taxigirl
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2012
- Messages
- 1,205
- Reaction score
- 452
- Location
- Madison, WI
- Gender
- Female
- Political Leaning
- Socialist
Because mental illness inherently robs someone of the sound judgment necessary to make such a decision. As far as "what gives others the right to judge", it's the same thing that gives us the right to judge that kids can't smoke
cigarettes: Kids who smoke cigarettes, like mentally ill people who want to kill themselves, generally aren't capable of making a rational decision and should therefore be protected from hurting themselves.
Why is there a belief that mental illness = irrational thought.
Do we want two types of accounts about human behavior – one to explain the
conduct of sane or mentally healthy persons, and another to explain the conduct
of insane or mentally ill persons? I maintain that we do not need, and should not
try, to account for normal behavior one way (motivationally), and for abnormal
behavior another way (causally). Specifically, I suggest that the principle, ‘Actions
speak louder than words,’ can be used to explain the conduct of mentally ill
persons just as well as it can the behavior of mentally healthy persons. Thomas
Szasz, Insanity: The Idea and Its Consequences (1997: 352)