Cutbush press source?

[Vigilantee]

I'm basically questioning the whole theory of personality types and modern psychology/psychiatry as a pseudoscience with little bearing on reality.

Probably an overstatement, as I'm sure it has an approximation role, but the counter perspective needs to be aired occassionally, especially in a world where much of Freudian and Jungian theory, once seen as truths, has been refuted.

My current position is that healthy people don't have personality types, any more than there's any such thing as 'human nature', as these are signs of dysfunction, though no doubt very common ones. Normative behaviour (though perhaps rare in modern society!) is far more diverse, mutable and rational than most generalisers would want to believe IMO.

'To generalize is to be an idiot. To particularize is the alone distinction of merit. General knowledges are those knowledges that idiots possess'.
William Blake

[Vigilantee]

The upshot being I don't think you can necessarily use psychological theory, no matter how well supported by limited examples, to judge every particular case. Though you may get a few partial truths.

Of course its harder to supply examples of the particular than it is the general.

[DVV]

'To generalize is to be an idiot. To particularize is the alone distinction of merit. General knowledges are those knowledges that idiots possess'.
William Blake

Blake?
A quite predictable fellow, I guess.

[Vigilantee]

Blake?
A quite predictable fellow, I guess.

Quite the contrary.

But to the point, as made many times here, psychological analyses of crimes are always validated with hindsight, its never had any predictive successes that I've heard of. So I'd never use it as anything other than a rule of thumb.

[Natalie Severn]

Interesting ideas Vigilante and I believe they have a basis of truth.However for the purposes of understanding the mental health problems that Thomas Cutbush experienced,and the reason he was sent to Broadmoor and not for example one of the London based institutions such as Colney Hatch or Leavesdon,I think its worth using the more conventional terms that can be found in modern medical dictionaries.Here you can read descriptions that match the symptoms Thomas had of a profound and debilitating paranoia,not unlike his "uncle",Supt Charles Cutbush. Only his symptoms definitely included a callous violent paranoia- as evidenced regarding the elderly official ,his work colleague he is alleged to have hurled down a stone staircase and left for dead in a pool of blood ,breezily announcing ,when his stunned colleagues arrived on the scene ,"Look,the poor gentleman has fallen downstairs" .Not a hint of remorse---and noone would have been any the wiser had not the man made recovery from his coma and told of the assault and how Cutbush had lain in wait for him all because he had called him vain for constantly looking in a mirror---he also said "much better looking chaps dont spend half as much time looking at themselves"..........
I believe we have here,along with the attempt to cut a relatives throat that was later hushed up on her request, the first real indications of the cold,cool killer that was Jack the Ripper.
Its worth noting that right up to this point Cutbush had managed to have a good work record,as Macnaghten pointed out in his memorandum , and had only had this particular job a few weeks when the incident was alleged to have happened. He began in this particular post, again in Whitechapel, on July 24th 1888 ,just at the point his work record had taken a turn for the worse due to some noted lateness.
In other words,in July 1888, a little before the Whitechapel murder spree began,Thomas Cutbush, though he had begun to show outward signs of his violent tendencies and his paranoia in this attack at work and I think I am right on the attack on his relative around the same time,was in paid work and functioning reasonably in life.
Norma

[Sara]

As have most serial killers, in particular those of prostitutes

I do hope the Broadmoor archives furnish some useful information, as this feller who has only recently come onto my radar sounds more and more the likely Ripper. Will be sad for the forum though if we nail him!