Ethical Analysis of A Beautiful Mind

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Ethical Analysis of “A Beautiful Mind”

“A Beautiful mind” is a story based on the life of John Forbes Nash, who is a famous mathematician. Unfortunately, he is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia that majorly affects his personal and social life. Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder in which the patient’s ability to function is impaired by severely distorted beliefs, perceptions, and thought processes (Hockenbury, 2010).

John Nash, the main character, faces many challenges in his professional life as well as in his personal life. His friends who later become his colleagues think that he is just plain crazy. They also find him entertaining. However, they cannot resist looking down on him for his strange behavior, difficulties with deadlines, and hardship with women. John is often distracted by visual hallucinations, experiences involuntary movements, and has issues communicating with others appropriately. Despite his illness, John Nash proves the Brouwer’s fixed point theorem while he is still attending Princeton University, and he finally earns his peers’ and his professor’s respect. He marries a graduate student, Alicia. She does not have any knowledge of John’s mental disorder until his condition begins to worsen and he becomes institutionalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia. She loves him and feels obligated to take care of him even though John endangers her and their baby’s life as well. She realizes that staying with Nash is a major responsibility; nevertheless, she decides to care for him and to deal with the consequences. Unfortunately, schizophrenia is a complex and misunderstood mental condition, sometimes resulting in society’s intolerance for those suffering from this illness, including John Nash. Societ...

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...least advantaged because he relies on the welfare of others--his wife, his friends, and his psychiatrist. Fortunately, because Alicia has strong moral values she agrees to keep John away from the psychiatric clinic. She supports and understands him in every aspect. Even though John is mentally ill and the least advantaged, he still manages to live a meaningful life with the help of family and friends.

Works Cited

Grazer, B. (Producer), & Howard, R. (Director). (2001). A beautiful mind [Motion picture]. U.S.: Universal Pictures.

Hockenbury, H. D., & Hunenbury, E. S. (2010). Discovering Psychology (5th ed.).New York: Worth.

Jones, J. (2010). Medical Problems in Schizophrenia Can Be Prevented. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 7, 2011, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/26/medical-problems-in-schizophrenia-can-be-prevented/16004.html

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