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Hoplophobia
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Hoplophobia is a pejorative[1] neologism, and not a scientifically recognized phobia. Its coinage was opportunistic in that it was originally coined by a layman, in word construction that is the mark of psychology professionals. Hoplophobia is not a true phobia, and it is not recognized as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.
Its meaning and usage falls outside of the medical definitions of true phobias. It describes an "irrational aversion to weapons, as opposed to justified apprehension about those who may wield them."[2]
True phobias require that the person be aware and acknowledge that their fear is irrational, and are usually severe enough to cause some kind of functional impairment.[3] True medical phobias of firearms and other weapons can exist, but are unusual.[4]
It variously describes the "fear of weapons";[5][4] or the fear of those who use them,[6] or the fear of their use--"highly salient danger of these weapons"--[7][6] definitions which support each other in circular or evasive arguments, where the definition is changed when one argument is defeated.
Firearms authority and writer Wikipedia:Jeff Cooper coined the word (from the Greek ὅπλον - hoplon, meaning amongst others "arms"[8] and φόβος - phobos, "fear"[9]) in 1962[10] to describe what he called a "mental disturbance characterized by irrational aversion to weapons."[2] Although not a mental health professional, Cooper advocated use of a less obvious slur than other terms in common usage on the gun ownership side of the debate, stating: "We read of 'gun grabbers' and 'anti-gun nuts' but these slang terms do not [explain this behavior]." Cooper attributed this behavior to an irrational fear of firearms and other forms of weaponry. Cooper proffered the opinion, at best due to a misreading of metaphors and rhetoric as statements of belief, that "the most common manifestation of hoplophobia is the idea that instruments possess a will of their own, apart from that of their user."[10] Writing in an opinion piece, Wikipedia:Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Dimitri Vassilaros asserted that the term was intended by Cooper as tongue-in-cheek to mock those who think guns have free will.[1]
See also[edit]
Notes and references[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bloomberg's hoplophobia - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Sunday, January 8, 2006. URL accessed on 8/24/2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 (1990) To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth, p. 16-19, Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press.
- ↑ (2000-06) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV TR (Text Revision), Arlington, VA, USA: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.. "Criterion C: "The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Note: In children, this feature may be absent.""
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 (2006) Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of Anxiety Disorders, p. 107, Pennsylvania: Handbooks in Health Care. "Table 7-1 Names of Some Phobias...Unusual...Hoplophobia-fear of firearms"
- ↑ (2006) Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine, p. 307, New York: McGraw-Hill.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 David, (2005). "The licensing of concealed handguns for lawful protection: support from five state Supreme Courts," Albany Law Review, 68, 305+.
- ↑ (2004) Emotion, evolution, and rationality, p. 145, Oxford: Oxford University Press. "While we believe that certain strong innate fears dispose one to phobias, we do not mead to imply that all phobias arise from innate fears. The phobic fear of guns, hoplophobia, for example, presumably does not arise from an innate fear, but rather reflects the highly salient danger of these weapons in contemporary environments."
- ↑ ὅπλον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ↑ φόβος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cooper, Jeff. Vol. 5 No. 7 Jeff Cooper's Commentaries. June 1997.
