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degeneration
degeneration In historical psychology and psychiatry, degeneration referred to a supposed mental or nervous decline viewed as a backward movement in human development.
In historical psychology and psychiatry, degeneration referred to a supposed mental or nervous decline viewed as a backward movement in human development. The term was used broadly and imprecisely for a mixed group of people thought to show inherited nervous weakness, mental abnormalities, eccentricity, criminality, or vulnerability to insanity.