Culture of Madness Essay

dementia praecox is a kind overturn that enables individuals to use in mulish carriage. It is a work forcetal disorder that makes individuals go from social norms. In the years mingled with 1920s and 1950s, dementia praecox was a prevalent designate that was manifested by emotional inharmoniousness and imp f squandered vetoly on the abilities of the gabardine quite a little with check to work outing and feeling. explore article authors of psychiatric journals described schizoid psychosis endurings as native-born-Ameri nominates of white European ances fix. much(prenominal) longanimouss were termed by psychiatric authors as painless and preferably requested psych separateapeutic c be.In 1960s, insane disorder was described as disorder manifested by rage. Research articles asserted that it was a condition that afflicted the Negro men who were hostile and scrappy. These Negroes protested for their civil rights. The protests were organized by black berth, black panthers, nation of Islam or other activist group. I take issue with the view that schizophrenia has got popular pagan emition. It is mere(prenominal)(prenominal)ly a cordial disorder that is non influenced by either back endwash or culture. match to Metzl in 1960s, schizophrenia patients were the Negro men, who were described as aggressive and hostile.In the real sense, the black Ameri messs who were oppressed were non hostile neither did they act ragely. They raised their voices to be heard by Ameri lowlifes for a change of lifestyle, from oppression to immunity. In so doing, the black Ameri backs were fighting for their rights as equal human beings since they unavoidablenessed to be treated with equality. As discussed by Metzl, schizophrenia was associated with racism, and then biased. It was considered to be a ailment of the black Americans since they expressed their feelings due to gouge exerted on them.They were out to fight for the state of affairs betw een the Americans and the Black Americans. dementia praecox is fe ard in the current moment. Schizophrenia patients can act unruly in a receiven surrounding. These patients act to satisfy only when their desires not considering the effect of their deeds on other mess. They can discharge in a musical mode that interferes with other large numbers daily life. For example, if the illness drives them to crimson bearing, other spate give see what they were doing and deal with them first. Any activity that they engage in, they do it with all(a) their strength and thus can be destructive and fierce.b) According to psychiatrists, schizophrenia is a biological mental illness expressed by destines of specify symptoms like delusions whereby the patient thinks of invisibilities and acts correspond to his/her thoughts. It is likewise expressed through hallucinations where by the patient builds castles in the air and imagines that it is real life. The patients as well have disorg anized computer address whereby they mix issues which do not affiliate at all. They express catatonic behavior which is a disorganized behavior in a given surround, for instance relieving championself in the open.Such symptoms atomic number 18 manifested in ship canal that atomic number 18 specific to the surrounding, assumptions and values of the insane individual. For instance, a schizophrenic individual can behave unruly in the midst of other population. He can violently attack a group of people for no good reason and energise alarm. This is be get along the patient is not able to instruction him/herself due to lack of mental coordination. He/she thus attracts attention of people who may be in the middle of weighty events. A schizophrenic patient usually makes undesired assumptions particularly in a group of people.Whenever they see other people talk or laugh, they al styluss think that they are being laughed at because of their condition. They can therefore attack t hem and end up harming them for no reason. Some usually get that its their duty to perform whatever role anywhere. For example, approximately schizophrenic patients encounter that it is their duty to clean each environment they are in. They therefore end up collecting wastes everywhere they go. Most schizophrenic patients think that a group of people behave in a certain(prenominal) look to hurt them or because they want to go against their wishes intentionally.They are in a condition which cannot sanction them to reason with the surrounding. They instead act prejudicially. For example, if a schizophrenic patient is al expressions violent, the people around him and who knows his/her condition may decide to tie him or her with few ropes or lock the individual in a house for almost time. If he or she happens to see some people hold such(prenominal) ropes in another incident, he/she may try to get hold of the ropes as he/she thinks that he/she entrust still be tied up. On the contrary, this may not be case.As a subject field of concomitant, the ropes might be for a contrasting purpose. c) Symptoms of schizophrenia can be innocuous if at all the assumptions values and norms in the current setting are changed. This can only be carry outd if there is freedom in all vistas of life of schizophrenic individuals. For instance, it can be assumed that, if one is talking to himself or herself, he or she is probably talking to the ancestors and should be allowed to do so. It can as well be assumed that if one behaves unruly, he/she is expressing some burning issues within him/herself.Therefore, with this kind of assumptions, secret code would criticize schizophrenic individuals and subsequently, they would have all the freedom they require to express themselves. Schizophrenia cannot cause any distress if the patients are given freedom of speech. For example, a schizophrenic person should not be leave out down if he mixes ideas in a discussion. He should be understood the way he is and given time to express himself. In so doing, he will not feel neglected or weak in one way or another. Some may behave in a schizophrenic manner out of a bad work through they have had before.For example, one can pose schizophrenic after a divide or death of his/her partner. Within this condition, such people need dread and a shoulder to lean on so as to counteract the effects of what they are going through. Schizophrenics behavior should be termed green in a surrounding so as not to cause distress. For example, some religions like Islam allow wife onslaught. Therefore when wife battery cases are encountered in a family with a schizophrenic husband, they are considered to be radiation pattern behavior. 2. Conceptual Tools Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1987).The Notion of Witchcraft justifys wretched Events, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford Clarendon Press. a) Constitution is in the devising of man. It entails a set of laws o r norms that are involved in structuring, creating and defining limits of power or authority possessed by government. A piece is employ to give states identify since all states that have got constitutions are referred to as constitutional states. In the context of phenomena, constitution is the process of using a kinsfolk to create or amount up with knowledge or perceptions about something.A exposition is very contrasting from constitution in that whereas a definition is the concerned with defining an item, constitution is initiation of ideas, thoughts or shapes. Constitution is utilize to dress the structuring or growthion process of anything. In the context of culture, the impression of culture or that which is attributed to culture is considered as a product of the constitution process. On the other hand, interpretation of the meaning of culture and what it entails is termed as exposition.A peculiarity between constitution and description is realized in the descri ption of witchery within the Zande biotic fraternity by Evans-Pritchard, 1987. The physiological state of a person that is think to witchery is a mere description of the activity. On the other hand, a constitution is what will yield or be generated from witchery. Witchcraft from the wording itself is a mere description of some kind of psychical acts. However, constitution is what is synthesized from this act or from the public opinion itself.The reason why Evans-Pritchard has made this note of hand is to tape reality in the hop out of witchery within the Zande community. The Azande are so glued into linking everything with witchcraft therefore, the writer tries to show distinction between reality and witchcraft by giving an elaborate distinction between description and constitution of categories. This way, he tries to change the notion of Azande from thinking that every mysterious thing that happens is due to witchcraft. In the context of reality and the internal knower, symbols and spoken communication are used to describe culture.The pillowcase towards seeing categories as generative is seen through activities which are as a dissolvent of certain categories. A category is undisturbed of certain elements with some common characteristics. It is the common characteristics that enable the categories to become active and achieve a certain goal. In the Zande community for example, witchcraft has been described as a psychic act. On the other hand, it has been altogether associated with constituting unfortunate events among men. The objective description in this case is that witchcraft is associated with ones physiological state.Evans-Pritchard believes that the physiological state used to describe witchcraft is nothing much than a passage of food through the small intestines. It is this objective definition of witchcraft that seems to be embedded in the dismissal of witchcraft from an objective description to a generative category. The generative nature of witchcraft is seen in its role to pardon internal event of unfortunate events as well as in regulating the conduct of people. b) The eluding from describing to being generative lies in the fact that, description is the initial process used to come up with a category. at one time a certain category of people or items is formed, they are used to generate and produce an intended effect. Alternatively, they are link up to the generation of certain results. This way, the change in role model from descriptive to generative is enhanced. When this framework changes, explaining the level of a category shifts as well. This occurs in that, instead of giving the history of a category with respect to description, the generated outcome of the category is used to explain its history.In the Zande community, witchcraft is attributed to physiological factors. Consequently, it is associated with generating mysterious negative effects on man. However, with time, the association of cat egories such as witchcraft, with mysterious negativity derives a different meaning and there is need to shift the definition. In the Zande community, witchcraft is considered to be generative in every aspect of the Azandes lives. Each and every mysterious happening in the lives of the Zande community is considered to be cogitate to witchcraft.Several claims are made with regard to witchcraft. For instance, among the Azandes, when blight attack groundnuts in the field, this is attributed to witchcraft. Also, if women indefatigably bail water from a puss and only manage to draw a few minuscule fish, witchcraft is state to be answerable for this mysterious point. If a wife, contrary to other days, is unresponsive and gloomy, it is verbalise that witchcraft is the cause. Evans-Pritchard has compared the occurrence of misfortunes in the Zande community to the occurrence of misfortunes among the African people.He has gone(a) further to show that the Azande attribute witchcraft to a chain of causation for conditions which when looked at closely, relate a person to indispensable occurrences. Therefore, if the occurrence of events were to be understood in a more realistic manner, the exposition of generative categories would have to change. Evans-Pritchard has showed how this would be done. In all those circumstances where witchcraft was seen as the cause of misfortunes, it was during that particular moment that witchcraft was seen as the cause of the misfortune.This is perceived to mean that witchcraft is not solely responsible for every kind of bad luck. Therefore, the explanation would shift from a generalized understanding to a more specific one. Witchcraft, according to the people of Azande, is used to explain the occurrence of coincidence which causes harm to man. c) The shift from description to seeing categories as generative provides a way to think about rationality, unreason or their interrelation. To examine this, the paper will look at the belie f held by the people on what and who is associated with witchcraft.From a precept point of view, this is just a undated category without any basis or governing principle. The community of Zande can be termed as an irrational group because of the way they attribute witchcraft to occurrences which, a normal and ordinary person would attribute to natural calamity or mere coincidence. The Azande did not practice any rationality in as far as human beings of phenomena is concerned. They do not believe in the existence of phenomena, much less orphic causation. They hold the view that witchcraft is the cause for that which happens mysteriously.The irrationality of the Azande is manifested by the fact that they cannot submit that things can occur through mere coincidence. They have used witchcraft to explain the occurrence of mysterious events. This is irrational of them as there are no facts to back up their ideology. The mere fact that witchcraft is a psychic act could excessively me an that it is attributed to some positive occurrences. However, this is not so as only the negative aspect of occurrences is linked to witchcraft. On the other hand, the Azande have applied some rationale in as far as why some things do happen.For example, the Azande are very much aware that termites eat up the support of a garner thus can fall or collapse at any moment. This is a show that the Azande think rationally. However, irrationality comes in when they relate witchcraft to the collapse of a granary in the presence of people. The Azande do apply rational thinking to explain occurrences but when a negative outcome is impacted on man, this is linked to witchcraft despite the fact that it may not necessarily be the case. This is the interrelation between rationality and irrationality within the category of witchcraft among the Azande.