The Reinforcement of Social Cohesion: Humean Philosophy,the Therapeutic State and the Exclusion Ritual

Abstract

There appear to be some unquestioned, although potentially illiberal, implications present in Hume's thought. This article will contend that Hume's ideas may provide the justification for an unconscious social policy which excludes from liberal society as ill those who cannot or will not adapt themselves to a Humean liberal lifestyle. Further, it attempts to support the idea that the therapeutic state is the social instrument utilized in this process and that the values of Humean philosophy provide the underlying foundation for its labeling of illness. Finally, it hopes to document the belief that the pervasiveness of Humean values also has contributed to the recent confusion of deviancy, illness, and crime in the American psychiatric and legal spheres as society seeks to protect itself by excluding those whom it perceives as potential threats.