When Emily Dickinson says, ?Much Madness is divinest Sense? she doesn?t seem to be referring to a neurosis or psychosis, but rather a view or idea that defies ?common sense.? Neurosis, defined concisely, is a habit, behavior, belief, etc, that causes a person to behave or think in a manner that causes unfavorable results, such as stress or anxiety. Psychosis is a mental state where perception is distorted so greatly that the person can barely, if at all, function normally or accurately interpret reality. It is hard to imagine how either neurosis or psychosis, which both inhibit individuals, could be viewed as ?divinest sense?. It seems to make much more sense if by ?madness? Dickinson means a view, idea, philosophy, opinion, etc, which opposes the established norm. ?Madness?, in this sense, is arbitrary and ambiguous.
The common sense of the 21st century certainly isn?t the same as the common sense of any previous centuries. As humanity ages and our knowledge of the universe increases, common sense (which would be more accurately labeled ?common belief?) changes accordingly.
When Copernicus first developed the heliocentric model of the universe the authorities and majority, who believed in the geocentric model, considered it madness. The common belief of the time dictated that the Earth was the center of the universe and thought if the Earth spun everything that wasn?t tide down would certainly slide off of it into outer space. Fortunately, thanks to continued investigation, the heliocentric model is currently accepted almost everywhere. But, if it wasn?t for Copernicus, who was able to objectively examine the evidence and come to his own conclusion unhindered by the prejudices of the time, we may still live in a Earth centered universe. The ability to disregard common beliefs and current prejudices and come to a conclusion based solely on individual conviction could be the ?divinest Sense? Dickinson wrote of. A common beliefs isn?t necessarily wrong, simply because it is a common belief. Rather, how a person comes to hold certain views is what is in question. Is the individual intellectually timid and simply following the herd or did the individual arrive at this conclusion, whether it is in accord with common belief or not, based on his or her own conviction?
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Think for yourself, schmuck!
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