"The proper study of mankind is man."
– Alexander Pope
The 17th and 18th Centuries
The history of disabilities prior to the 17th and 18th centuries has been referred to as "a [time] of confusion," lacking in understanding of, and services for, persons with disabilities. However, the 17th and 18th centuries witnessed a more constructive, scientific approach to individuals with disabilities. Sir Isaac Newton and the English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) shared a common interest in natural philosophy. Their relationship is evident in Locke's Essay and other writings as he came to recognize and accept Newton's achievements; and Locke's philosophy, in turn, seems to have influenced Newton.
Newton also held Galileo, an Italian astronomer, in high regard and considered him a significant figure in the development of modern science. Together, they "contributed greatly to an understanding of the physical world while many other philosophers of the time tried to understand human nature.
Study of Human Nature
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is best known for his political views on society. In his famous book, Leviathan, he claims that man's essential nature is competitive and selfish, and sets out to justify political principles through agreements among rational, free, and equal persons. He and John Locke shared their interest in rationalism.
Locke, however, believed that learning comes through association ("ideas derive from experience"), and that all minds are tabula rasas, blank slates upon which to write. His proposition came to have a significant influence on later approaches to disabilities. If ideas could derive from experience, from the senses and through reflection, then there was hope of developing these capacities in persons with intellectual disabilities. This was a dramatic departure from the prevailing view of the time, that persons born with any type of mental disability were unable to learn, but it played a significant role in the development of psychology.
Together with Jean-Jaques Rousseau, (1712-1778), a writer, political theorist, and moral philosopher of the Enlightenment Era, "Hobbes and Locke are considered the Social Contract theorists, interested in the balance of individual freedom and control by the government."
Early Studies in Education and Treatment
University studies of this time included those of Jacob Rodriguez Pereire (1715-1780) in Portugal, who instructed "deaf mutes" and taught them to hear and speak by touch and vibration through muscles. Scientists were rightfully amazed that students could imitate speech perfectly, even dialects. In the 1780s, Valentin Hauy expanded upon this work, developed embossed print, and dedicated his life to teaching people who were blind how to read and write. He established the Royal Institute for the Blind in Paris where, years later, Louis Braille taught and created the first alphabet from a system of dots and dashes.
The Noble Savage
Philosopher, writer, and political theorist Rousseau believed that humans are basically good, "that there is worth and value in all human beings," but their "perfect nature was spoiled by a corrupt society. Holding to this revolutionary idea, he challenged the nobility who believed in their own superiority. Like John Locke, Rousseau believed in the tabula rasa concept. Rousseau asserted, "Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains."
Rousseau's romantic conception of man gave rise to the idea of the "noble savage" who enjoyed a natural and noble existence until civilization makes him a slave to unnatural wants and corrupts him. Only the "uncorrupted savage" is in possession of real virtue.
However unpopular his ideas, Rousseau pursued and applied them to education, instructing children in physical and sensory methods until age 12, developing their intellectual skills from age 12 to 15, and their moral capacity from age 15 upward. Educators, including Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard, also a French physician; Edouard Seguin, remembered for his work with children with cognitive disabilities; and Maria Montessori, whose educational method involved children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching, were all influenced by Rousseau.
The French Revolution
Influenced by the writings of Locke and Rousseau, the French Revolution (1792-1802) began the battle for recognition of the innate dignity and worth of all human beings. At the heart of the Revolution was the belief that one is worthy of dignity, not because of wealth or status, but simply because one is a human being.
Moral Management
Philip Pinel (1745-1826), the leading French psychiatrist of his day, was the first to say that the "mentally deranged" were diseased rather than sinful or immoral. In 1793, he removed the chains and restraints from the inmates at the Bicetre asylum, and later from those at Salpetriere. Along with the English reformer William Turk, he originated the method of "moral management," using gentle treatment and patience rather than physical abuse and chains on hospital patients.
As a result of this "moral management" shift, a broad array of services provided in a humane environment replaced the prison-like treatment of persons with disabilities. Pinel also classified types of mental illness, pioneered individual case histories and systematic record keeping, and emphasized vocational and work experience.
The French Revolution
Itard and the Wild Boy of Aveyron
Jean-Marc Gaspard (1774-1838), a student of Pinel's, also supported Rousseau's "noble savage" belief, philosopher Condillac's "sensationalism" view (a view that all knowledge comes through the senses). and was profoundly influenced by Jacob Rodrigues Periera (1715-1780) for his work with educating people who are deaf.
In 1799, Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard heard reports of a boy abandoned in the woods of Aveyron, France, who had apparently been raised by wolves. "Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron," as he was called, was chosen by Itard as an experimental subject to prove the validity of the "blank slate" concept: that a person could become, or be made into, whatever one wants. Itard had the child brought to Paris and entrusted to the care of his housekeeper.
Victor was probably in his early teens, a child with an intellectual disability, who likely had been abandoned by his parents. Itard saw Victor as someone who had never been tainted by civilization, and who could become, with the proper teaching, the perfect human being.
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Victor the Wild Boy
The "blank slate" would be filled with carefully selected information. From a child who could not speak, would not sleep in a bed, wear clothes or eat cooked food, Victor made tremendous strides, learning to use simple communication, and interacting with others, notably Itard's housekeeper, who spent a great deal of time with him. As a scientific study, this was all very optimistic.
But Itard grew tired, not seeing the great gains he hoped for, and gave up his hope of Victor becoming the perfect human being. Living outside of society had not necessarily protected Victor from unnatural wants and corruption, as Rousseau's philosophy suggested; it had only deprived him of language, guidance, comfort, and human affection.
Even with limited success, Itard was able to prove that children with intellectual disabilities could develop skills and increase their levels of self-sufficiency. This would have a positive influence on many of the educators of the following century.
Concerns with Population Growth
In 1798, Thomas Malthus (1766-1834), a British clergyman and economist, published the "Essay on the Principles of Population," arguing that population multiplies geometrically and food arithmetically. Therefore, population growth will outstrip the food supply until famines, war, or disease reduces the population. He further proposed cutting the birth rate by sexual restraint and birth control, and went so far as to advocate that all people "defective" in any way, who look or behave or function differently than the rest of society, should be identified and eliminated. Only those who can make the greatest contribution to society would survive.
The Return on Investment Syndrome
Malthus' overall theory of population growth linked the concept of diminishing returns, a key element of the "return on investment" theory. "The ability to be productive and repay society for what one receives, rather than what one can contribute, determines that person's worth." This theory did not originate with Malthus but dates back to the ancient era, recurs throughout history, and continues to persist today.
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century dramatically changed patterns of human settlement, labor, and family life throughout Europe, the United States, and much of the world. Major changes in transportation, manufacturing, and communications, coupled with the rapid expansion of cities and significant population increases, resulted in people working for slave wages and living in squalid conditions. Children represented a large portion of the workforce, performing grueling work for twelve to sixteen hours per day. Pauper children were often contracted to factory owners for cheap labor. To do away with "imbecile" children, parish authorities often bargained with factory owners to take one of these children for every 20 other children.