A. Kunin. Psychiatric Sketches of French Revolution of 1789.

The book has been written in Russia in early 80- ies, but numerous obstacles have prevented it from being published there.

The author has tried to apply his experience of a clinical psychiatrist to better understanding of the great drama of 1789-1799, especially of its “darkest” episodes. Investigation deals with the “twilights” zone between the conditional sanity and traditional forms of mental disorders - not a clear and definite pathology are seen in Convent, in the squares and revolutionary clubs. Psychological profiles can be vivid and convincing only if let to the historical figures to express their opinions and feelings freely. That’s why the book contains vast quotations from the genuine letters, speeches and articles of the participants of the French Revolution – from all the documents which has been at the author’s disposal.

The book is divided into 5 chapters.

Chapter 1. Triumvirate.
The author presents a thorough analysis of the psychic peculiarities of the three leaders of the Revolution – Robespierre, Danton and Marat. In the extremal conditions of the social catastrophe there appear essential distortions of perception of reality and a very special mode of thinking is formed which author calls anomalous.

Chapter 2. The Struggle of the Parties.
The real causes of the bloody fights between the parties can be hardly understood by analyzing the economic programs, political ambitions and the social origin of the leaders. The author offers some historical evidences showing the way anomalous mode of the thinking inevitably drives all the revolutionary parties to the guillotine.

Chapter 3. The Terror.
The typical forms of aggressive behavior are described as well as their influence on the main instruments of terror – the Revolutionary Tribunal and commissars of Convent. A special paragraph deals with the attempts to establish a “regular” economics which led to the economical terror. The author shows the way the perverted ideas and concepts become apparent in the various methods of the terror.

Chapter 4. Mass Movements.
Three episodes illustrate the peculiarities of the psychology of the mass consciousness – they are “The Cause of the Revelion”, “The Great Fear” and “the September Slaughters”. The author describes the conditions which promote the wide spread of the anomalous mode of thinking and some peculiar methods of “hypnotism” which the leaders use so widely. The attempt has been made to understand so called “suicide epidemic” as a form of mass behavior.

Chapter 5. An Attempt of Synthesis.
In the times of social catastrophes the dark and hidden principals of ancient biological behavior take advantage over the perfect but fragile instrument – human intellect. The intellect is thus mutilated, injured, and as a result the anomalous mode of thinking is formed.

The threat to the existence of the human being appears when the most disastrous achievements of intellectual development are at the disposal of the people, “injured” by the anomalous way of thinking.