Abstract

The emergence of a ‘norm of normalcy’ in 19th century laboratories and hospitals was in no way simply a byproduct of the scientific search for knowledge. It was instead closely associated with expectations of social egalitarianism which merged with the moral economy of a new scientific objectivity. The establishment of normal people as a valid measure for a population socially divided and segregated in estates was thus an essential element of the processes of social formation which created our modern society.