Response: Viewpoints

In response to Stacy Fisher's post "Moby-Dick: Madness" (March 11, 2012):

It is certainly true that in modern-day America, any sort of mental abnormality is generally viewed in a negative light.  Moby-Dick does offer a different perspective on what most people would indeed consider genuine madness; it also raises questions about the possibility that mental abnormality is not necessarily a bad thing.  If such extremely different viewpoints on life as Ahab's and Pip's have some validity, then what of viewpoints which are closer to, although not entirely in sync with, what is 'normal?'

Certain types of mindset which are currently classified as disorders are indisputably useful in some settings - examples of this can be found in many autism-spectrum disorders, particularly those which cause people to develop extremely impressive capacities in other areas - in other words, those which result in savants.  Perhaps, rather than classifying these conditions as disorders, it would be better to simply consider them different, but equally valid, ways of viewing the world.