(June 6, 2018 at 4:18 pm)Mathilda Wrote:(June 4, 2018 at 10:30 am)Mathilda Wrote: I find it interesting from a neuroscience perspective. Schizophrenia for example can be disruptive yet religious experience isn't. Probably because for most religious practitioners it actually takes a lot of time and effort to summon up tangible sensory experiences and the recipient probably wants them.
Many people with (for want of a better term) abnormal psychology often claim that it's just a different way of being. There's never a single cut off point where you either have or don't have a particularly psychological condition. Brains are grown and therefore each one is different. Some are on the extreme end of a bell curve and maybe those with such sensory religious experiences aren't so extreme that their psychological make-up is considered problematic because they can still function in society.
Found this:
The concept of schizophrenia is coming to an end – here’s why
Quote:Just as we now have the concept of autism spectrum disorder, psychosis (typically characterised by distressing hallucinations, delusions, and confused thoughts) is also argued to exist along a continuum and in degrees. Schizophrenia is the severe end of a spectrum or continuum of experiences.
Relevant paper here:
The slow death of the concept of schizophrenia and the painful birth of the psychosis spectrum.
Could it be that the theists who think that they can actually see, hear and touch their god actually be on the psychosis spectrum?
As someone who's been diagnosed with schizophrenia a couple of times myself, this is very interesting news. Hopefully this time they correctly define all theists as being on the psychosis spectrum.
