The theorists who maintain this position usually insist that the closest one can come to a definition of mental health
is: conformity to cultural norms. Thus, they declare that a man is psychologically healthy to the extent that he is
"well-adjusted" to his culture.
Whether or not the speakers are avowed cultural relativists, the theme of "social adaptability" is perhaps the most
common one encountered in discussions of mental health. We are never told why social adaptability is the
definition and standard of mental health; we are not given any rational or scientific justification, we are merely
given the assertion.
The obvious questions that such a definition raises, are: What if the values and norms of a given society are
irrational? Can mental health consist of being well-adjusted to the irrational? What about Nazi Germany, for
instance? Is a cheerful servant of the Nazi state—who feels serenely and happily at home in his social
environment—an exponent of mental health?
The extreme cultural relativists generally prefer to ignore such questions. But if pressed, they are obliged to answer:
Yes—such a man is mentally healthy; it is only from the standpoint of our own cultural biases that he seems
aberrated. The moderates, less willing to sever their ties to reality so unreservedly, answer differently. Such a man
is not mentally healthy, they declare, because he is not really happy; he cannot be; no one could be well-adjusted to
so monstrously irrational a society. Their answer is undeniably true—but observe that it implies a concept of
mental health other than mere social adaptability; it implies a standard which the speakers are not acknowledging
explicitly.
The irrational arbitrariness of equating mental health with social adaptability—and the absurdities to which such an
equation leads—have been noted by a number of writers. Seeking more tenable definitions, different psychologists
and psychiatrists have proposed a variety of criteria for judging mental health.
The mentally healthy person is said, for example, to have an obstructed capacity for "growth, development and self-
actualization"; to "know who he is," i.e., to have a firm sense of identity; to have insight into his own motivation; to
have a high tolerance for stress; to be "self-accepting''; to be unencumbered by paralyzing conflicts; to have an
integrated personality; etc.