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Insanity is a legal term that describes a person’s mental incompetence and moral responsibility. It is a legal concept that helps the court distinguish guilt from innocence. It has no specific medical meaning and there is no “insane” diagnosis in the DSM. It was used in the past to denote severe mental illness.
Legal insanity is informed by psychiatrists who evaluate defendants and then submit written reports to the court. It answers such questions as whether the defendant can: distinguish reality from fantasy, distinguish right from wrong, form intent, conduct his/her affairs, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.

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6y ago
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13y ago

To be sane is to have your wits about you, to understand what you're doing and where you are and be able to be a normal and functional member of society. Being INsane is the opposite. An insane person might hallucinate, not know who they are, where they are, what the year is, might indulge in compulsive behaviours etc.

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To be judged insane, you must have no clear definition of right or wrong, and no recognition of the existence of those other than yourself.

Also there is a marked difference between being mentally ill and being insane. Someone who is mentally ill might hallucinate, someone who is insane would have no concept of the world around him/her, or have a concept that is extremely removed from the current reality.

However, your level of functioning within society is NOT a measure of sanity.

Ex. If we went back a few thousand years, and a group of us got down on our knees three times a day and bowed repeatedly for 20 minutes, had conversations or talked with a being we could not see, smell or touch and turned down all pork or pork produce, we would not be seen as normal, we would almost certainly be seen as a little crazy/insane.

It's all about context.

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8y ago

Mentally insane is a legal term. The legal definition is: ". mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior. Insanity is distinguished from low intelligence or mental deficiency due to age or injury. If a complaint is made to law enforcement, to the District Attorney or to medical personnel that a person is evidencing psychotic behavior, he/she may be confined to a medical facility long enough (typically 72 hours) to be examined by psychiatrists who submit written reports to the local superior/county/district court. A hearing is then held before a judge, with the person in question entitled to legal representation, to determine if she/he should be placed in an institution or special facility. The person ordered institutionalized at the hearing may request a trial to determine sanity. Particularly since the original hearings are often routine with the psychiatric findings accepted by the judge. In criminal cases, a plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity" will require a trial on the issue of the defendant's insanity (or sanity) at the time the crime was committed. In these cases the defendant usually claims "temporary insanity" (crazy then, but okay now). The traditional test of insanity in criminal cases is whether the accused knew "the difference between right and wrong," following the "M'Naughten rule" from 19th century England. Most states require more sophisticated tests based on psychiatric and/or psychological testimony evaluated by a jury of laypersons or a judge without psychiatric training. A claim by a criminal defendant of his/her insanity at the time of trial requires a separate hearing to determine if a defendant is sufficiently sane to understand the nature of a trial and participate in his/her own defense. If found to be insane, the defendant will be ordered to a mental facility, and the trial will be held only if sanity returns. Sex offenders may be found to be sane for all purposes except the compulsive dangerous and/or antisocial behavior. They are usually sentenced to special facilities for sex offenders, supposedly with counseling available. However, there are often maximum terms related to the type of crime, so that parole and release may occur with no proof of cure of the compulsive desire to commit sex crimes."

Read more: http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=979#ixzz3vqlJ1XuN

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14y ago

one who donot masterburate or do sex is insane or mad

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13y ago

it means to be lunacy

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Q: Define insane or mentally ill
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