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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