What are delusions? Examining the typology problem

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Mind
• Cognitive Science
• Clinical Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Delusions are a heterogeneous phenomenon prevalent in schizophrenia.
• The philosophical typology problem questions the mental state underlying delusions.
• Understanding delusions impacts psychiatric research and psychological treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine current philosophical alternatives to the delusion typology problem.
• To clarify the dominant interpretivism and functionalism viewpoints.
• To introduce novel sub-classifications within doxastic and anti-doxastic views.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and critical analysis of philosophical arguments.
• Clarification of interpretivism and functionalism.
• Introduction of revisionist/non-revisionist (doxastic) and commonsensical/non-commonsensical (anti-doxastic) distinctions.

Main Results:

• Existing alternatives for the delusion typology problem are scattered.
• The paper categorizes proposals into doxastic (belief-based) and anti-doxastic (non-belief-based) views.
• New sub-distinctions refine the debate on the nature of delusions.

Conclusions:

• The paper provides an updated examination of the delusion typology debate.
• It highlights remaining fundamental challenges in understanding delusions.
• This work aims to facilitate further experimental and therapeutic developments.