Varieties of Hallucination
Real Hallucinations September 15, 2017 DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036719.003.0007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that comforting hallucinations, especially auditory verbal hallucinations arising during grief, form a distinct category of experience that is neither orthodox hallucination nor ordinary perception. Contends that the integrity of experience depends on relations with specific others, and that during profound grief, experiences of the deceased's presence and absence are multi-faceted and ambiguous, so the sense of presence and reality is not singular or unitary. |
Abstract
This chapter widens the scope of the discussion, to include types of hallucination not so far considered. It begins by drawing on Merleau-Ponty’s remarks on hallucination in Phenomenology of Perception, in order to identify a type of experience that differs both from orthodox hallucination and from the kinds of experience described in earlier chapters. The chapter goes on to consider auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) that console and bring comfort. The discussion focuses specifically on kinds of ‘hallucination’ that arise during grief. The phenomenology of grief serves to further illustrate the extent to which the integrity of experience depends on relations with others, and -in this case- on specific individuals. It is also noted that, during profound grief, experiences of the presence and absence of the deceased are multi-faceted and often ambiguous. Hence it is wrong to think of these experiences in simple terms, as someone seeming to be there or seeming not to be there. Again, it is apparent that the sense of ‘presence’ and ‘reality’ is not singular or unitary.