Who defines normal ?

Question

Also who defines madness?

Whats the benchmark.?

I have trouble with the concept of normal, whil'st all life is in constant evolution.

Answer 1

There is no such thing as normal ... it's a myth .  Few people may actually be average ... but they are sooooooooo boring.

Answer 2

I like this question.

My opinion, and that's all it is...

Normalcy is defined by the person(s) you ask based on his or her personal experiences, perceptions, and surroundings at a given time.

Madness is more often defined by the observer(s) that you ask based on his or her personal experiences, perceptions, and surroundings at a given time.

If a child grows up in poverty, in an abusive situation, with a parent who is an addict, in a war zone, or with parents who are religious extremists or terrorists, is he mad when he acts out what he has learned there?

If a pacifist is dropped into a battlefield with his family, knowing that the enemy does not speak his language, and will torture and maim and kill those he loves, is he mad if he refuses to fight?  

But, if society as a group abdicates responsibility for defining normal, then extreme deviancy from "acceptable behavior" has no repercussions.  

I also have trouble with the concepts in theory, but without them, in your view, is survival of the fittest, and "do whatever you feel" an acceptable alternative for humans?

Despite my distaste for absolutes, I have no qualms about saying I want social benchmarks that support the assumption that the behavior of people like Jeffery Dahmer or Charles Manson is madness...

Then I get tired of thinking....so...I stop reading the YA questions in sociology, psychology, philosophy, etc....lol

Take care...

Answer 3

Society determines what is considered normal and what is considered deviant as well.  Social norms are the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit.

Failure to conform to the rules can result in severe punishments, the most feared of which is exclusion from the group. Group acceptance and social solidarity are key as they both increase with group acceptance (conforming to social norms).

The benchmark would be defined by a behavior that crosses the line from normal to deviant.  Deviance is violating either formal or informal rules social norms set forth by society.  Of course these rules are ever-changing as society is in your words "in constant evolution".  For example, at one time it was socially acceptable for men in Ancient Rome to take young boys as lovers and "train them" in the ways of pleasing a man sexually...nowadays the similar situation would result in pedophile charges and prison time.

As far as "madness" goes, in my opinion that would be defined just as much "medically" as it would socially.

Sorry I rambled, hope I helped some.  Good Luck!

Answer 4

Normal is typically defined by anyone who wishes to put him- or herself into that category.  Have you noticed?   Many folks will say "Most people do..." or "A normal person does..." when what they really mean is "My friends and I do..."

Madness is often defined as an inability (of some sort or another) to cope with the normal tasks of living in society.

Answer 5

the majority!

Answer 6

a person who defines normal likes

to believe he is.

a person who defines madness likes

to believe he is sane.

Answer 7

i think normal is not real.

i mean, how can you say someone is normal when everyone is different. so yeah i don't believe in normal.

"madness to me is when someone is crazy. crazy is when someone does something out there"

-now that i think about it how do we know when something someone does it out there? you can't really say. people just assume someone is "mad" when they do something they are not use to. it's not necessarily madness.

hmm, good question.

it made me think.

Answer 8

What Chris said....

Answer 9

You're asking a basic question but I think a sociology book would really be what you're looking for.  Normal is defined by the culture.  And what it is normal in one culture could be, and probably would be, abnormal in another.  Suggestions?  Look up Henslin Sociology Core Concepts.