Charles Darwin was mentally ill

reply to post by Skyfloating

Explanation: With regards to the threads title I have no issue as it is quite true, BUT in regards to the OP I have many issues! Here is why...

From the OP's 1st very small unlabelled link! :shk:

Charles Darwin's health [wiki]

Contribution to Darwin's work.
Interestingly enough, it seems that Darwin's maladies actually may have contributed a lot to what many believe was a long and fruitful creative process in science. George Pickering, in his book Creative Malady (1974), wrote that isolated from social life and obligations of a "normal" scientist, such as administrative and teaching work, Darwin had ample time and material comforts for researching, thinking, and writing extensively, which he did. Despite the long periods of unproductivity caused by ill health, Darwin produced much research. Darwin often complained that his malady robbed him of half a lifetime, but even so, many believe that his scientific contributions can be compared favorably to those of such figures as Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.

Darwin himself wrote about this, in his autobiographical "Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character" (1876):[1]

Lastly, I have had ample leisure from not having to earn my own bread. Even ill-health, though it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement.

Personal Disclosure: Please stop cherrypicking OK!

P.S. We are ALL covered by the DSM IV. [wiki]

Originally posted by WolfofWar
I'd expect more from a forum moderator. :T

Do you think there is a connection between me embracing the belief that my life is a coincidence arisen from dead matter and that Darwin is to be revered and volunteering to help out with some Mod-work for an Internet Discussion board?

Originally posted by WolfofWar
Yup, like I said, it's a wonderful straw-man to allow you to live in a fairytale land. But hey, that's what ATS is about anyways right? We got God, Lockness Monsters, evil secret societies and alien reptillian human hybrids. Gotta love it.

I dont believe in Lockness. And not in Loch Ness either. Nor in monsters. Nor in alien reptilian human hybrids.

reply to post by Skyfloating


I agree happiness is great ...in moderation



Disorders





[edit on 26-6-2010 by Zeta Reticulan]

Originally posted by Freeborn
Darwin may have been 'mentall ill' but it doesn't detract from the scientific strength of his arguement.

Yes it does. Psycho-spiritual health matters.

Originally posted by spacevisitor

The depth of Colp's research clearly provides solutions.
According to Colp, Darwin's weakness, nausea, inability to work, depression, insomnia, and other symptoms were all part of a complex psychosomatic condition brought on by deep conflicts about his lifework.
As Colp sees it, Darwin's theorizing about evolution injured his health because he saw too many conflicts in his theories.
Colp says that Darwin even experienced an "identity crisis" as a result of his emotional turmoil.
Colp decided that the physical problems started when Darwin began his theorizing, and worsened thereafter.
Colp believes it was this guilt and ambivalence that kept Darwin for years from writing his book, until he did it to keep Wallace from obtaining prior credit ahead of himself.

Awesome spacevisitor

Most of us know from personal experience that conflicting thoughts and actions lead to a drop in well-being. No big mystery - except for materialists.

Originally posted by Skyfloating

Originally posted by Freeborn
Darwin may have been 'mentall ill' but it doesn't detract from the scientific strength of his arguement.

Yes it does. Psycho-spiritual health matters.

No, it doesnt. Psycho-spiritual health should not matter in science. All that matters is the quest for truth supported by evidence.

Originally posted by Skyfloating

Originally posted by WolfofWar
By your logic, anybody with a mental condition, or a person whom at one point had a mental condition debilitating enough at one point to have been hospitalized, should be immediately disqualified from education, no exceptions.

Without exceptions? No.

But in looking for the worlds foremost expert on the origins of life I`ll choose some yoga-practicing monk over Darwin any day.

But he isn't the 'foremost expert'.
He was the person who is generally accepted to have first proposed The Theory Of Evolution with scietific PROOF to back up his claim.

Other people have taken his work further and developed it.
They are considered as 'experts'.

I suspect Darwin tortured himself because he was standing up against such ingrained beliefs of the society that he came from.

'We can take the man out of the bible belt but you can't take the bible belt out the man' etc.

I personally am agnostic and feel that it is impossible to prove either the existence or non-existence of a 'God', so it's pointless worrying about it and totally irrelevant!

However, I was raised Catholic and it is impossible to completely break free from guilt and prejudices that were forced upon me at such an impressionable age.

I suspect most religions are the same.

History is littered with people who achieved greatness and extended human thought and understanding whilst also being considered 'mentall ill' or unbalanced etc.

Why is it that Darwin is singled out?

Originally posted by Zeta Reticulan
I was under the impression everyone was mentally ill.

who is actually truly well-adjusted ... there is a disorder for everyone.

link

standing, sitting, laying down...

on a rock spinning around
spinning around a star
spinning around the center of the galaxy

second after second
minute after minute
hour after hour
day after day
week after week
month after month
season after season
year after year
decade after decade

The Longer Someone is on this planet...

we can assume the dizzier they may be and we may get

Hey pill makers, there may be profit to make here!

SOS = Spinning Orbittal Syndrome (copyrighted here on ATS, first?)
do i get any royalties? ah, donate it to "The Creator, Owner & Founder" Simongray....

yep yep,
ET

Originally posted by Freeborn

However, I was raised Catholic and it is impossible to completely break free from guilt and prejudices that were forced upon me at such an impressionable age.

I suspect most religions are the same.

Just as a matter of interest in pointing out the difference between materialists/atheists and spiritualists:

If for instance someone slaughters infants, it is only appropriate that he feels guilt. Thats the way humans were wired. If some moralists exaggerate this principle to also include looking at women in bathing suits to be a "sin" that is their problem.

Being a teenage boy the natural response to seeing female nudity is arousal, not guilt.

Likewise guilt has its place.

Originally posted by anglodemonicmatrix
Those that the Gods do not like they destroy just ask Steven Hawking.

What about those children born with deformities or diseases like Multiple Sclerosis? Why does your "god" harbor so much hate for them?

@OP

How do you determine who is mentally ill? For example i consider person that believes that theres an old, white bearded man, living in the clouds who will strike them if they sin to be paranoid shizoprenic my self.

Originally posted by IKnowKungFu
How do you determine who is mentally ill? For example i consider person that believes that theres an old, white bearded man, living in the clouds who will strike them if they sin to be paranoid shizoprenic my self.

Sanity as defined by modern society can be measured by the relative happiness and survival experienced.

Thus "religious" fanatics who bomb schools "for God" would be a few latter-rungs more disturbed than, say, Darwin.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
Dare I say that the "mentally ill" are those who never contemplated suicide?

People suck so bad, and our 'system' is so corrupt and injust, you would have to be totally insane to never even CONSIDER knocking yourself off.

There is NOTHING wrong with wanting to LEAVE this wretched planet and the selfish greedy people on it.

But I ask that all justice and freedom loving folks do NOT kill yourselves. I need you to help free Earth from oppression and tyranny.

Overcome your oppression! Do not let them force us into ending it prematurely.

If you want to die, than please devote your "life" to freedom rather than ending that life.

If we ever taste freedom, it will be worth the struggle. You will be glad you did not off yourselves.

The Universe is pure perfection, beautiful and wonderful to those who understand it and its rules and also the karmic purpose of incarnating onto these training-grounds of choice called Earth.

Originally posted by Skyfloating

Originally posted by IKnowKungFu
How do you determine who is mentally ill? For example i consider person that believes that theres an old, white bearded man, living in the clouds who will strike them if they sin to be paranoid shizoprenic my self.

Sanity as defined by modern society can be measured by the relative happiness and survival experienced.

Thus "religious" fanatics who bomb schools "for God" would be a few latter-rungs more disturbed than, say, Darwin.

Oh i would say more then few. Such a diverse and colorful insanity table can be made to portray different levels of human insanity, but its really hard to determine who is more insane...For example is person that bombs schools really more insane then community that lets "priests" molest their children over and over again?

Originally posted by Skyfloating

The Universe is pure perfection, beautiful and wonderful to those who understand it and its rules and also the karmic purpose of incarnating onto these training-grounds of choice called Earth.

Oh come on, perfect my arse!

With all the suffering and hatred.

The child that knows nothing but abuse sure would disagree with you.
The starving and oppressed of the world would sure disagree with you.

Hell, the horror's of this world are endless and trying to excuse away mental or physical handicaps as karmic is a downright insult to those unfortunate to suffer from either and displays a certain amount of IGNORANCE and smug self-arrogance!

I really thought better of you Skyfloating and considered you one of the more enligtened, respectful and indeed insightful members on ATS, how wrong could I be!



[edit on 26/6/10 by Freeborn]

Originally posted by Freeborn

Originally posted by Skyfloating

The Universe is pure perfection, beautiful and wonderful to those who understand it and its rules and also the karmic purpose of incarnating onto these training-grounds of choice called Earth.

Oh come on, perfect my arse!

With all the suffering and hatred.

The child that knows nothing but abuse sure would disagree with you.
The starving and oppressed of the world would sure disagree with you.

Hell, the horror's of this world are endless and trying to excuse away mental or physical handicaps as karmic is a downright insult to those unfortunate to suffer from either and displays a certain amount of IGNORANCE and smug self-arrogance!

I really thought better of you Skyfloating and considered you one of the more enligtened, respectful and indeed insightful members on ATS, how wrong could I be!



[edit on 26/6/10 by Freeborn]

Was gonna reply to that post of his/hers but theres no need now, well said.

reply to post by Skyfloating


Id be ready to kill myself too if all I had to contend with were religious nutcakes who did everything within their power to negate studies I had done, which had enormous amounts of evidence in support, over a belief in a robe wearing fairy upstairs..



Man "I think, therefore I am!"
God "I am therefore I am!"

Something is missing....

Originally posted by Freeborn

Originally posted by Skyfloating

The Universe is pure perfection, beautiful and wonderful to those who understand it and its rules and also the karmic purpose of incarnating onto these training-grounds of choice called Earth.

Oh come on, perfect my arse!

With all the suffering and hatred.

The child that knows nothing but abuse sure would disagree with you.
The starving and oppressed of the world would sure disagree with you.

Hell, the horror's of this world are endless and trying to excuse away mental or physical handicaps as karmic is a downright insult to those unfortunate to suffer from either and displays a certain amount of IGNORANCE and smug self-arrogance!

There are two ways you can see life: Its a coincidence - and those who suffer suffer coincidentally, without purpose or meaning.

Or its not a coincidence and those who suffer, suffer for a reason in the grand scheme of things.

Nowdays, because of materialist education people actually get enraged at anyone suggesting "Its not a coincidence".

I really thought better of you Skyfloating and considered you one of the more enligtened, respectful and indeed insightful members on ATS, how wrong could I be!

Yes, you were very mistaken - Im very far from being enlightened or even insightful or respectful. In fact, its surprising because you're normally great at evaluating people.

reply to post by Skyfloating


It has nothing to do with 'materialistic' outlook on life.

I just fail to see how there can be any sort of karmic justice when I watch my pensioner parents daily struggle with my mentally and physically disabled younger brother.

There was no supernatural intervention by an omnipotent, omniescent entity as some sort of retribution for some alleged past indiscretion by either of my parents or my brother.
And if it was then he / she / it is an evil vindictive bastard and I for one want nothing to do with it.

It was simply a quirk of nature, and you just deal with it and enjoy the moments you can....having any sort of bitterness makes the struggle even harder.

I am a good judge of character and you have previously displayed a caring and considerate side along with your informative and well structured and thought out threads and postings.

Nothing much suprises me in this world, but the ill considered, self-assuming supercilious attitude you have displayed in this thread has.

And I really don't understand where you make the connection with materialistic and mental and physical illnesses, or why.

Originally posted by Freeborn
It has nothing to do with 'materialistic' outlook on life.

It does. Because the materialist claims that there is no such thing as karma, no such thing as previous incarnations, no such thing as Cosmic Justice, no such thing as souls choosing earth as a training ground, and on and on and on.

And from that perspective everything appears unfair and horrible and one is forever the victim of oppressive circumstances.

I just fail to see how there can be any sort of karmic justice when I watch my pensioner parents daily struggle with my mentally and physically disabled younger brother.

You fail to consider it because you are emotionally hurt and therefore biased.

the ill considered, self-assuming supercilious attitude you have displayed

I had to look up "supercilious" - thanks for the new vocab.

I have this "learn a new word a day" thing.

And I really don't understand where you make the connection with materialistic and mental and physical illnesses, or why.

I figured you didnt.