Philosophy A New Way To Be Mad By Carl Elliot Essay

Philosophy A New Way To Be Mad By Carl Elliot - Essay Example Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), also known as Amputee Identity Disorder or Apotemnophilia (from Greek ÃŽ ±Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€žÃŽ ­ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ½ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ½ "to cut off", and φÎ ¹ÃŽ »ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ± "love of") is the overwhelming desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs or other parts of the body. Sometimes its sufferers take it upon themselves to amputate their own limbs and/or penis. Although it most commonly refers to people who wish to amputate limbs, the term BIID also applies to those who wish to alter their bodily integrity in general (Wikipedia). As a normal human being one strives to be self sufficient. It is more of a vice than virtue to take assistance from someone. If you ask any amputee about the thing he would like to have in this world, his answer would be to get his/her amputated part back. Therefore, the development of a psychological condition in which one intends to become â€Å"incomplete† from â€Å"complete† is difficult to understand. The essence o f condition which leads to disintegration from an integrated and superior stage is what is hard to believe.... In the second essay of "Genealogy of Morals" Nietzsche delve into the development of bad conscience. He mentions that when a man (slave/common man) is deprived of manifesting his "will to power" towards the others (masters/influential people) his energies are turned against himself inwardly and "the instinct of cruelty turns back after it can no longer discharge itself externally." Therefore, it is that cruelty generated in the conditions of helplessness which causes the state of apotemnophilia. Coupled with above, the generation of feeling of self pity and pity from others can be another reason of such behavior. As a normal healthy person is expected to help, the apotemnophiliac from inside is not inclined to do that. Now in normal circumstances he will be looked down upon not helping someone. However, by creating a self generated disability he is not only avoiding the situation of helping others but also generating permanent circumstances in which he is thought to be deserving a preferential treatment. However, what ever the theories are we must understand that the condition of these individuals is not a new phenomenon, but according to few it seem to be on rise. Whether this observation is true or not is debatable. Because we are living in a far more connected world than what it was before. To ascertain that whether the phenomenon is on the rise in recent past is really not possible as the record of our eras' "less interactive" past is not available. However it can be conveniently said that it is prevalent in the prosperous society as compared to a backward one. It is because in prosperous societies more individuals are on "self actualization" stage and thus are more prone to feel their inability to express their energies outwardly, resultantly leading to