Posted by Larry Hoover on January 16, 2005, at 14:22:02
In reply to Re: 1.3, posted by alexandra_k on December 23, 2004, at 16:12:23
> 1) Why does the delusional hypothesis occur to some subjects?
I don't think delusional hypotheses are anything but commonplace, occurring to all people with high frequency.
> 2) Why is the hypothesis adopted as a belief?
Because it makes sense.
> 3) Why is it retained as a belief despite 'incontrovertible and obvious proof and / or evidence to the contrary'?
Here's the rub. The declaration that there is incontrovertible evidence or proof is relative. For it to be true, there must be some sort of objective place of truth. No observer is without bias. All is subjective. All is relative. That a view is commonly held does not make it incontrovertible. From the supposed delusional's perspective, the delusion is sensible. And no matter what I might make of what is called a delusion, I don't ever want to lose sight of that fact.
Einstein's theory of relativity explained reality far better than did Newtonian "objectivity". Reality does depend on where you view it from.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:432064
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/write/20041210/msgs/442798.html