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Emil Kirkegaard proposes a semi-objective definition of \u201cmental illness\u201d.

He\u2019s partly responding to me, but I think he mangles my position; he seems to think I admit mental illnesses are \u201cjust preferences\u201d but that which preferences are valid vs. diseased can be decided by \u201cwhat benefits my friends\u201d.

I mostly don\u2019t think mental illnesses are just preferences! I\u2019ve been really clear on this! But Emil is right that I don\u2019t deny that there can be a few cases where it\u2019s hard to distinguish a mental illness from a preference - the clearest example is pedophilia vs. homosexuality. Both are \u201cpreferences\u201d for sex with unusual categories of people. But I would - making a value judgment - call pedophilia a mental illness: it\u2019s bad for patients, bad for their potential victims, and bad for society. Also making a value judgment, I would call homosexuality an unusual but valid preference: it\u2019s not my thing, but seems basically okay for everyone involved.

(I wouldn\u2019t describe this as \u201cbenefiting my friends\u201d - I\u2019m against children getting raped whether they\u2019re my friends or not. I think this dig was unworthy of Emil, and ask that he correct it.)

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/contra-kirkegaard-on-evolutionary