life. Through a fusion of biological and social norms, projects for “social defense” and moral hygiene were targeted at the (dis)qualification of individual and collective subjects: the morally endangered child, the criminal monster, the degenerate social and political elite and even the morally underdeveloped people/nation. The article examines the biopolitical potential of the strategies for and the practices of “normalization” (M. Foucault) of moral danger.

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