Are Deaf people meant to be on Earth?

Discussing whether Deaf people are a natural variant of Homo Sapiens from a Judaic and Evolutionary perspective.

Reference: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ethics/Our_Bodies/Health_and_Healin...

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Deafhood

[leogirl63]

Curious! What happened to Carl Schroeder? Haven't seen him doing any more vlogs..

[DrDonGCSUS]

@leogirl63 He had a heart attack (mild) a while back. Still resting up, I guess.

[CapriUni]

Exactly. I've always been struck by how steady the Deaf population has been, throughout history -- regardless of medical advances, and control of diseases which are believed to cause deafness. It's almost as if there's a minimum quorum of Deaf people *required* for the human species, in order to keep a working Sign Language available, in case a mass catastrophe makes Spoken Language unworkable. Because what matters is our communication -- not our modes.

[DrDonGCSUS]

@CapriUni Very good point. Yes -- there has always been a fairly constant percentage of Deaf people on Earth throughout history, and I like that "minimum quorum required" issue. Have you read "Mindfield" by John Egbert? He suggested just that scenario you suggested here.

[CapriUni]

@DrDonGCSUS No, but I've read about it... Personally, I'm Hearing, but have cerebral palsy, which is when people are born with different wiring in the brain that effects how they move. There many different causes. But again, throughout history, the ratio of people with CP are roughly the same -- about 1 in 500. I've often wondered if Humanity also needs a quorum of "different ways to move" to society evolving. As you point out, whether God or Evolution: we're here, so we must belong.

[DrDonGCSUS]

@CapriUni I find your perspective quite intriguing. Reminds me of a book, "No Pity" by Joseph Shapiro. If you haven't read it, you probably will find it worthwhile.

Out of curiosity (and to test a hypothesis of mine), if you were offered a pill tomorrow that would cure you of having CP, would you take it? If not, why? And are there many other CP folks who feel the same way as you?

[DeafBirdsEyeNews]

People with CP are just like everyone else. They just give us a fresh air of diversity (ideas, personalities, thought process, etc.) on Earth.

[jlyertv]

People with CP *DO* serve a good purpose on earth. They might not be able to move as easily, and in some cases they might not be able to think as quickly. However, there is a deep difference between mental quickness and intelligence as well as intelligence and wisdom. They also tend to be sweet spirited, and less likely to be judgmental of people. Because of that, they are often people that others enjoy being around. There is WAY more to life than our conception of 'perfection'.

[QuicksilverdotFX]

@CapriUni Oh, no, I don't go by their ability to speak. Just their reaction to situations. I can observe their thinking process for many things. It is pretty sad they have to go through that stuff. Some don't even realize it, though.

[CapriUni]

@QuicksilverdotFX The statistic that 1/3 to 1/2 all people with CP have "some level of retardation" might be absolutely true. But even that high stat means 1/2 to 2/3 of people with CP have (at least) normal intelligence. And I fear misdiagnosis, especially for kids who can't talk, and then it becomes a self-fullflilling prophecy. 

[shelpotma1]

@QuicksilverdotFX Again, with the namecalling? wow. Ever hear of the famous saying: "DO YOUR HOMEWORK"? Well do it!

[QuicksilverdotFX]

@shelpotma1 I didn't say you did? The word deaf used by the philosophers weren't in literal means. Ever heard of the famous saying: "Are you deaf or something?!" They don't mean literally. I'm beginning to think you are just retarded.

[shelpotma1]

@QuicksilverdotFX I didn't say Aristotle or Socrates were deaf.  You might want to read Cratylus, where there was discussion ABOUT the Deaf and whether they were able to reason or not.

[QuicksilverdotFX]

@shelpotma1 They weren't deaf. Sorry.

[shelpotma1]

@QuicksilverdotFX Really? Deaf people existed thousands of years ago. You see mention of them by Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Socrates. Synthetic things were not made then. How do you explain that?

[QuicksilverdotFX]

@WINKLERthaMAN Wrong. Africa is not a climate. However, the heat in Africa and blistering sun is climate. Yes, they are dark due to climate. Yes, deafness is part of life but is not part of evolution. It's caused by synthetic things.