Editorial Opinion: What Are We Missing? Is there a Moral Judgment in Psychiatry as Well as Mental Illness?
Editorial Opinion: What Are We Missing? Is there a Moral Judgment in Psychiatry as Well as Mental Illness?

Summary/Abstract: This five-section paper approaches the neglected area of morality, particularly in the psychiatric and sociological context. The author introduces the Complexity and Perplexity surrounding Good and Evil (in S1), asks whether evil acts reflect mental illness or are just evil (in S2), tries to classify good and evil (S3), addresses Social responsibility and raises questions pertaining to fame and assassination, political correctness and relative versus absolute evil events (in S4) and then provides a perspective (S5). The author illustrates evil behaviors through 7 ‘epiphanies’. He suggests an independent ‘DSM’ Axis 6 of Good and Evil and recognizes this may be applicable to all individuals, not just the mentally ill. He discusses the psychopath, sociopath and antisocial behaviors, and differentiates these groups from the mentally ill DSM Axis 1 psychopathologies that only rarely reflect evil behaviors (e.g., in psychoses, paranoia and organic brain disturbances). Theological issues and spiritual growth, as well as legal implications are important topics. Social responsibility is also examined in the context of society providing fame for assassins, of what is relative to the times such as ‘evil’ based on political correctness. There is a difference between compliance with evil (‘Evil Obedience’), inaction versus active opposition by good people against evil. The 8-tier ethicospirituobiopsychofamiliosocioethnicocultural systems approach may be useful in more broadly conceptualizing good and evil. The author guesstimates that only a small number of ‘evil’ doers (perhaps 5%) exhibit Axis 1 mental illness; he argues too that antisocial behaviors should not be condoned and classified as mental illness.

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