 imbecile was a medical category of people with moderate to severe intellectual disability, as well as a type of criminal.fernald, walter e. (1912). the imbecile with criminal instincts. fourth edition. boston: ellis. .duncan, p. martin; millard, william (1866). a manual for the classification, training, and education of the feeble-minded, imbecile, and idiotic. longmans, green, and co. the term arises from the latin word imbecillus, meaning weak, or weak-minded. it included people with an iq of 21â50, between "moron" (iq of 51â70) and "idiot" (iq of 0â20).sternberg, robert j. (2000). handbook of intelligence. cambridge university press. isbn 978-0-521-59648-0. the meaning was further refined into mental and moral imbecility.kerlin, isaac n. (1889). "moral imbecility". proceedings of the association of medical officers of american institutions for idiotic and feeble-minded persons, 15â18.fernald, walter e. (1 april 1909). "the imbecile with criminal instincts". american journal of psychiatry. 65(4):731â749. the concepts of "moral insanity", "moral idiocy"," and "moral imbecility", led to the emerging field of eugenic criminology, which held that crime can be reduced by preventing "feeble-minded" people from reproducing.rafter, nicole hahn (1998). creating born criminals. urbana, ill.: university of illinois press. isbn 978-0-252-06741-9.tredgold, a. f. (1921). "moral imbecility". proc r soc med, 1921; 14(sect psych): 13â22. "imbecile" as a concrete classification was popularized by psychologist henry h. goddardgoddard, henry herbert (1915). the criminal imbecile; an analysis of three remarkable murder cases. new york: the macmillan company. and was used in 1927 by united states supreme court justice oliver wendell holmes, jr. in his ruling in the forced-sterilization case buck v. bell, 274 u.s. 200 (1927).lombardo, paul a. (2008). three generations, no imbeciles: eugenics, the supreme court, and buck v. bell. jhu press, isbn 978-0-8018-9010-9 the concept is closely associated with psychology, psychiatry, criminology, and eugenics. however, the term imbecile quickly passed into vernacular usage as a derogatory term, and fell out of professional use in the 20th centurykaplan, robert m.; saccuzzo, dennis p. (2008). psychological testing: principles, applications, and issues. cengage learning, isbn 978-0-495-09555-2 in favor of mental retardation. in recent decades, the phrases "[[intellectu
Historical_and_obsolete_mental_and_behavioural_disorders Intellectual_disability Obsolete_medical_terms