In the world there are many labeled groups of people, normal should not be one of them. Unfortunately, cultures still strive to create a “normal”, which can affect how we feel about our minds, our bodies, what we own, and other people around us. That can also tie into how psychology and culture are too reliant on society to define the word normal. In this case, the “emotional and behavioral characteristics of an individual, group, or activity” not the “science that deals with mental processes and behavior.” (American Heritage)
To be reminded of the correct definition is vitally important because psychologists and their work are not very dependent on society for that sort of idea. Whereas our brains, an “individual”, are very reliant upon society …show more content…
In several different contexts normal can also mean the following: okay or acceptable, stable or average, healthy or functioning, or perfect and thriving. Of course, everyone has their own opinions as to what normal actually is. This might be one of the factors that makes the word so hard to precisely define. Our cultures, however, can be affected by how society chooses to define normal. But, it truly depends on each person’s perspective.
In “The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe, several different blind men feel different parts of a single elephant. They then try to relate their discovery to something else they know. For example, one blind man touches the elephant’s tail and exclaims that the creature is most similar to a rope. Another touches the ear and compares the elephant to a fan.
This poem states in the last stanza, “Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong!” Although today most people might not regularly touch elephants, we can still relate to this poem. Saxe talks about how each of the men, from their own perspectives, were right about what feature of the elephant they encountered. All the connections they made were partly accurate, so you can’t disprove them, but in turn they all were wrong about their assumptions because there were many parts to the creature, not just the one each man felt. Each man had his own
To be reminded of the correct definition is vitally important because psychologists and their work are not very dependent on society for that sort of idea. Whereas our brains, an “individual”, are very reliant upon society …show more content…
In several different contexts normal can also mean the following: okay or acceptable, stable or average, healthy or functioning, or perfect and thriving. Of course, everyone has their own opinions as to what normal actually is. This might be one of the factors that makes the word so hard to precisely define. Our cultures, however, can be affected by how society chooses to define normal. But, it truly depends on each person’s perspective.
In “The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe, several different blind men feel different parts of a single elephant. They then try to relate their discovery to something else they know. For example, one blind man touches the elephant’s tail and exclaims that the creature is most similar to a rope. Another touches the ear and compares the elephant to a fan.
This poem states in the last stanza, “Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong!” Although today most people might not regularly touch elephants, we can still relate to this poem. Saxe talks about how each of the men, from their own perspectives, were right about what feature of the elephant they encountered. All the connections they made were partly accurate, so you can’t disprove them, but in turn they all were wrong about their assumptions because there were many parts to the creature, not just the one each man felt. Each man had his own