Deviance, Psychiatry and Cultural Relativism

The paper Borderlands Deviance, Psychiatry and Cultural Relativism by Robert Bartholomew discusses pagan differences i. e. what is considered modal(prenominal) and rational in one culture may be considered aberrant in some others. on that pointfore, the seed analyzes different attitudes towards human actions (e. g. suicide), and provides overview of cultural relativism and psychiatry. The authors thesis is that people interpret the world depending on their social and cultural context. He argues that science cant be applied to identifying and treating ab newton.Bartholomew says that normality is not an objective given from which simple assessments of behaviour can be rendered independent of historical era, culture, or group. (P. 36-37) Normality is defined by cultural background and cultures have their own interpretations what to consider rational or irrational. For example, suicide is not acceptable in Western countries, whereas it is considered normal in Japan. Further, Barth olomew defines cultural relativism as theory of knowledge which is responsible for working discover criteria how to judge behaviour of other culture.It is not static and depends on circumstances. There are few standards of universal conduct to evaluate this or that society. The author claims that the problem of cultural relativism results in serious dilemmas for mental health professionals. Actually, psychiatric diagnoses dont involve assessment of cultural development and influence. However, psychiatry is more interested in religious, social and cultural background than other medical fields. Bartholomew assumes that psychiatry is the most contentious medical branch.In psychiatry ailment is defined as experiencing living problems, rather than discernible cerebral illness that affects human behaviour. The negative moment is that Western medicine is still transmit social and professional stereotypes constituting its own values and norms. Summing up, the author recommends when to judge whether the mortal is normal, it is necessary to get acquainted with his social world and cultural background. kit and caboodle Cited Bartholomew, Robert. Borderlands Deviance, Psychiatry and Cultural Relativism. Skeptic, 8, 3 (2000) 36-40.