Dissecting definitions

So... the Pentagon has decided homosexuality is a disorder.


I'm particularly interested in the meaning of the words "disorder" and "disease," for two reasons. For one thing, I am very friendly with the gay community, which frowns on using the word "disease" to describe being gay. Secondly and even more close to my heart, I am diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is officially considered a disorder or disease, although I strongly dislike using those words for it, since I see the condition as beneficial in many ways.

So, on to Dictionary.com, I say to myself.

Well, Dictionary.com lists several definitions. Let's start with the first.


dis·ease (d-zz)
n.

A pathological condition of a body part, an organ, or a system resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.

Okay, let's dissect this definition. First: "A pathological condition." Look up pathological, and we get:

path·o·log·i·cal
adj.

1. Of or relating to pathology.
2. Relating to or caused by disease.
3. Of, relating to, or manifesting behavior that is habitual, maladaptive, and compulsive: a pathological liar.

Look up pathology, and we get

pa·thol·o·gy
n. pl. pa·thol·o·gies

1. The scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences. Also called pathobiology.
2. The anatomic or functional manifestations of a disease: the pathology of cancer.
3. A departure or deviation from a normal condition: “Neighborhoods plagued by a self-perpetuating pathology of joblessness, welfare dependency, crime” (Time).

So, since the definition of "pathology" includes "disease," using "pathological" in the definition of "disease" is circular and makes no sense, and so the first part of the definition is meaningless.

On to the second part: "of a body part, an organ, or a system."

Well, the difference between a gay person and a straight person, or between an Aspie and a non-Aspie, is only known to be in one part of the body: the brain. Your brain is where you experience your feelings of falling in love, with the same or the opposite sex, and your brain is where you experience any social difficulties, obsessive behaviors or savant gifts you may happen to have.

And since the brain is a part of the body, the definition still applies.

On to the second part: "resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress."

Well, neither Asperger's nor homosexuality is caused by infection of any kind (parasites or microorganisms), and the part of environmental factors in causing either of those conditions is disputed. If they are genetic, it's a matter of opinion whether or not the genetic factor causing them is a "defect."

But the phrase "such as" implies that those causes are not the only possible causes for a disease, and so all it's really saying is that diseases have causes. Which does not rule out either Asperger's or homosexuality, yet.

So on to the third part of the definition: "and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms."

Both homosexuality and Asperger's are characterized by identifiable signs-- in the former case, sexual attraction to one's own sex; in the latter case, the long complicated set of traits outlined in the DSM-IV, which I will not quote here for the sake of my sanity.

Whether or not one considers those signs "symptoms" depends on whether one considers the condition a disease, but since the definition says "signs or symptoms," it doesn't matter if you consider them "symptoms" or not; the definition can still apply.

So what is this definition? Basically it says that a "disease" is a condition (that is, a way of being), and it's in some part of your body, and it has a cause, and it can be identified by signs.

Big useful definition. By that definition a freckle is a disease. By that definition your hair is diseased whether it's brown, blond or red. By that definition every race is a disease, and it doesn't fricking matter whether Asperger's or homosexuality is a disease because the word disease has no meaning.

Tomorrow, on to the other definitions, which are just as pointless. Watch for my diatribe on definitions of "disease" that use the word "abnormality," which is flat out IMPOSSIBLE to define. Watch me laugh at Dictionary.com's attempts to define "normal" and "abnormal." Watch and weep...