“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
The sickness of insanity stems from external forces and stimuli, ever-present in our world, weighing heavily on the psychological, neurological, and cognitive parts of our mind. It can drive one to madness through its relentless, biased, and poisoned view of the world, creating a dichotomy between what is real and imagined. It is a defense mechanism that allows one to suffer the harms of injustice, prejudice, and discrimination, all at the expense of one’s physical and mental faculties.
The criteria for insanity has changed due to the different criminal cases that people are faced with and there isn’t a fine line between sanity and insanity. From what I have researched, I find that there could be a fine line drawn between sanity and insanity. My criterion for insanity is for a person not to know the difference between right and wrong. My criteria matched well with the M’Naghten Rule which states, “Defendant either did not understand what he or she did, or failed to distinguish right from wrong, because of a ‘disease of mind’” (Reuters, Para. 6) I find that because of today’s society and our need to justify people’s actions, the meaning of the M’Naughten Rule and the fine line between insanity and sanity have lost their value. We focus on the being fair instead of the justice of crimes or any given action. The most important the person must go through extensive evaluation and be diagnosed with a mental disorder that may lead to such violence. Many may say that they didn’t know what they were doing but if there is a motive then that doesn’t mean that the person is insane. I have discovered that people get away with so much in result that they can plead insanity. Many criminal cases nowadays are coming out and admit that those convicted and pleaded guilty of insanity due to a mental disorder, were forging their insanity. We refuse to acknowledge that a sane person could kill people but learn that these people have the ability and desire to do such horror to other people. To diagnose someone with insanity, according to the observation of the Andrea Yates, one must suffer and be diagnosed with a form of a mental disorder.
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...
In the psychological community, "insanity" is a legal term and is in no way psychological (Strickland 330). The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology defines "insanity" as "A legal and social term for a mental disorder that causes people to be judged incapable of managing their own affairs and not responsible for their actions." (Pettijohn 144). He continues to say that ".. the term is no longer a correct synonym for a psychotic disorder or any other form of abnormal behavior [in psychology]" (Pettijohn 144). In the time period of "The Yellow Wallpaper", insanity was a valid term for what the women of the time were sometimes said to be. In "The Yellow Wallpaper", the narrator's misunderstood illness and treatment cause her descent into madness.
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.
Much of my skepticism over the insanity defense is how this act of crime has been shifted from a medical condition to coming under legal governance. The word "insane" is now a legal term. A nuerological illness described by doctors and psychiatrists to a jury may explain a person's reason and behavior. It however seldom excuses it. The most widely known rule in...
Insanity seems to be the question in the courtroom today. What defines if a person is mentally stable or if he is sick? The government and court system has been trying to find the definite line, but there are still varying beliefs for and against whether people should be allowed to plead insanity. The definition of insanity is, “the state of being mentally ill; madness” (Oxford Dictionary). The definition of mentally ill is “psychiatric disorder that results in a disruption in a person’s thinking, feeling, moods, and ability to relate to others” (worldiQ.com). That being said, ponder these two situations.
The insanity plea, or the “irresistible impulse” defense, described by Martin (1998) as “a plea that defendants are not guilty because they lacked the mental capacity to realize that they committed a wrong or appreciate why it was wrong.” Remains a very controversial within the judicial system, with many believing that the defense attempts to fake a purportedly guilty man’s insanity, more often to make sure the defendant gets a less harsh conviction or the possibility of an acquittal. While the plea is truly helpful to many who suffer from mental illness, many who do not suffer from illness try to use it as a get-out of-jail-free card.
The insanity defense pertains that the issue of the concept of insanity which defines the extent to which a person accused of crimes may be alleviated of criminal responsibility by reason of mental disease. “The term insanity routinely attracts widespread public attention that is far out of proportion to the defense’s impact on criminal justice” (Butler,133). The decision of this defense is solely determined by the trial judge and the jury. They determine if a criminal suffers from a mental illness. The final determination of a mental disease is solely on the jury who uses evidence and information drawn from an expert witness. The result of such a determination places the individual accused, either in a mental facility, incarcerated or released from all charges. Due to the aforementioned factors, there are many problems raised by the insanity defense. Some problems would be the actual possibility of determining mental illness, justify the placement of the judged “mentally ill” offenders and the total usefulness of such a defense. In all it is believed that the insanity defense should be an invalid defense and that it is useless and should potentially be completely abolished.
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.
Insanity, the state of being seriously mentally ill; a form of madness. In the beginning, Lear displays perhaps one of his most lethal errors in the entire play. When Cordelia refuses to lie as her sisters did of her affection for him, he refuses to have her in his kingdom.“Good my lord,
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.