Birth of the Asylum

So ignoring the question of religion and religious madness for a moment, I'd like to focus on the reformation of the Asylum, which reminded me a lot of the transformation of the penal system. Under the guise of more humane treatment for the prisoners, in this case the treatment of the madmen, the sovereign's ability to control and regulate was extended in a broader, more efficient manner. Specifically in the context of the asylum, Foucault addresses fear in the relationship between the madmen and the 'normal' people outside of the asylum. Here, Foucault says that the conception of fear has changed from one of fearing the insane, to the insane fearing their own insanity. At first this seems a little out-there and far to understand, but after reading farther it makes quite a bit of sense. The madman was given the liberation from chains, loathing, etc. on the condition that he obide by certain rules and regulations of the asylum. As Foucault says "he promised to restrain himself," as the necessity for external control became unnecessary - all that was needed to calm the madman was a simple reminder that failure to adhere to the rules would force those around him to inflict punishment. In this way, fear became the primary motivator for self-regulationa and adherence to standardized norms of begavior, as "any manifestation of madness will be linked to punshiment." In turn, this also releives the enactor of the punshiment from guilt and/or responsbility (much like justice was releived of the guilt of having to punish transgressors), as the madman himself becomes entirely responsible for any punishment brought upon him. In this way, the liberation and humaneness of the asylum became, as Foucault labels them, "justifications" for the extension of the means and methods of control and regulation.