Procrustean bed
E657692
A Procrustean bed is a metaphor for an arbitrary and often brutal standard to which people or things are forced to conform, regardless of their natural variation.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
cultural reference
ⓘ
figure of speech ⓘ metaphor ⓘ |
| appearsIn |
legal theory
ⓘ
literary criticism ⓘ philosophical discourse ⓘ political theory ⓘ social sciences ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Theseus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| connotation | negative ⓘ |
| describes |
arbitrary standard
ⓘ
brutal standard ⓘ enforced conformity ⓘ forced uniformity ⓘ rigid standard ⓘ suppression of natural variation ⓘ |
| etymology | derived from the mythological bed of Procrustes ⓘ |
| hasAdjectiveForm | Procrustean ⓘ |
| hasOriginIn | Greek mythology ⓘ |
| implies |
disregard for differences
ⓘ
harmful conformity ⓘ violence against individuality ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| metaphorFor |
distorting facts to fit a theory
ⓘ
forcing people into a predetermined mold ⓘ imposing one-size-fits-all solutions ⓘ |
| mythologicalBackground | Procrustes forced travelers to fit his bed by stretching or cutting them NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Procrustes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| opposes |
flexibility
ⓘ
individual differences ⓘ pluralism ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
authoritarianism
ⓘ
conformism ⓘ dogmatism ⓘ normativity ⓘ one-size-fits-all approach ⓘ standardization ⓘ |
| symbolizes |
abuse of power in setting standards
ⓘ
cruel enforcement of uniformity ⓘ sacrifice of reality to fit a model ⓘ |
| usedAs |
critique of inflexible rules
ⓘ
warning against rigid systems ⓘ |
| usedInContextOf |
bureaucratic systems
ⓘ
education systems ⓘ legal criticism ⓘ political criticism ⓘ social criticism ⓘ standardization debates ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.