And let me know your opinion!
I'm reading a book "Shutting Out of the Sun". http://www.amazon.com/Shutting-Out-Sun-Created-Generation/dp/0385513038 This book meticulously documents hikikomori, a psychiatric syndrome prevalent in Japan. Hikikomori, which literally means the withdrawn, alienate themselves from society. Frequently they stay in their bedroom literally all the time, sometimes for more than several years. Almost all hikikomori are supported by parents. Many researchers, including this author, think hikikomori is a psychiatric syndrome unique in Japan, and they tend to blame Japanese culture as a sole cause of hikikomori. However, I believe hikikomori is a cultural variant of SAD, not a unique disorder in Japan. While I do think Japanese culture, especially its emphasis on shame and other's opinions on you, exacerbates SAD problem, I don't think the social environment can be a sole cause of a psychiatric disorder in general (maybe except PTSD and DID, which is predominantly caused by an extreme stress. Some research shows susceptibility to PTSD can be related to biological factors, though). In principal, I believe human behaviors are products of environmental and biological factors. I tend to think a person’s opinion is based on his/her ideology rather than a solid evidence when he/she insists everything is environment/genetics.
Well, actually ‘I tend to think’ is not quite an honest statement. Frankly, I despise an opinion heavily based on ideology, especially when a person is trying to present it as a scientific evidence-backed opinion. I didn’t notice it until recently, but I now know that my detestation on pseudo-scientific opinions partly comes from some experiences with a couple of teachers, whom I once admired but eventually we grew apart.
I wrote enough today, and I don’t want to bore you further if anybody kept reading this far. So I’ll write about experiences with these teachers in another opportunity.
