Quote:
|
We seem to be dancing around the term 'insane' at present.
|
I don't think it is the word "insane" that we are debating. Nobody here is challenging the idea that insane people violate society's norms. The question is rather, do sane people violate society's norms? Or, more strictly, does it require insanity to do things that the vast majority of society would not do?
My contention is that sane people can know their behavior to be harmful, socially unacceptable, and still do it.
Just as an aside, out of my own curiosity, do you suppose that those people who have sex with horses are insane? I find that way more extreme than simple rape with mutilation. Maybe it's because I am in Japan where child rape comics are extremely popular and mainstream almost.
Quote:
|
"loss of contact with reality"
|
Indeed, that is how I would define it. And by that definition, only two of the people I was in prison with were insane. One thought he was a religious leader, a prophet of some sort. The other guy was a huge, 400 lbs dude, and he would flap his arms and try to fly out of prison. It was so extreme he didn't stay in general population long. The others were all fine. We all did hard labor in factories and socialized and they all functioned normally. Violence did occur, and some of those people were extremely violent. I was extremely violent in my youth. I wasn't insane though. For somebody to think that violence isn't enjoyable, that seems odd. There are chemical reactions in the brain associated with pleasure that can be triggered by risk taking. I think those people call themselves "adrenaline junkies". When I was younger, I loved the rush of it. Fighting people, beating people, running from cops. Very common and normal if you ask me.
Quote:
|
I would question if he knew right from wrong and whether he was in control of his behaviour given it's unusual and bizarre nature.
|
This I don't get. It seems that you think that people, if they know right from wrong, will do right. Is that correct?
People like dopamine more than they do "rightness". I have a relative, very well off, who used to shoplift like crazy. Not even things she needed, and she could have bought it all easily. She liked the rush. Sometimes I go out at night and look for some nationalist guy to pick a fight with me. All people do that, I think. Not just fights, but stuff to get the dopamine flowing - eating, sex, etc.