Why Do Most People Prefer Amputation? Examining Psychological Reasons - Essay Sample

Introduction

This essay aims to outline the reasons why most people prefer to undergo amputation. The research paper identifies the main factors that contribute to many people demanding to have their limbs removed. Throughout the essay, we are going to examine the elements that make some people obsessed with amputation. Amputation is a widespread practice in medicine. Most people who request the removal of their limps do so because of psychological reasons. At times, people get so attracted to the tradition that they threaten to cut the limb if the doctor does not remove it.

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Reasons for Amputation

Most of the people who are preoccupied with becoming amputees are likely to be suffering from a psychological disorder. The people see amputation as a way to earn more sexual attraction or think that being amputees will have them to be more sexually attracted. The people who site sexual attraction as a reason to get amputated are likely to be suffering from paraphilias disorder. Although the cause of the disease is not clear, many people associate with sexual desire. Amputees might have, at times, had the desire to be more sexually attractive.

The belief that having a limb removed will make on have higher sexual attraction makes some people very excited. The people who expect to have a more significant sexual attraction cannot think twice about amputation. The prospect that they would be more attractive makes them see the diagnosis as useless. The essay "Amputation by Choice" tells us that the amputees' diagnosis may not matter since they already have the desire to be amputated.

Other people who demand to have amputation do it with a reason that they want to be different from the o. Living without a limp may make someone have a distinctive identity. They claim that they want to have a body that is different from that of the other people. Others feel that their body is not in its right form and therefore opt for amputation. Some other people also feel incomplete with all the four limbs. Having a different shape from the rest make people who want to be different from the rest to be proud of themselves. According to the writer of "amputee by choice," the obsession with amputation is caused by a psychological disorder

The great desire to have amputation could also be due to other psychological issues like the need to display one's appearance in public. The writer compares the desire to show the new look with exhibitionism. The essay also likens the great willingness of amputation as a result of seeing others to voyeurism. Seeing an amputee can arouse someone like the way one does when he sees someone naked. The desire to be an amputee starts when one is still a child and stays until the surgery on him.

Some people who choose amputation also get preoccupied with being amputees for the reason that the limp was not meant to be there. Those who want not to have at least one limb feel that the body is complete without the leg. The author tells us that those who choose to be amputees fell that the arm is an unnecessary surplus. The author argues that the problem with those who decide amputation is not to get an identity. We are told that the voluntary amputees did not feel ugly. However, the author reveals that voluntary amputation can be likened with the zeal to be both male and female.

Another reason that makes people choose amputation is the need to become like some other people. Someone, after seeing another amputee, might start to see their limps as an unnecessary part of their body. At the moment one meets an amputee, one develops envy, which lasts until the day of operation. In the lecture notes, we learn the people feel that they do not need one limb and therefore feel the need to do away with it. Some people have chosen amputation after getting the idea from a website. The essay tells us that many sites encourage amputation (Kuhse at al., 2015)

Self-decided amputation could as well be motivated by religion and culture. Some people believe that cutting parts of their limp is a sacrifice. However, amputation is useful in the treatment of some diseases like cancer. In case of the sickness, the patient can decide to have the limp removed rather than having to bear the pain.

The viewing of pornographic materials could also influence the desire to be an amputee. The author tells us that some of those who demand amputation have copied the idea from what they saw in sex videos. Some doctors think that voluntary amputation should be treated as cosmetic surgery. The argument is somehow sensible because both cosmetic surgery and self-chosen amputation have the same reason. Both practices aim at suiting the appearance needs of a person.

Conclusion

Sartre's philosophy of existentialism matches the public view of voluntary amputation practice. In his philosophy, Sartre says that existentialism makes us not to judge other people's beliefs. Existentialism involves letting others believe in what they choose to. The writer tells us that what you think might not be what another person does. Similarly, those who believe in chosen amputation should be left to practice it.

Though one is free to act the way they want, they may also be tied by regulations and ethics. One might not be open to choosing whether to become an amputee or not. Although Sartre says people should respect other choices, some ethics might limit amputation. Human beings are neither free nor completely interdependent (Frederick et al., 1958)

Works Cited

Kuhse, Helga, Udo Schüklenk, and Peter Singer, eds. Bioethics: an anthology. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

Olafson, Frederick A. et al. "Being And Nothingness.". The Philosophical Review, vol 67, no. 2, 1958, p. 276. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/2182625.