The nature and consequences of prefrontal lobotomy

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Frances Alexander (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Kendon Smith

Abstract: The life of every man is filled with problems of such complexity that he might well be awed when he realizes that he is able to cope with them at all. Despite the scope of the task, however, most people have achieved in some measure a working agreement with themselves and with their environment. They have reasonably well integrated personalities and are able to see things in a proper perspective, allowing them a comfortable surplus of energy to be used for valuable productive and creative work. This happy state of affairs is, however, not possible for all people. A human life gone berserk is an awesome thing. The very power which elevates man to a level which can be called human can also turn upon him and create utter chaos in his world. If he were not a sensitive human creature, perhaps he could not become psychotic when he finds himself no longer able to cope with the problems confronting him; the fact remains that it is man's inescapable fate to think and to feel so long as he has intact the basic capacity which enables him to do so. If somehow the methods by which he accomplishes this task become entangled, he may lose contact with the reality around him and even destroy himself.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Language: English
Date: 1955

Email this document to