Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Insanity
People come up to me all the time (cough cough Sophie-sorry Emma :) ) and say "You're so insane." But what defines insanity? The dictionary says that insanity is "the state of being seriously mentally ill". But what defines "mentally ill"? Everybody's mind is different, as is everybody's perception of insanity. Plus the people could just be acting how their parents taught them. So is there really any way to determine if someone is insane?
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I think that through the modern people in this age, the definition of insanity has changed profusely. Long ago, insanity was taken very seriously, as a disease and something people should stay away from. Now, it's just used as slang, a specific way of saying, "You don't make sense" or "That's nonsensical" or "You don't get it".
ReplyDeleteI agree. (by the way I never said that. Maybe once or twice in room 5 but still that was sophie) I also feel that meanings have been dumbed down. For instance, in "the olden days" calling someone stupid was unexplainable. Nowadays, it happens every day and people don't take offense in it because they know its either sarcastic or know its not meant. Sarcasm has become a whole different thing. People don't really think about it. Yet people say it and don't mean it. Is that lying?
ReplyDeleteInsanity is a physical ailment in the brain that modifies the way people see the world. Sometimes it modifies moods, like depression, others modify the way people see the world, like dementia, or hallucinations, which are probably the ones your thinking of. I think the difference between these, and normal difference in opinion is the fact that these make someone unable to live normally. Just like you can't function in life with a physical illness, you can't function in life with a mental illness. So insanity is what makes you unable to function
ReplyDeleteI believe that, just like in everything else, we individually define the meaning of insanity. For example, one might say that only people who have permanent brain damage and are mentally ill are insane. Or, a man who has a habit of staying up till midnight playing guitar is insane. Or you might call someone who will steal from shops insane. The definition of "insane", like many other words and things, varies from person to person.
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