Actions And Decisions in Medicine

One exception that comes to mind about our ability to act and decide is in the field of psychiatry.

Comparatively speaking, Psychiatry is a rather soft science. Most disorders and illnesses in the field of psychiatry are open to conceptual definitions. Mental health illnesses are assessed and diagnosed by psychiatrists and other doctors according mainly to thier own discretion and opinion based solely on the subjective aspect of thier exam of such a patient, regardless if any mental illness actually exists or is present in a particular patient with absolute certainty. That's probably why there are so many psychotropic medications aviailable for those patients with questionable illnesses in order for treatment options to exist for such patients. The makers of such meds have been accused of creating such disease states as well as thier severity as well as being accused of being motivated more by profit than restoration of health of those patients that in fact may not need to be restored, which is as debatable as the psychiatric specialty itself and thier vague methodology and treatment regimens doctors implement frequently.

There is no objective testing or diagnostic tool available to determine with complete accuracy as to whether or not one actually has some sort of mental disorder. It's a guessing game, and a dangerous one at that, even if the prescriber's intentions are righteous. However, what statistically has been proven is that psychotropic meds, according to the patients being treated with these meds, have stated frequently that the meds they have taken over time have benefited the disorder they believe they have had and have, according to the patients surveyed, improved thier well-being. But it raises the question: Was it the medication or the time that passed that improved these patients?

So there are limitations to this gift of thought we have within us, and it would be to our benefit to realize this more often than we do.

The Uniqueness of Us

While we share common traits related with the concept of thought with other life forms, such as retrieving and storing information, necessary for existence for many, here's the big difference:



We, as humans, utilize the information we possess in an isolated way. We apply our knowledge in order to reason. In other words, we have the ability to explain and justify our actions and decisions and actions on a regular basis. This rare ability is utilized by us to solve problems, regardless of thier complexity.



So we are capable of discovering what we think, but are largely unclear on the thought processes involved with the ability to think. So these processes will be examined in future posts, with the hope that the examinations have some degree of accuracy.

Quotations

Being a collector of quotes, I'll offer one occasionally:

"What good fortune for those in power that the people do not think." --- Adolph Hitler

Some think more than others, I believe. Why this is the case is a mystery. But I place great importance in this activity of thought, as it involves reasoning, reflecting, as well as virtues and vices. Everything that makes us human. It also allows us to question authority, which is always a good thing to do.

Daniel J. Borstin

Earlier, I mentioned that the name of this blog is based on a quote from Daniel Borstin. Here is some background on this gentleman: He graduated from Harvard before I was born. Also, he was an American Historian and a professor. Other professions with Mr. Boorstin included being an attorney ad writer. He coined terms such as hyperreality, which speculates that consciousnes is unable to distinguish reality from fantasy. And he had some thougts on advertising, which was that the events simulated in advertising evolves into becoming more real than life himself. Others consider him a student of Sociology. Regardless, I like what he writes.

The Value of Writing

Welome to my new and only blog. I place great value in the blogosphere and the sharing of ideas to progress the knowledge of all who seek it. It is my hope that I receive your thoughts on blogs you may view on this site. With blogs, I discover that, just by simply commenting with a unique combination of conviction and rarely known aspects of a particular topic that I'm commenting on at the time, attention is drawn to me primarily by the author of the post of a particular blog, which is flattering and becomes a catalyst for me to write even more about issues that may need to be addressed to share even more ideas for all to view.

If I may offer a recommendation to my own readers as well as readers of other blog sites, comment on those you feel strongly about. In other words, if the content of a post I happen to create, even from a new guy like me, sparks your interest in any way, I'd love to hear about it, because you can never learn enough.