“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” says Einstein (Insane). This is the only one of the many thoughts about insanity. Many people have interpreted the word insanity in their area of profession for many years. Artists defended that insanity is the foundation of the creativity, while psychiatrist were defining it as “mentally illness, craziness.” This discrepancy became very clear in all sources when I was reading articles which are written out from different perspectives. I didn’t read only their interpretation about insanity; they showed me that what kind of thoughts which author has. Also they all are such as to authenticate that “someone can be identified by his/her interpretation of the word insanity.”
Dictionaries are easiest and most appropriate way to start point for a research paper about a word because they include most known meanings of the words. Oxford English Dictionary, which is one of the most respected dictionaries in the world since 1884, defines insanity by saying “the state of being seriously mentally ill; madness.” (Oxford). Expectedly the denotation meaning of the word insanity is based on its scientific explanation because it is easy to prove with the written documents. On the other hand, connation meanings are subjective which means depends on people who define it, and normally people who have different point views, defines the word differently. Also they tried to convey their thought/interpretation about insanity to other people, and they created discrepancy between them. That gives us chance to identify someone from his/her interpretation of insanity.
Though dictionaries use insanity’s scientific explanation, art attributed new meanings to it. Belinda Thomso...
... middle of paper ...
...zan Öztürk, who is reverend of her street’s mosque, was defining insanity by saying “Insanity is a punishment which is given by the God to people who think they are most clever person” (Öztürk). As you see, they interpret insanity in the direction of their mind. We can liken the insanity to a mirror which shows what kind of mind that someone has.
When we consider all of the pieces of information, we can easily see that definition of the word insanity is related to some critters of the person who says, such as: area of profession, thoughts/opinions etc. People define insanity as to those, in other words they gives informations about them with their interpretation of insanity. That gives us chance to identify someone from his/her interpretation of insanity. As I said at the beginning of the essay, “INSANITY IS A MIRROR WHICH SHOWS WHAT KIND OF A MIND THAT YOU HAVE."
A mentally insane person, according to psychologytoday.com, is defined as “a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality… or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive
What is sit to be insane? The legal definition of insanity at Law.com states, “Mental disorder… a person who cannot distinguish fantasy from reality…” In the tell-tale heart, a story written by Edgar Allen Poe, The Narrator (the main character) plots to kill The Old Man. His reason being: he believes the old mans “vulture” eye had cursed him. The Narrator is constantly defending his sanity but evidence can prove otherwise.
Essay #2: Classical Argument: People fear what they do not know or understand. Madness, or insanity, can be defined as severe mental illness or abnormal behavior. It can mean that one cannot conform to society or is simply foolish. Every definition of the word, however, pertains to some deficiency in one’s relationship with oneself or the world. If a man cannot get along with people in the world because he does not operate by the same set of logical principles, moral precepts, or social graces that the society around him accepts, that society might consider him insane.
Forever has insanity plagued our lives. From the beginning, those who were not what society considered normal were labeled out of their minds. We look back at the old medicine men, and what do we see? Men, who themselves, were insane enough to think of crazy ways to heal our headaches and everything that ailed us, yet we’d hate to be one of them. None of us want to be labeled crazy, out of our minds, or insane. It is the one constant fear in humans, it’s what is hiding under our beds and in our closest, at ages so young we still have night lights. It causes us to scream, hide, and call for someone else to help. Just one person to tell us that we didn’t imagine things and we are not indeed losing our minds. But the truth is the real meaning of insanity is being lost.
To begin, it is important there be an established definition of insanity. Though the original work is set in the turn of the 17th century, and Branagh's in the late 19th, it is important that insanity be described based on current definitions. Antiquated understandings of the matter will provide very little as far as frames of argument. Thus, for this task, the paper will employ law.com's vast legal dictionary for a current definition of insanity. The dictionary tasks itself to such extent. It defines insanity as “mental illness of such a sever...
Within the article Stephen King continuously states that we humans all have insanity within us. In the article,
How is that even possible? The dictionary definition of the word insanity is the state of being seriously, mentally ill (“Definition of the Word Insanity”). Insanity is also classified as a medical diagnosis. Insanity came from the Latin word insanitatem (“History of the Word Insanity”). People started using this word in the 1580’s. The Latins interpreted insanity as unhealthy Modern day society uses the word insanity too loosely. Although the dictionary definition of insanity is not wrong, several cases that prove having “insanity” does not always mean “being seriously mentally ill” has came to surface.
Insanity is defined as a deranged state of mind or more commonly doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The word quixotic, based on the name of Don Quixote, means optimistic or idealistic in a way that is not real-world. This word came to be due to the multiple instances throughout the parody that Don Quixote presents himself as someone who is out of touch with reality, but at times not without rational thought.
In order for someone to be found guilty of a crime they must have actus reus and mens rea. The insanity defense did not deal with the actus rea, but the question is whether or not the defendant knew wrongfulness of his crime. The right of this defense come from the fact that a person should not be liable if he is not capable mentally to know what he is doing and able to conform his conduct to the requirements of law. Although the insanity defense tactic is rarely used and rarely successful, defense lawyers sometimes have strategy behind the weak insanity defense. The success in the insanity defense will not be to prove that the defendant was insane at the time of the crime, but to achieve other goals based on the defendant
What is "insanity" and why is this subject of much controversy? Although I do not have a clear definition of insanity, most socially recognized authorities such as psychiatrists, medical doctors, and lawyers agree that it is a brain disease. However, in assuming it is a brain disease, should we link insanity with other brain diseases like strokes and Parkinsonism? Unlike the latter two, whose causes can be medically accounted for through a behavioral deficit such as paralysis, and weakness, how can one explain the behavior of crimes done by people like Hinckley? (2)
“A Prospective of Four Insanity Defense Standards.” The National Center for Biotechnology Information. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Jan 1991. Web. 14 Apr.2014.
Both legal and mental health professionals have long struggled to establish a clear and acceptable definition of insanity. Insanity is a legal term, not a psychological or medical one. The Sarasons prefer to use the term “maladaptive behavior” instead of insane or insanity. Maladaptive behavior is, “behavior that deals inadequately with a situation, especially one that is stressful” (5). Adaptation is the way people balance what they do and want to do, and what the environment/community requires of them. Successful adaptation depends on a person’s stress (situations that impose demands on him or her), vulnerability (likelihood of a maladaptive response), and coping skills (techniques that help him or her deal with difficulties/stress) (5). Consider the recent school shootings as an
Insanity is a legal, not a medical definition. This makes mental illness and insanity correlate with each other, only some mental illnesses are consider as inanity. Insanity includes not only the mental, illness but also mental deficiencies. There are major problems in exactly how to apply a medical theory to legal matters. Every crime involves a physical and mental act and the non-physical cause of behavior. The mens rea is the mental element that would be required for a crime, if it is absent it excuses the criminal from criminal responsibility...
What does insanity look like? Insanity is typically portrayed in movies and books as a person with a vividly active and occasionally violent mind. One example of this would be the Mad Hatter in the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland. Society has trained us to see a similar image when presented with the topic of insanity. This same portrayal can be seen in the book Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.