Sanity is a concept that cannot be unambiguously defined. It is clear that it is directly related to a healthy mind, to a rational approach to life, to rationality and adequacy. While the lack of sanity is a serious obstacle to life. Having lost it, a person can succumb to passions and break firewood. This article will examine what sanity is. We will consider this from different points of view.
Dictionary word
The following definition of sanity is given in the explanatory dictionary: it is a person’s ability to think reasonably, to reason. Here are examples of the use of the studied token.
- It seemed to Alexander that trips to the psychologist supported him in difficult times, helped him regain his lost sanity and not succumb to overwhelming paranoia.
- I knew people who, even being overcome by paralysis, not only maintained their sanity and good mood, but even consoled others.
- Ultimately, sanity prevailed, and the leaders of the competing clans worked out the rules that served as their reconciliation.
- How much sanity is a natural gift, and how much of it is developed under the influence of circumstances, no one can say with certainty.
- “Brothers, restore your sanity and stop yielding to temptations, take care of your honest name and faith,” the priest called on his parishioners, addressing them from the church pulpit.
- Oleg had already reached out a hand, intending to squeeze the girl's smooth shoulder, but a glimpse of sanity overtook him at the last moment. Still, he lowered his hand, forcing himself to move away.
Next, synonyms for the word under study will be considered.
Synonyms
Among them are such as:
- rationality;
- sobriety;
- common sense;
- prudence;
- good thinking;
- realism;
- judiciousness
- sobriety;
- adequacy;
- sanity;
- rationality;
- loyalty;
- mind;
- Reason
- practicality;
- fitness;
- validity;
- expediency;
- caution;
- deliberation;
- forethought;
- prudence;
- realism;
- health;
- understanding;
- mind;
- practicality;
- discretion;
- degree;
- thoroughness;
- Dianoya
- rationality;
- rationalism;
- legibility;
- sensibility;
- meaningfulness.
The word under study consists of two others. The first is “sound,” the second is “thought.” Consider the meaning and origin of each of them.
The value of the components
The word "sound", according to the explanatory dictionary, is understood as:
- Meaningful, sensible, reasonable.
- Outdated, healthy.
In this case, the first of these interpretations is more suitable for understanding the term in question.
The word “thought” in the dictionary says that it has the following meanings.
- The process of processing information in the human brain.
- The result of this process, the formulation or idea that arose as a result of mental activity.
- Intention, intention.
Having examined each of them, we can conclude that they all fit into the interpretation of the studied token.
Etymology
The adjective “healthy” came from the Proto-Slavic sdorv, from which also formed:
- Old Russian "eat";
- Old Slavonic "sdrav";
- Ukrainian "health";
- Bulgarian "healthy";
- Serbo-Croatian "health";
- Slovenian zdràv;
- Czech and Slovak zdravý;
- Polish zdrowy;
The pre-Slavic sdorv goes back to the ancient Indian language, where su means "good" and dorvo means "from a good tree." It is compared with:
- Old Indian dāru, meaning "log";
- Avestan dāru in the meanings of "tree" and "log";
- Greek δόρυ, the meaning of which is “wood” and “spear”;
- Gothic triu, which translates to "tree."
The noun “thought” is formed from the old Russian “thought”, from which came:
- Old Slavonic “thought”;
- Bulgarian Mis;
- Serbo-Croatian “mȋsao";
- Slovenian mȋsǝl;
- Czech mysl
- Slovak mysel;
- Polish myśl;
- Upper Luzhsk and Lower Luzhsk mysľ.
The word is also found in proper names, for example, such as Osmomysl, Peremysl, Dobromysl.
It is related:
- Lithuanian verbs maudžiù - “to yearn” and “to long for”, as well as ãpmaudas, which means “annoyance”;
- the Gothic verb gamaudjan in the meaning of "remind" and the noun ufarmaudei, meaning "oblivion";
- the ancient Greek noun μῦθος, which is translated as “speech”, the verb μῦθμομαι, the meaning of which is “I say,” “I think it over,” “I talk”;
- the central Irish verb smūainim, which means “I think”;
- New Persian noun mō, indicating a complaint.
Next, we will consider a term that is actually equivalent to the studied, but is more often used in the scientific literature.
Common sense
Translated from Latin (sensus communis), this phrase sounds like a “general sensation”. This is a set of views on the surrounding reality, which includes the views, skills, forms of thinking developed and used by a person in his daily life, in practical activities. This complex is shared by almost all people, its presence can be found in almost all people without the need for discussion.
Philosophers have not ignored this concept. One of its meanings was proposed by Aristotle. He meant by it the ability of the soul, which allows different subjects to use the same general feelings in order to perceive the general characteristics of physical objects.
These are, for example, characteristics such as movement and size. This property allows people, like animals, to identify and distinguish physical things. This understanding of sanity is different from the definition of sensory perception, as well as from rational thinking, but has a connection with both of them.
Other interpretations
Another philosophical meaning of the studied concept is due to Roman influence. It is used to indicate natural human sensitivity in relation to other people and society.
The term "common sense" was also used by the Scottish philosopher of the 18th century. Thomas Reed, and other representatives of the Scottish school. They designated for them those foundations, the self-evident principles of reason, which, although empirically given (in sensations), are characteristic of all people. Therefore, they are considered as the main sense of truth, present in the form of instinct.
In a science such as social psychology, this term denotes a system of generally accepted ideas about the real world, accumulated within the framework of one culture by many generations.
Even sanity is understood as the ability to make the right decisions and derive logical assumptions based on thinking and accumulated experience. In this interpretation, as a rule, emphasis is placed on the ability of the human mind to withstand errors, prejudices, and hoaxes. At the beginning of his treatise The Discourse on Method, written in 1637, Rene Descartes sets forth the assertion that reason or sanity is the ability to correctly reason and distinguish between truth and falsehood.
General semantics science
In conclusion, it is worth mentioning one of the books on psychology, in the title of which there is a studied word. It was written by Alfred Korzybski, and it is called Science and Sanity. The author is considered the founder of general semantics. Many psychiatrists, company executives and educators believe that setting out its basics in this book will help make our lives more intelligent.
General semantics deals with the consideration of the person as a whole, evaluates the relationship between facts and words and their effect on the nervous system. It shows how to re-educate a person so that he can better coordinate his beliefs and behavior with real reality.