The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 14, Ed. 1 Monday, October 18, 1976 Page: 1 of 12
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Mental illness conference features specialists
by Carla McFarland
"Mental Illness and
Individual Responsibility"
was the topic of discussion last
Thursday at the second in a
series of three conferences on
mental illness and its policy
implications for law and
health care presented by the
Department of Philosophy
and the Program in Legal
Studies.
Main addresses were
delivered by Professor Jerome
Neu of the University of Texas
Law School at Austin who
discussed "Minds on Trial,"
and Professor Jules Coleman
of the University of Wisconsin
at Milwaukee who si
the
ftresfief
volume 64, number 14
monday, october 18, 1976
Neumann discusses foreign policy
Dr. Robert G. Neumann,
project director of the Center
for Strategic and Inter-
national Studies at George-
town, opened the 1976-1977
President's Lecture Series
with the disscussion of "A
More Open American Foreign
Policy—Is It Possible?" In his
presentation he drew on his
ten years of deplomatic
experience, first as US
ambassodor to Afghanistan,
1966-1973, then as US
ambassador to Morocco, 1973-
1976, and on his academic
background. This academic
and political "balance" was
reflected in his analysis of past
and current international
policies.
While Neumann served as a
deplomat, the events in
Angola recieved international
coverage. At that time
foreigners expressed concern
over the lack of American
involvement. Dr. Neumann
noted that foreigners still feel
that "a world without strong
American involvement is an
uneasy world" and that the
"lack of will" in US policy was
often a topic of discussion.
Neumann feels that the
problem is "not a crisis of will-
but a crisis of confidence." The
lack of trust that developed
within the US government
between the executive and
legislative branches had far
reaching implications in
foreign policy.
The Nixon/Kissinger "tight
in formation control"
approach to diplomacy, where
only the people "on top" could
act, resulted in much of the
present distrust.
According to Neumann,
"When you balance the good
results of Nixon/Kissinger
diplomacy with the resulting
ravages within the system,
they are not good enough."He
feels that the disadvantages of
the Nixon/Kissenger type of
top level "solo diplomacy" are:
—the inability to "wait it out"
while the other party acts,
—a lack of flexibility; if you
start at the top where do you go
from there?
—success results in "self-
intoxication", and
—the need to cover-up "leaks
from the top".
Neumann believes that the
chief of state is the only person
in the government bureacracy
that has an overview of the
national situation. Thus he
must deal with many
questions of foreign policy
since they directly affect the
economy at home. More
foreign action requiring
Congressional approval, and
misreadings of legislative
temper due to lack of contact
have caused a contradiction to
arise in the method of
implementing foreign policy.
Neumann feels that we must
now define our priorities in uch
a way that "we err on the side
of openness until trust is
restored." He concluded by
noting , "For the logic of facts
to win over the logic of man we
must overcome the situation of
mutual distrust".
"Mental Abnormality in Tort
Theory."
Professor Neu used the
example of insanity as a
defense to illustrate how the
social and moral values of a
community interact with
medical norms to shape the
definition of mental disease.
The connection between
mental disease and criminal
liability is dependent on public
policy in terms of the technical
(medical) information availa-
ble. Professor Neu explained
that in the courtroom,
"insanity is a legal standard
rather than medical fact," and
that it is "the job of the jury to
bring the two together."
Professor Coleman ex-
plained the reasons behind the
inadmissability of the
insanity defense in tort (non-
contractural) law. A major
justification for holding the
mentally ill responsible for
allegations of fault is the
concept of compensatory
justice. Failure to have due
care is a socially unacceptable
trait; the victims of careless-
ness should be compensated if
the distribution is justified.
According to Professor
Coleman the failure to live up
to certain standards of care
does not necessarily measure
moral shortcomings but does
measure one of many moral
differences.
Group discussions led by
specialists in the legal
problems that beset the
mentally ill and their families
took up the remainder of the
afternoon. The discussion
themes and their leaders were:
"Thoughts About Responsi-
bility," Konstantin Kolenda—
Professor of Philosophy, Rice
University; "History of
Msntal Illness as an Excusing
Condition," Harold Hyman—
Professor of History, Rice
University; "The Role of the
Mental Health Expert in the
Legal Process," Jerome
Brown—Dept. of Psychiatry,
Baylor University—South
Texas College of Law—Chief
Forensic Psychologist of
Harris and Jefferson Coun-
ties; "Recent Developments in
the Treatment of the Mentally
111 Defendant," Reginald
Hirsch—Cooperating Attor-
ney, American Civil Liberties
Union; and "Problems in the
Treatment of the Mentally
Disturbed Defendant: A
Judge's Perspective," The
Honorable Fred Hooey —
Judge, 180th District Court.
The final program in the
series, "Social Treatment of
the Mentally 111," will be
presented November 16 on the
Rice campus. The sessions are
free of charge and open to the
public. Contact Dr. Baruch
Brody, general chairman of
the program, or the Philo-
sophy Department for more
information.
Ford wins big in SA poll
Elections were held Thurs-
day to fill the offices of Student
Association Secretary -
Treasurer and Program
Council Vice-President. The
election was made necessary
by the resignation of Quinn
Chipley, elected last spring to
th6 Secretary-Treasurer's post,
and by the absence last spring
of any candidate for RPC Vice-
President. t
Claude Sisson, who ran
unopposed for the SA
position, will hold the office for
the remainder of Chipley's
term. When asked for a
statement, Sisson said that
there wasn't anything really
worth saying about his
election, but for the record he
commented, "I am pleased
that I was elected."
In the race for RPC Vice-
President, Craig L. Jackson
defeated Claire Jacobs and Joe
Lueckenhoff, picking up 342
votes to their respective 150
and 196 vote tallies. Jackson
was not available for
comment.
A presidential preference
poll was included in the ballot.
The results might be
considered surprising: 481
votes went to Gerald Ford,
while 214 votes went to Jimmy
Carter.
SA Agenda, Oct 18, 10pm, SH 301
OLD BUSINESS
A. Campanile Budget
The Senate still has to approve the budget, since it was tabled at
our last meeting.
University Council
Ricky Bost and/or Chris Armandes want the Senate to take some
action on the proposal to change to the hour system.
NEW BUSINESS:
A. Approval of Election Results
Claude Sesson was elected'S.A. treasurer, Craig Jackson was
elected R.P.C. Vice President and Gerry Ford was elected
President (2 to 1 margin)
B. Student Health Service
Joel Slade, the undergraduate rep to the Student Health Standing
Committee will talk about the S.H.S.
C. Parking Appeals Board
The approval of the two alternates selected by the Senate's
committee is needed.
D. Off-Campus Budget
—?—
E.The Baylor University Student Government has passed a
resolution against the proposed action of Bell telephone to
charge for calls made to information. The reasoning is that
university students are forced to use information much more than
the general public. Will we support the resolution? Tune in and
find out!
Baker concert Friday night featured Country Swing by Frankie Vee and the Village Boys. Concert courtesy of a couple of good 'ol boys
in Baker College. —photo by waiter underwood
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McFarland, Carla. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 14, Ed. 1 Monday, October 18, 1976, newspaper, October 18, 1976; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245305/m1/1/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.