Michel Foucault (1926-1984) - one of the most influential French thinkers of the 20th century, philosopher, cultural theorist, historian - examines in this work the phenomenon of madness in European culture of the 17th-19th centuries. The institution of isolation of the insane, legal acts and medical treatises, artistic and literary images, folk superstitions - how was madness understood and perceived in the classical era? What are the origins of the psychological experience of madness in the 20th century? How did the modern concepts of madness and mental illness form?