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Hey!

Got a fun topic, saw a thread about Catholic teaching on ѕυιcιdє and decided this question warrants an individual thread. I think everyone here agrees to varying degrees the modern Church is compromised. This makes new social issues hard to discuss from a Catholic perspective as we no longer have a Church putting our best and brightest to the task of guiding the Catholic body. That being said I'd enjoy a good discussion about the relation of Psychology and sin. Specifically Psychological disorder and sin. Can a narcissist truly experience free will? Or as the previously mentioned ѕυιcιdє thread was discussing, how culpable is a soul for their own ѕυιcιdє? 

In this day and age, most young girls are put on birth control at 15 or younger for acne and menstrual cramps. The issue with this is birth control messes with a girl's hormones, which in turn has a negative effect on her decision-making skills. Most people you meet have been on or are currently prescribed mind-altering drugs. Now while doing something under the influence doesn't free you from guilt, there is an argument that you were impaired. It's not a cold-blooded sin. And for birth control they are taking these pills under the advisement of "trusted" medical professionals. And these pills do lead to sinful behavior. Not just making one feel safe to commit adultery, but the hormones make them think and act irrationally. Hormones are very powerful and DANGEROUS!


I am also aware of how much Catholics, particularly of the traditional flavor, hate Psychology. The field is chalk full of weirdos and creeps. Evil and vile people as far as the eye can see. I still think it's a field worth exploring. Your enemies wouldn't be so interested in it if there wasn't something useful to it. Psyche originates in ancient Greek, specifically the word for soul. Let us de-secularize the field of Psychology and treat it as it should, a study of the soul. 


With this being said there's a lot of factors leading up to sin. ѕυιcιdє for example. In a world where a human being is denied even the most basic of dignities and purposes, it is easy to despair and find yourself in that pit of depression. ѕυιcιdє is not the answer, but many people don't commit ѕυιcιdє when they're calm and thinking rationally. Many of them are on pills prescribed to them by trusted physicians which worsen their mental state without them realizing it. Give me your thoughts, tell me what you think. Should it be a hardline stance, where we are always responsible for everything we do? Or is there room for excuse in the fact that most of these mentally unwell people are being preyed upon by the entire healthcare system and deliberately driven to insanity? 

Do all humans regardless of their mental fitness bear the burden of free will? 

Very interesting topic.
 Ann Barnhardt did a great job explaining "diabolical narcissism" and it is much more prevalent than we think.

DigitalLogos is right, I believe, that free will is always there, if someone does not have a medical condition (severe autism, severe retardation, etc), but the culpability may not be.

I am not of the belief that all psychology is sinful.  There are some very good Catholic and protestant counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists, although I think psychiatrists are drug pushers to be avoided.

I am not of the belief that all psychology is sinful.  There are some very good Catholic and protestant counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists, although I think psychiatrists are drug pushers to be avoided.

Agreed. I've always found a lot of hostility towards it when broached which to me seems foolish. Understanding the mind/soul means fully understanding the necessity of the Catechism. In my humble layman's opinion.