How true is the "everything is a mental illness" meme of psychiatry?
We can virtually all agree that schizophrenia is a serious psychiatric disorder, even in times when there was little to no understanding of mental illness, we would still figure that schizophrenia isn't supposed to be. But how is being a sociopath an illness more than it is a trait? Sociopathy certainly has benefits in certain circumstances, being a sociopath could be beneficial during wartime, or if you're a surgeon. It's not hard to conceive how certain selective pressures could favor sociopathy. But it's a "disorder" because of the normative views of psychiatrists and the public?
Are normative grounds the basis for what constitutes a psychiatric disorder? And this is called science?
The reasoning goes that in order to be a psychopath, there needs to be some sort of disorder or damage with your capacity to 'feel empathy' which is actually a pretty important thing for functioning in society.
Jacob Evans
That's stepping into politics, and thus subjectivity. The border between trait and disorder needs to be clear.
Sebastian Russell
>psychiatry-symbol.png >Psychiatrist are soul-merchants
Brandon Nguyen
Are you arguing that's what they are, or what?
Aiden King
just pointing out the symbol has too much snakes and fancy shit
Jeremiah Williams
Never thought of that, lol.
Ryder Watson
The thing about personality disorders, mental illness and any other form of abnormal psychology is that the 'meaning' of an illness is contextual.
Attitudes towards whatever personality disorders or other illnesses for that matter is dependent on the community it is found it.
Though that said, human behavior is becoming well documented, systematized and patterns are being discovered. As I see it, current state of psychology is similar to if chemists identified many compounds, atomic properties and so on, and then told others how society should address the findings.
t. psyc major
Adam Fisher
Sociopathy is not a mental illness
But law-abiding suckers love to pathologise criminals because it makes them feel better about themselves
If anything, we're all fucking mentally ill for agreeing to live in a society that strips us of our freedom and expects us to conform to restrictive norms. Criminals don't have any of that. They just do whatever the fuck they want. All they have to worry about is evading the law and surviving against other criminals with a similar lackadaisical attitude to morality who will stop at nothing to take them out.
Nathaniel Young
>The border between trait and disorder needs to be clear.
You'll be glad to know that it is. Mental disorders are separated from personality disorders and it is known that the former might be suppressed or even treated in some cases while the latter must be acknowledged as abnormal so that one with such a disorder might better understand himself to aid with societal integration.
Alexander Taylor
>It's not hard to conceive how certain selective pressures could favor sociopathy.
nothing to do with the desireability of a trait.
if you think about it psychiatry is just an extention of eugenics by attempting to remove traits from society. Those can be undesireable for many reasons. usually inconsisten/subjective but mainly about suffering and failure to function.
technically its a personality disorder which isn't a mental disorder/syndrome rather an extreme part of the personality continuum (thats what they say)
also you think being a criminal is fun?
Dominic Young
>technically its a personality disorder which isn't a mental disorder/syndrome rather an extreme part of the personality continuum (thats what they say) Well, anyway, it's not a dysfunction of the brain is it? It's an alternate life strategy.
>also you think being a criminal is fun? If you can get away with it, or if you're big/tough enough to stand up for yourself and get your way in prison, then yes. Why would anybody act criminally if it wasn't fun?
Everybody was a criminal before society came about. It was kill or be killed.
And in a way, people act criminally when they go to war, don't they? Yes I know we have laws of war which are of course different to the normal everyday laws we have of civil society. But in war you kill people, which goes against the fundamental law of murder that usually pertains in a civil society.
Cooper Howard
every regularity of behaviour is manifested in the brain!
saw some documentary about drug dealer. he was millionaire but always lookign over his shoulder the police, other gangster, the anxiety wasn't worth it. i reckon its pretty shit being a criminal.
people dont become criminals on purpose unless theres a reason. cost benefit.
Asher Gutierrez
(criminal) or they forced to.
Connor Gutierrez
Exactly, it is a cost benefit analysis, and people who choose crime make a calculation that they have more to gain from crime than a lawful life, and that any costs of crime don't outweigh that benefit.
Many criminals do well. In fact criminals apparently have more children*. And since having children is ultimately the purpose of any organism, I'd say crime pays in that department.
>Convicted criminal offenders had more children than individuals never convicted of a criminal offense.
Street criminals have an IQ sweet spot. Criminologists have noted this for some some time, and IQ negatively correlates with fertility.
Jackson Mitchell
some criminals like it not all. i
Easton Powell
>IQ negatively correlates with fertility. You mean the higher someone's IQ, the less likely they are to reproduce?
Not surprised I guess, and I think I have read that before
Need to stop reading books and get back to the gym 2bh
Carter Ross
that paper is completely misleading. the number of children you have isn't necessarily a sign of fitness or of good health/common sense/ purpose in life.
Isaiah Rivera
>the number of children you have isn't necessarily a sign of fitness or of good health/common sense/ purpose in life.
Who needs those things? Life is a competition to procreate at the end of the day, so if you've done that, you've won.
Mason Jones
the amount of positivist cucks on this board is unreal
Brandon Watson
If you go to a psychiatrist and they try to diagnose you with "sociopathy" ask to see their degree
