Mad or Bad
Running head: Are murderers suffering from mental illness or simply evil?
The question of whether murderers are suffering from psychiatric illness or are just simply evil is a debate that runs rife throughout not only the psychological community, but society as a whole. Murders are rare events in Australia; nevertheless they do occur. The media coverage of such events can be extensive and often dramatized, without addressing the potential underlying processes such as mental health and/or intoxicating influences that may contribute to such antisocial behaviour. Presented will be a focus on those underlying factors such as mental health and substance abuse, psychopathy will also be critically examined to draw the conclusion that murderers behaviour cannot be excluded as bad even if a mental health issue is present at the time of offence.
The question of whether murderers are suffering from psychiatric illness or are just simply evil is a debate that runs rife throughout not only the psychological community, but society as a whole. Murders are rare events in Australia; nevertheless they do occur. The media coverage of such events can be extensive and often dramatized, without addressing the potential underlying processes such as mental health and/or intoxicating influences that may contribute to such antisocial behaviour. To understand and determine whether or not murderers are mad or just bad, the defining terms of “mental illness” and “evil” are imperative. The psychological definition of mental illness is “any of various disorders in which a person 's thoughts, emotions, or behaviour are so abnormal as to cause suffering to himself, herself, or other people” (Oxford dictionary. 2012) and on the other hand evil is defined as the “quality or an instance of being morally wrong; causing harm or injury” (Oxford dictionary. 2012). It is vital that we differentiate these terms as often the media portrayal of murderers is only based on the evil quality
The question of whether murderers are suffering from psychiatric illness or are just simply evil is a debate that runs rife throughout not only the psychological community, but society as a whole. Murders are rare events in Australia; nevertheless they do occur. The media coverage of such events can be extensive and often dramatized, without addressing the potential underlying processes such as mental health and/or intoxicating influences that may contribute to such antisocial behaviour. Presented will be a focus on those underlying factors such as mental health and substance abuse, psychopathy will also be critically examined to draw the conclusion that murderers behaviour cannot be excluded as bad even if a mental health issue is present at the time of offence.
The question of whether murderers are suffering from psychiatric illness or are just simply evil is a debate that runs rife throughout not only the psychological community, but society as a whole. Murders are rare events in Australia; nevertheless they do occur. The media coverage of such events can be extensive and often dramatized, without addressing the potential underlying processes such as mental health and/or intoxicating influences that may contribute to such antisocial behaviour. To understand and determine whether or not murderers are mad or just bad, the defining terms of “mental illness” and “evil” are imperative. The psychological definition of mental illness is “any of various disorders in which a person 's thoughts, emotions, or behaviour are so abnormal as to cause suffering to himself, herself, or other people” (Oxford dictionary. 2012) and on the other hand evil is defined as the “quality or an instance of being morally wrong; causing harm or injury” (Oxford dictionary. 2012). It is vital that we differentiate these terms as often the media portrayal of murderers is only based on the evil quality
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