DIMENSIONS OF REALITY
1.5
Reality – the Perceivable
Neither pure objectivism nor pure subjectivism is sufficient for psychology. We need a framework that integrates both, and that framework is realism.
Let’s briefly recap where we are on our journey. We began with two fundamental perspectives on reality: first, reality as the objective – external, measurable, and independent of the observer. Then we explored reality as the phenomenal – the idea that only what appears in subjective consciousness is truly real.
For psychology, neither an exclusively external nor an exclusively internal perspective is sufficient. We need a framework that relates the two perspectives—one that takes seriously both the structure of the external world and the subjective experience through which that world becomes meaningful to us.
This epistemological position is known as realism. It distinguishes between an experience-independent physical world and the phenomenal world of subjective experience, through which aspects of the physical world are somewhat mysteriously “represented.” This is the position we adopt throughout the remainder of the course.
But what does the term “representation” actually mean? Let’s take a closer look in the following video.
Third Sense of Reality: The Perceivable
| real3 | unreal3 |
|---|---|
| perceivable | imaginal |
Hallucinations provide a compelling example of the distinction between external and internal perspectives. For individuals experiencing them, hallucinations feel undeniably real. For instance, many patients with schizophrenia hear voices that literally seem physically present. However, the voices cannot be heard by others.. They exist only within the perceptual and cognitive framework of the individual experiencing them.
One possible explanation of hallucinations draws on the Source Monitoring Framework. On this account, hallucinations arise when the brain fails to recognize certain experiences as internally generated. Auditory verbal hallucinations, for example, may result from inner speech that is not identified as self-produced. Visual hallucinations may stem from mental imagery that is externalized. In these proposed explanations, difficulties distinguishing internally generated experiences from externally derived information — a process known as reality monitoring — may contribute to hallucinations.
Authors: Fabian Mueller & William Palmer
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