Blindness Essay Example

The term “blindness” has numerous definitions. While it’s most common connotation refers to visual impairment, “blindness” is frequently used abstractly as well. Blindness, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary means “sightless”. This is an intentionally generic definition, because “blindness” is too broad to define in a single phrase.

Visual Impairment

The article, Four Prevalent, Different Types of Blindness, which was written and published by the Perkins School for the Blind, establishes the four main causes of visual impairment. The four categories listed are CVI (cortical/cerebral visual impairment), Retinitis Pigmentosa, Macular Degeneration, and Retinopathy of Prematurity. Each of these types of blindness has their own complexity; this paper will detail each one.

Cortical/cerebral visual impairment is prevalent among children, although it can continue into adulthood. The National Eye Institute published an article titled Cerebral Visual Impairment, which states that, “CVI is a disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain that process vision”. Later the article establishes that, “CVI is caused by an injury to the brain. Most of the time, these injuries happen before, during, or shortly after birth”. There is no cure for CVI, but therapy and other interventions can help decrease the symptoms of it, and some children outgrow it.

The second type of blindness that relates to these issues is Retinitis Pigmentosa, sometimes called RP. Kierstan Boyd, who wrote the article titled What is Retinitis Pigmentosa?   for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, educates the reader on the causes, symptoms and treatment for RP. Boyd explains that Retinitis Pigmentosa is a progressive disease that mostly affects nighttime and peripheral vision. However, RP also affects central and color vision. RP can be caused by hundreds of different genetic mutations, so treatment for some people most likely won’t work for the next. Retinitis Pigmentosa is a source of curiosity and questioning for doctors and scientists, because much about it is unexplained.

Thirdly, we discuss macular degeneration. According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation (AMDF), Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss. Similar to Retinitis Pigmentosa, Macular Degeneration roots from problems in the retina. However, Macular Degeneration mostly impacts central vision instead of peripheral vision. There are two main types of Macular Degeneration; “dry” and “wet”. The majority of Macular Degeneration is “dry”, which refers to Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). AMD is caused by both genetic and environmental factors, and is a progressive disease. Smoking is a large risk factor for developing AMD, but not much else is known about this disease. “Wet” macular degeneration, which only makes up 15% of cases, is caused by the growth of abnormal blood vessels growing under the eye. Neither “dry” nor “wet” macular degeneration has a treatment or cure.

The fourth type of blindness to be discussed is Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). According to Erick D. Bothun, M.D., in an article he wrote for mayoclinic.org, “ROP is an eye disorder caused by abnormal blood vessel growth in the light sensitive part of the eyes (retina) of premature infants”. Most of the time, ROP resolves itself as the infant develops, but if it is advanced enough, ROP can cause “permanent vision problems or blindness”. There are multiple treatments for ROP,  including laser therapy, cryotherapy, and medications. However, they are rarely totally effective, and often have many side effects.

Abstract Blindness

There are also various types of abstract “blindness”. These include blind trust, blind loyalty, and blind choice. Each of these are worth expanding on separately. The meaning behind blind trust is fairly straightforward. It refers to the trust people have in those they love simply because they love them. Of course, blind trust usually follows some skepticism until one feels that they can trust someone. However, blind trust can also be established through authoritative behavior. For example, the principal of a school rarely does anything to show students that they are trustworthy, but their authority tells students that they are. Similarly, a child in public has a hard time deciphering between who they can trust and who they can’t, because an adult can easily display authority in order to trick the child into blindly trusting them. 

Blind loyalty is similar to blind trust. It involves developing authority and creating loyalness between the “authority” and “followers”. Blind loyalty is common between children and abusive/neglectful parents. The parents convince their children that they should be “loyal” to them because they are their parents. This causes the children to “blindly” follow their parents, thinking that it is their only choice. Blind loyalty can also describe the relationship between animals and humans. A pet dog will always be loyal to his owner, because the owner has established authority over the dog. Likewise, the owner is blindly loyal to the dog; there isn’t much that can destroy this trust.

Blind choice puts a totally different connotation on abstract “blindness”. It refers to making a decision without regarding all aspects of that decision. A good example of this are the Jim Crow laws of the 1890’s. “Separate but equal” satisfied the racist white citizens, but black citizens weren’t happy with the idea. Even if facilities had been equal, the idea of not being “good enough” to enter white facilities was offensive to people of color. The Supreme Court decision of 1996 only looked at the side of the white people, totally ignoring the thoughts of colored people. Blind choices similar to this one, involving age, gender, and social class, among others, are often made by authority, even those with good intentions. 

All in all, “blindness” has many different meanings, and context is always needed in order to understand the meaning behind the term. The two categories of blindness are visual impairment and abstract blindness, both of which can be described by the term “sightless”,  which is simply a synonym for blindness.