Talk:Lunatic

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I am not confortable about this article being in category:mental health. Would it be more appropriate to put it in category:mental illness, an alternative, or neither? I would be interested on others' people's thoughts on this matter. --Vincej 13:53, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

I don't really like the category 'mental health'. 'Mental health' suggests that there is a way that the mind ought to function (an ontological and ethical problem), and that the practitioner knows what this is (an epistemological problem). In extremes, this can lead to abuses like: 'If you disagree with Marxism-Leninism then there is something wrong with your mind', which I think is what happened in Stalin's Soviet Union for a while. (Any references to this practice would be appreciated - publunch.) Here the practioner 'knows' that the mind 'ought' to agree with Marxism-Leninism.

Saying what 'mental health' is, beyond saying it is 'a properly functioning mind' (if there is such a thing) would involve getting involved in lots of POVs about what a properly functioning mind is supposed to be.

'Mental illness' is not quite so bad, as I think people can agree on cases of gross dysfunctionality. Thomas Szasz has written a book called The Myth of Mental Illness however. He does not deny that many mentally ill people have problems which need to be taken seriously, but disputes that such people have a 'mental illness' which is in any way analagous to a physical illness such as measles or mumps.

I'd like to lump the categories 'mental health' and 'mental illness' under the banner 'psychiatry'. I think this is a more neutral word. The difficulties involved in giving a sharp translation of ψυχή are actually a benefit, as one can use the word without suggesting a sharp commitment to a particular point of view on such matters as whether there is such a thing as mental health.

--Publunch 22:07, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removed link

I removed Raison CL, Klein HM, Steckler M. The moon and madness reconsidered. J Affect Disord. 1999 Apr;53(1):99-106

The link no longer worked and an archive was unavailable. Open2universe 23:52, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

I've put it back, this time with a working PubMed link. -- Karada 10:42, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Non Sequiter

I removed the section about women's menstral cycle being about equal to the lunar cycle. It doesn't relate to the rest of the section unless PMS is assumed to be a form of lunacy (a view that at least 50% of the world would have a problem with). A discussion of how this belief has led to the institutionalization of 'deviant' women, I think, would make this an appropriate item--this discussion could include a reference to the origion of the term hysterical which derives from the greek word for womb which early doctors saw as a source of madness. The sentence is copied below for easy reference.

"Many women suffer from premenstrual stress syndrome, which can involve depression and irritability. The menstrual cycle is more-or-less the same length as the lunar cycle."Antonrojo 15:57, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Move?

Should we move this to "Lunacy"? For example, "Schizophrenia" isn't "Schizophrenic".