Outcast (person)  

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 This page Outcast (person) is part of the publication bias list of the Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia, presented by Alfred Jarry
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This page Outcast (person) is part of the publication bias list of the Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia, presented by Alfred Jarry

"Once, while Diogenes of Sinope was sitting in the sun in the Craneum, Alexander was standing by, and said to him, "Ask any favour you choose of me." And he replied, "Cease to shade me from the sun.""--Diogenes of Sinope in "Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers"

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich
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Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich

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An outcast is a person with social stigma or untouchability, who is rejected or 'cast out', as from home or society, or in some way excluded, looked down upon, or ignored.

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History

In Ancient Greece it was customary to write a person's name on a piece of broken pottery, and later place it in a large container in a public location if one had behaved in a manner that was deemed overly aggressive or offensive. These broken pieces of pottery were called ostraka. If an individual were to have his or her name written 6,000 times the entire community would give that person the silent treatment for ten years. This was also the same procedure for banishing or 'ostracising' individuals from Ancient Greek society.

Civilization and Its Discontents

In Civilization and Its Discontents, psychologist Sigmund Freud propounds the fundamental tensions that exist for the individual and for the civilization that the individual lives within. Friction producing discontent, primarily stemming from the individual prioritizing his/her instinctual freedom (individuals quest for individual freedom) and civilization's needs for conformity and instinctual repression. Considered a text without unconsolation (focusing on the prevalence of human guilt and the impossibility of achieving unalloyed happiness) Freud contended that no social solution of the discontents of mankind is possible, all civilizations, no matter how well planned, can provide only partial relief. Even Eros, is not fully in harmony with civilization. The realities of the human condition are to develop and focus upon a balance between the repressive burdens of civilization and the realization of instinctual gratification and the sublimated love for mankind. The reconciliation of nature and culture was considered impossible, for civilized existences produce guilt by the necessary suppression and control (thwarting) of persons' instinctual drives. Although elsewhere Freud had postulated mature, heterosexual genitality and the capacity to work productively as the hallmarks of health and urged that where id is, there shall ego be, it is clear that he held out no hope for any collective relief from the discontents of civilization. He only offered an ethic of resigned authenticity, which taught the wisdom of living without the possibility of redemption, either religious or secular.

Exiles

To be exiled is to be away from one's home (i.e. city, state or country), while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return. It can be a form of punishment. Exile can also be a self-imposed departure from one's homeland. Self-exile is often seen to be in some way a protest by the person that claims it, to avoid persecution or legal matters ( tax,criminal allegations, or otherwise),through shame or repentance, or perhaps to isolate oneself in order to devote time to a particular thing. Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Social health

Social health of a society is defined as how well the society does at offering every citizen the equal opportunity to obtain access to the goods and services critical to being able to function as a contributing member of society. The existence of outcasts can be seen as a sign of a society's declining or inadequate social health.

see also :Social rejection

Description of experiences of being outcast

On the Indian sub continent the word pariah comes from the Tamil word parai, literally meaning "to say or tell something". In the olden days, paraiyar announced public messages. They would draw the attention of people around them by beating their animal skin drums and then make public announcements. They were mostly drawn from the lowest strata of society or caste. Hence the word pariah has become a general word for a low caste person. A cognate word exists in Malayalam language which is used to say something without any pejorative connotation. People will often avoid contact or communication with an outcast, and sometimes even restrain themselves from going near them. Generally, in these extreme cases, any individual who has sympathy for an outcast, and tries to befriend or socialize with them, may cause themselves to lose popularity, or even become an outcast themselves. Usually, a person is an outcast because they are unpopular, that is, they are generally disliked, or even hated by other people and have a low social status because of it. However, sometimes a person is an outcast because they are shy or feared by other people, and therefore rejected (as other people may try to avoid them). In severe cases, a social outcast may become depressed, as they may endure much persecution and discrimination from other people - a homeless wanderer; vagabond.

In popular culture

In the Old Testament the son of Abraham named Ishmael, was cast out after the birth of Isaac,(who is considered the forebear of 12 Hebrew tribes).

(Gen. xvi.12.of the Bible, defines figuratively an outcast, as those persons "whose hand is against every man, and every man's hand against him").

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Outcast (person)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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