Mental Illness Effecting the Human Condition

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Mental Illness Effecting the Human Condition

The human mind according to some is all there is to our existence. If that is the case, then what would happen to us if our mind was damaged or “not quite there?” There is usually an intersubjective idea, being universally accepted amongst most people in a group or community, idea of what a human is. By some scientific definitions, we are nothing more than chemicals added together that somehow work together to form a human meaning that is what it means to be human, but to some, we are so much more. Philosophers, before we knew how some aspects of the brain work, did not take into account of mental illnesses. Society sometimes does not accept the mentally disordered either, which may explain why some children shows or books are making it seem like they are acceptable. The question is, are the people who have mental disorders actually human?

In the Canadian Medical Association Journal, there is an article, “Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne” by Sarah E. Shea, that brings up the multiple medical disorders in the popular book/tv show Winnie the Pooh. In Table 1 of this article, it reveals that Winnie the Pooh has ADHD (inattentive subtype), Eeyore has Dysthymic disorder (a type of depression), and Christopher Robin (the actual human child of the story) has Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood. Yet, most children do not question if Christopher Robin is okay; most just see that Christopher Robin is happy. They continue to watch the show and see the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and his friends have in the Hundred Acre Woods. It makes one wonder if A.A. Milne is indoctrinating children to believe that people with mental disorders are com...

... middle of paper ...

...ot be a tiger or a Tigger, another character in Winnie the Pooh; however, a cheetah and a tiger/Tigger are still considered by many people to be felines. What does this say about humanity if we try to separate other humans as being different from us or even less then us just because they may be slightly different? Does that make us less human? How can we ever define absolutely what it means to be a human?

Bibliography

Sartre, Jean Paul. Being and Nothingness. Trans. Hazel E. Barnes. London: Routledge, 1989. Print.

Shea, Sarah E., et al. "Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on AA Milne." Canadian Medical Association Journal 163.12 (2000): 1557-1559. Web. 13 March 2014.

Strauss, Valerie. "Why Boy Born without Complete Brain Has to Take 2014 Standardized Test." Washington Post. Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 March 2014.

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