Posted by alexandra_k on January 18, 2005, at 3:36:34
In reply to Re: Folk Psychology and the Nature of Belief., posted by alexandra_k on January 18, 2005, at 3:16:44
The DSM says delusions are 'false beliefs about external reality' so according to the DSM the first construal (expressing ones state of emotional death) would not be a delusion proper. But clinicians diagnose on the basis of what the subject SAYS. Many many people could say
'I am dead'.
I would say MOST of them mean it as an expression of their experince. It is then up to us whether we want to say they don't have delusions proper or whether we want to say that they clearly are delusional and those examples show us the inadequacy of the DSM defintion.Nothing hangs on that.
It is just that the DSM begs the question regarding whether ANY delusional utterances are actually 'false claims about external reality'.Maybe we have to go that way on the cases where people act on their delusions. But the class of delusions is considerably reduced... And it is not the utterances that distinguish between these two groups of people it is their behaviour.
In the second case we have all the problems of how come they come to accept such a 'crazy' hypothesis in the face of non-delusional alternatives. I am still mulling that one...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:443284
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/write/20041210/msgs/443608.html