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Imagine you see a squadron of fighter jets flying in above in the sky. Then, one of the jets inexplicably breaks formation and flies off by itself. How do you

Imagine you see a squadron of fighter jets flying in above in the sky. Then, one of the jets inexplicably breaks formation and flies off by itself. How do you know which group is on the right course? It could be that the supposedly "rogue" jet that broke formation had realized the others had lost course, and thus reestablished the "correct" course. Thus is the problem of psychiatry. It makes the subjective and critical judgement that the behavior exhibited by most people signifies health, and any deviance from the statistical mean is diseased; evolution be damned. Such an assumption has led to a variety of compulsory "treatments": indefinite solitary confinement, electrocution, lobotomies[1], and gas chambers[2]. [1]http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/the-forgotten-lobotomies-on-world-war-ii-vets/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/the-forgotten-lobotomies... [2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23511221 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23511221

dwringer 9y ago
> Imagine you see a squadron of fighter jets flying in above in the sky. Then, one of the jets inexplicably breaks formation and flies off by itself. A clear-cut case of Paternal Conflict Syndrome.
Nav_Panel 9y ago
> It could be that the supposedly "rogue" jet that broke formation had realized the others had lost course, and thus reestablished the "correct" course. This analogy is flawed: it assumes there is some objectively "correct" course that exists. We could say that psychiatry is flawed because it assumes that the mean corresponds to "health," but this does not seem to be the point of psychiatry. Psychiatry isn't attempting to bring individuals into some objective "healthyness," rather it seems to be attempting to reincorporate deviant individuals back into society, flawed and unhealthy as that society (and treated individual) may be. The ethical implications of this are another question: a psychiatrist might argue that this is a good practice, as they are helping people remain within society, which will likely result in better outcomes along the broader society's axes of good and bad. Others, such as yourself, might argue that this is bad, for various reasons such as that the treatment results in suffering or that deviant individuals also have access to novel perspectives.
wfo 9y ago
It also led to the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder. And, e.g. the chemical castration of Alan Turing. But at the same time if you've ever spent time with people with serious dehabilitating mental illness, it's clear there are a lot of people who are very seriously struggling and very much need help and aren't capable of seeking it out on their own. And if you've ever experienced any kind of mental illness or talked in depth to someone who has, it's clear it's a very real phenomena and not just someone daring to be different. So while I agree with the general thrust of your post I think this: >It makes the subjective and critical judgement that the behavior exhibited by most people signifies health, and any deviance from the statistical mean is diseased; evolution be damned. Is unfair. It's a tough line to thread, which is why psychiatrists and philosophers spend lifetimes working on these issues and trying to figure out where the line is. It's absolutely not the case that "any deviance from the statistical mean is diseased"; this is not an unfair characterization of what was done at the inception of the field when people understood nothing, and it's certainly a good warning about how powerful and dangerous it is classify something or someone as 'insane' (read Foucault! Who is shockingly missing from this article!) but it's not a fair critique of modern day psychiatric medicine.
perilunar 9y ago
>Imagine you see a squadron of fighter jets flying in above in the sky. Then, one of the jets inexplicably breaks formation and flies off by itself. I would think that maybe they are performing a 'missing man formation' [1] and would not find it inexplicable. Not sure what the moral of that is. Perhaps that deviance from the mean may be purposeful and not maladaptive? 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_man_formation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_man_formation

dwringer 9y ago

> Imagine you see a squadron of fighter jets flying in above in the sky. Then, one of the jets inexplicably breaks formation and flies off by itself. A clear-cut case of Paternal Conflict Syndrome.

Nav_Panel 9y ago

> It could be that the supposedly "rogue" jet that broke formation had realized the others had lost course, and thus reestablished the "correct" course. This analogy is flawed: it assumes there is some objectively "correct" course that exists. We could say that psychiatry is flawed because it assumes that the mean corresponds to "health," but this does not seem to be the point of psychiatry. Psychiatry isn't attempting to bring individuals into some objective "healthyness," rather it seems to be attempting to reincorporate deviant individuals back into society, flawed and unhealthy as that society (and treated individual) may be. The ethical implications of this are another question: a psychiatrist might argue that this is a good practice, as they are helping people remain within society, which will likely result in better outcomes along the broader society's axes of good and bad. Others, such as yourself, might argue that this is bad, for various reasons such as that the treatment results in suffering or that deviant individuals also have access to novel perspectives.

wfo 9y ago

It also led to the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder. And, e.g. the chemical castration of Alan Turing. But at the same time if you've ever spent time with people with serious dehabilitating mental illness, it's clear there are a lot of people who are very seriously struggling and very much need help and aren't capable of seeking it out on their own. And if you've ever experienced any kind of mental illness or talked in depth to someone who has, it's clear it's a very real phenomena and not just someone daring to be different. So while I agree with the general thrust of your post I think this: >It makes the subjective and critical judgement that the behavior exhibited by most people signifies health, and any deviance from the statistical mean is diseased; evolution be damned. Is unfair. It's a tough line to thread, which is why psychiatrists and philosophers spend lifetimes working on these issues and trying to figure out where the line is. It's absolutely not the case that "any deviance from the statistical mean is diseased"; this is not an unfair characterization of what was done at the inception of the field when people understood nothing, and it's certainly a good warning about how powerful and dangerous it is classify something or someone as 'insane' (read Foucault! Who is shockingly missing from this article!) but it's not a fair critique of modern day psychiatric medicine.

perilunar 9y ago

>Imagine you see a squadron of fighter jets flying in above in the sky. Then, one of the jets inexplicably breaks formation and flies off by itself. I would think that maybe they are performing a 'missing man formation' [1] and would not find it inexplicable. Not sure what the moral of that is. Perhaps that deviance from the mean may be purposeful and not maladaptive? 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_man_formation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_man_formation