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Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 21:15, 16 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

From reading literature dating before the 20th century, it be can seen that the term 'feeble-minded' had a wide array of non-specific connotations. The term was generally used to referred to someone who was considered mentally incompetent- whether this was the result of a mental illness, developmental disorder or dementia- as it was often difficult to distinguish the root cause of one's apparent atrophy centuries back.

The term mental deficiency can be considered interchangeable with conditions now collectively referred to as 'developmental disorders.' Individuals who are incompetent as a result of stunted neural development are those who can be considered mentally deficient. In the day the only way of determining if a person was mentally deficient was based off an IQ test, as there was a lesser established awareness in the psychological community of concrete testing methods for pervasive developmental conditions such as autism. All in all mental deficiency was umbrella term used to refer to those who were either socially and or intellectually incompetent, so pervasive conditions surely would have fallen under the umbrella of mental deficiency if there was the awareness of such disorders at the time the term was used.

Being that 'mental deficiency' is specific in its connotation, it should perhaps have its own article separate from 'feeble-mindedness.' If there is no need to create an individual article, the term should redirect to the Neurodevelopmental disorder article rather than the Mental Retardation article, being that the term was likely intended to have wider connotation upon its conception.

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From reading the Brother's Karamazov, I recall the passage of a family referring to a 'feeble-minded' elderly member in their care. Perhaps use of this term may have also been considered appropriate to connote individuals suffering from forms of what is now considered dementia.

I remember reading somewhere that the term "feeble-minded" also included so-called sexual "deviants." Was this the case? 206.251.8.195 (talk) 20:19, 5 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"Goddard was known for postulating most effectively that "feeble-mindedness" was a hereditary trait, most likely caused by a single recessive gene. This led Goddard to ring eugenic alarm bells in his 1912 work, The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness, about those in the population who carried the recessive trait despite outward appearances of normality."? Wardog (talk) 12:49, 2 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

--> in many U.S. states is more correct or it refers to a worldwide practice? Melao 21:48, 29 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm, well, I think I meant U.S. states there, though in many countries similar practices occurred. The difficulty here though is that I'm not sure if anyplace else called it "feeble-mindedness", so I'm not sure if they really fall under the sentence. --Fastfission 22:57, 29 July 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.116.143.82 (talk) [reply]

Isn't this seen as a pejorative term these days? ACEOREVIVED (talk) 09:34, 19 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 January 2025 and 2 May 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Cichofai004 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Cichofai004 (talk) 19:14, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]