Chapter 8 Controversies And Discrimination Analysis
Chapter 8
Controversies and Discussions 2
Definition of hallucination
Aleman, A., & De Haan, E.H.F. (1998). On redefining hallucination. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 68, 656-658.
Chapter 8
In his interesting and thought-provoking article “Toward a new definition of hallucination”, Liester (1998) proposed a revised definition of the concept of hallucination. Taking the widely applied DSM-IV definition as a starting point,
Liester argued that there are important shortcomings in current definitions of hallucination. DSM-IV defines hallucinations as follows:
“A sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ.” …show more content…
He proposed the following definition of hallucination:
“A sensory experience that has the compelling sense of reality of an
“objective” perception, but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ; that occurs in conjunction with and is believed to be etiologically related to, a physical or mental disorder; and that is not ordinarily experienced or accepted by other members of the culture or subculture.”
To our perception, however, the definition is not adequate, as it is based on certain assumptions regarding the nature of psychopathology that remain unjustified. In our comment we will address this issue, and will specifically pay attention to the question whether a definition of hallucination must be restricted to psychopathological experiences, as advocated by Liester (1998).
As recognized by Liester (1998), numerous reports have by now established the occurence of hallucinatory experiences in the normal population
(Posey & Losch, 1983; Young et al., 1986; Tien, 1991; Barrett & Etheridge, 1992;
Aleman, Böcker & De Haan, 1998). Moreover, the percentage of normal …show more content…
504). In this approach it is not necessary to distinguish between “pathological” and “normal” hallucinations. Rather, it is the task of the clinician to evaluate whether the hallucinations arise in the context of a psychiatric condition or not.
There is no a priori reason, therefore, nor is there a theoretical justification for limiting the definition of hallucinations to psychopathological experiences. Restricting the definition of hallucination to psychopathology may result in a rather arbitrary classification practice. Consider the following example.
John and Mark both often experience “a voice speaking their thoughts aloud”. A psychiatrist conducts a psychiatric examination on both, and concludes that John, in contrast to Mark, presents some (other?) symptoms of psychopathology. Is the same hallucinatory experience, shared by John and Mark, to be defined hallucination in John, but not in Mark? And, if so, what is the hallucinatory experience of Mark to be called?
We also doubt whether the elimination from the definition of hallucination of hallucinatory events that are accepted within certain cultural contexts will prove to be valuable. Whether occurring in a particular
Controversies and Discussions 2
Definition of hallucination
Aleman, A., & De Haan, E.H.F. (1998). On redefining hallucination. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 68, 656-658.
Chapter 8
In his interesting and thought-provoking article “Toward a new definition of hallucination”, Liester (1998) proposed a revised definition of the concept of hallucination. Taking the widely applied DSM-IV definition as a starting point,
Liester argued that there are important shortcomings in current definitions of hallucination. DSM-IV defines hallucinations as follows:
“A sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ.” …show more content…
He proposed the following definition of hallucination:
“A sensory experience that has the compelling sense of reality of an
“objective” perception, but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ; that occurs in conjunction with and is believed to be etiologically related to, a physical or mental disorder; and that is not ordinarily experienced or accepted by other members of the culture or subculture.”
To our perception, however, the definition is not adequate, as it is based on certain assumptions regarding the nature of psychopathology that remain unjustified. In our comment we will address this issue, and will specifically pay attention to the question whether a definition of hallucination must be restricted to psychopathological experiences, as advocated by Liester (1998).
As recognized by Liester (1998), numerous reports have by now established the occurence of hallucinatory experiences in the normal population
(Posey & Losch, 1983; Young et al., 1986; Tien, 1991; Barrett & Etheridge, 1992;
Aleman, Böcker & De Haan, 1998). Moreover, the percentage of normal …show more content…
504). In this approach it is not necessary to distinguish between “pathological” and “normal” hallucinations. Rather, it is the task of the clinician to evaluate whether the hallucinations arise in the context of a psychiatric condition or not.
There is no a priori reason, therefore, nor is there a theoretical justification for limiting the definition of hallucinations to psychopathological experiences. Restricting the definition of hallucination to psychopathology may result in a rather arbitrary classification practice. Consider the following example.
John and Mark both often experience “a voice speaking their thoughts aloud”. A psychiatrist conducts a psychiatric examination on both, and concludes that John, in contrast to Mark, presents some (other?) symptoms of psychopathology. Is the same hallucinatory experience, shared by John and Mark, to be defined hallucination in John, but not in Mark? And, if so, what is the hallucinatory experience of Mark to be called?
We also doubt whether the elimination from the definition of hallucination of hallucinatory events that are accepted within certain cultural contexts will prove to be valuable. Whether occurring in a particular