Insanity

Insanity (sometimes, madness) is a semi-permanent severe disorder of the mind, typically as a result of mental illness.

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In criminal law, it is the assessment that the disorder is severe enough as to relieve an accused of legal responsibility for his or her actions. An insanity defense is based on claiming this is the case, and that a sentence should involve treatment rather than imprisonment (or, in the case of temporary insanity, that no sentence should be applied at all).

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In civil law, insanity renders a person unfit for entering contracts or other legal obligations. In some judicial systems, it may allow for someone to be involuntarily committed. Many who support the movement of anti-psychiatry take the position that mental illness is questionable as a diagnosis either legally or medically, and that claims of insanity should not free said persons from responsibility.

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In popular culture, something "insane" is something extremely foolish, while persons may be deemed "insane" if their behaviour strongly deviates from accepted social norms. The term is typically negative, but departure from established norms may also be seen as a positive quality; in this case, being "insane" is being daringly unconventional or individualistic. This use of insane is illustrated by the following quote from Henry David Thoreau's A Plea for Captain John Brown:

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Many, no doubt, are well disposed, but sluggish by constitution and by habit, and they cannot conceive of a man who is actuated by higher motives than they are. Accordingly they pronounce this man insane, for they know that they could never act as he does, as long as they are themselves.

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In this sense, "insanity" is not implied to be an actual disorder, let alone severe.

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In some views, what is insane by mainstream definitions is not necessarily a disorder of the mind, but may simply be a different way of being that is judged as unacceptable on social or cultural grounds. This is stronger than the meaning discussed above—in this case, it is implied that what is seen as actual insanity by others is not (and by extension, that there is no mental illness). Since great legal and social consequences are attached to being declared insane (ranging from possibly having one's freedom curtailed by involuntary commitment to escaping punishment by falsely convincing others of insanity), these matters are a source of considerable controversy.

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As a state of mental disorder, insanity has historically been attributed to supernatural or divine causes where theories of mental illnesses were not developed. Aberrant or destructive behaviour from an individual has been explained as another entity taking over their body (demonic possession) or as a mental unhinging inflicted by the gods, as punishment for wrongdoing. In these theories, insanity is an external condition overriding an otherwise sane mind (which may not ever manifest itself). That demonic possession occurs and can be a valid explanation for insanity in some cases is still asserted by some, but this view holds no more than minority acceptance.

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Sam Levenson is credited with saying, "Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children."

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Criminal law: Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. The goal of this process is that of achieving criminal justice....

Insanity defense: In a criminal trial, the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, via which defendants may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly "criminal" actions. The insanity defense is...

Civil law: Civil law has at least three meanings. It may connote an entire legal system,...

Insanity related Images and Photos (experimental)

Nanny Insanity	Instant Insanity Game	Instant Insanity 2 Game	DotCom - Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.
Joanna of Castile Has Her Insanity Aggravated by the Death of Her Husband