The Differences Between Hallucination and Reality Can Be Minimal
This article about hallucination vs reality is more philosophical in nature than medical, yet very relevant to the issue of psychosis or schizophrenia.
I will attempt to use common vernacular when possible; however, at
times I will be compelled to use the nomenclature of philosophy to
explain a position or view. I will even raise some issues that challenge
our commonsense views of reality, existence, and life; but
this is good and we can all learn from probing some of these weighty
philosophical issues. I believe that understanding one of the leading
theories of perception viz. representative realism will show us
how the mind perceives the world and how easily it can be “tricked”.
Understanding this will then show us how real a hallucination or illusion appears
to someone suffering from psychosis, and maybe assist us in convincing
or teaching someone how to discern between hallucinations and reality.
After we briefly discuss this truncated discussion of representative realism I think you might be surprised how close a hallucination is to reality. There are other popular views of epistemology viz. phenomenalism
which postulates that everything is illusion, but if I succeed in
presenting this theory of perception, you too may begin to question what
is real and how can you justify your belief? |
| Marie Gronley, MD |
As a psychiatrist in Scottsdale I treat schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, often with positive results. One of the greatest challenges in dealing with a patient having a form of psychosis is to convince them that what they may hear, smell, see, or think; are hallucinations and have no basis in reality. The problem, I believe has to do with perception and how the mind corresponds to the extended world or reality.
