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The Idiot by Evert Larock (1892). An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person. 'Idiot' was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot guard themself against common physical dangers.
Definition Stupidity is a quality or state of being stupid, or an act or idea that exhibits properties of being stupid. [ 4 ] In a character study of "The Stupid Man" attributed to the Greek philosopher Theophrastus (c. 371 – c. 287 BC), stupidity was defined as "mental slowness in speech or action".
The meaning was further refined into mental and moral imbecility. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] The concepts of "moral insanity", " moral idiocy ", and "moral imbecility" led to the emerging field of eugenic criminology , which held that crime can be reduced by preventing " feeble-minded " people from reproducing.
The first record of retarded in relation to being mentally slow was in 1895. The term mentally retarded was used to replace terms like idiot, moron, and imbecile because retarded was not then a derogatory term. By the 1960s, however, the term had taken on a partially derogatory meaning.
The term "village idiot" is also used as a stereotype of the mentally disabled. [1] It has also been applied as an epithet for an unrealistically optimistic or naive individual. [2] The village idiot was long considered an acceptable social role, a unique individual who was dependent yet contributed to the social fabric of their community. [3]
While other Jan. 6 defendants and their lawyers have argued that they participated in the Capitol riot due to stupidity, Donald Trump would have a hard time succeeding with that argument in court.
The term useful idiot, for a foolish person whose views can be taken advantage of for political purposes, was used in a British periodical as early as 1864. [3] In relation to the Cold War, the term appeared in a June 1948 New York Times article on contemporary Italian politics ("Communist shift is seen in Europe"), [1] citing the Italian Democratic Socialist Party's newspaper L'Umanità []. [4]
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