| jv103 said: Ah Mental Illness its so hard to define. Maybe we can begin testing people for genetic predisposition to mental illness and watch out for it. I have a question though- Say I'm like an existentialist (more like a nihilist in my case) and I don't really believe in morality, right versus is wrong etc. If I showed no remorses could that be considered a mental illness because it is an aberration because I can't understand morality? I think mental illness is such a fluid thing that it troubles me. |
Mental illness is not nearly as fluid as you think. Schizophrenia in particular is not. It is known to have a strong genetic component, and essentially impossible to treat without medication. The understanding of mental illness is hardly fluid quite honestly. The understanding of what causes it is, admittedly, limited but that is more due to the lack of understanding how the brain really works.
as to your second comment, absolutely not. Just because yuo do not care that a person lives or dies is not enough to get off. Most serial killers have no compassion for human ife, and I can only think of a couple that actually got away with the insanity defense (and it was clearly called for in those cases). You have to show a complete lack of regard for the fact that society also holds it to be bad. The insanity defense contends the person had no way of understanding they were doing anything wrong at all. Any attempt to hide the fact that you have killed someone will instantly exclude any possibility of this defense working.
