Delusions

Excerpt

In his Critique of Pure Reason, Kant presents the existence of the noumenon (the thing-in-itself) and subsequent phenomenon: the "thing" as it appears to the observer. The veil preventing the unblemished mirroring of the noumenon by the phenomenon is the perceiver's subjective synthesis of the incoming stimuli. Kant further elaborates that the perceiver will never truly acknowledge the objective noumenal reality, as perceiving implies the synthesis of incoming empiric sensation with a priori knowledge and intuition. As a more digestible encapsulation, all experience incorporates an incoming sensation (the noumenon) followed by an organizing concept (the phenomenon), thus engendering a distinctly individualized subjective reality.

Applying this epistemological heuristic, individuals of a common ilk will experience similar phenomenological realities as they share synchronous schemata. However, in deviant sensory processing, the afflicted individual would undoubtedly experience a drastically aberrant perception of reality. This distortion is the foundation for the nosologic distinction of "delusion."

Jaspers (1883-1969) was amongst the first to describe and classify delusions. In his book General Psychopathology (1913), he suggests that a delusion is a "perverted view of reality, incorrigibly held." These perversions are enigmatically derived, held with extraordinary certainty, and unamenable. He further emphasized that these false beliefs exist along a continuum of thought disturbance, increasing in severity of distortion from normal thinking patterns to "true" delusions. One hundred years later, Jaspers' postulation remains a leading candidate in the investigation of delusion morphology. As per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Psychiatric Disorders, delusions are defined as firm and fixed beliefs based on inadequate grounds not amenable to the rational argument or evidence to the contrary and not in sync with regional, cultural, or educational background.