The legal meaning of insanity

Abstract

A satisfactory legal definition of insanity has not yet been provided, and with our present knowledge, the chances are undeniably against any attempt at providing one being successful. A full understanding of insanity from the legal point of view presupposes a basic knowledge of psychology and psychiatry. It is not simply the absence of the deliberative faculty that makes a person juridically insane. For a person to be considered insane there must be a definite identifiable abnormality. The question of psychological freedom presents more implications in cases of insanity. In many instances the patient seems to act according to his wits, and he may appear quite conscious of his actions, but we will later find that we have been cheated by the patient's apparent psychological consciousness. But this is a practical question which should not detain us in our pursuit. Once we have laid down the fundamental principle of human activity, we are likely to learn the meaning of insanity as understood by law.