Feelings of Reality: Toward a Phenomenology of Experiential Realness
Jaime Rojas-Hernández, Lucas F Borkel
Review of General Psychology July 23, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/10892680261468208 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that feelings of reality are structured by six provisional facets (subjective awakeness, vividness, experiential coherence, experiential embeddedness, bodily awareness, presence) forming a continuum from diminished to heightened realness, and proposes this framework as a basis for future psychometric validation and clinical assessment. |
Abstract
This paper advances a novel framework for understanding feelings of reality (FR), the elusive yet fundamental dimension through which the self and the world are felt as real. Drawing on descriptive phenomenology, clinical psychopathology, and altered-state research, we characterize FR as non-conceptual phenomenal qualities through which the self and world are experienced as immediate and substantial. We propose that FR are structured by six interacting candidate facets: subjective awakeness, vividness, experiential coherence, experiential embeddedness, bodily awareness, and presence. These facets define a continuum extending from the diminished realness of depersonalization and derealization, through ordinary wakefulness, to the intensified or hyper-real quality of some psychedelic, contemplative, near-death, and peak-like states. The proposed facets should be understood as provisional phenomenological characterizations of felt realness rather than as definitive empirical factors or as necessary and sufficient components present in every instance of feeling real. For each facet, we distinguish phenomenological evidence drawn from first-person, clinical, contemplative, and altered-state descriptions from measurement-related evidence drawn from self-report scales, clinical instruments, experimental findings, or adjacent operational constructs. By clarifying the structure of experiential realness, this framework offers a basis for future psychometric validation, clinical assessment and treatment of diminished realness, and epistemic analysis of heightened realness without conflating the felt reality of an experience with the ontological truth of its contents.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 41
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State Science September 7, 2006
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
and 36 more in the library