Is psychosis simply the mind attempting to build a model of an inaccessible reality?
In short: Psychiatry often defines psychosis as a loss of contact with reality, but this lecture explores a different perspective. Professor Paul Fletcher suggests that psychotic experiences might actually stem from the brain's normal, ongoing effort to construct a functional model of a world it cannot directly perceive.
Delivered on 19 February 2019 by Paul Fletcher, the Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, this lecture challenges traditional views on psychosis. Rather than viewing it as a complete breakdown, Fletcher posits that the mind is inherently designed to build a working model of reality despite having limited direct access to the world around it.
This framework suggests that the manifestations of psychosis may be understood through the lens of standard cognitive processes. By examining how the brain interprets sensory input to form its internal reality, the lecture highlights the complex challenges psychiatry faces in deciphering these mysterious experiences.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Psychosis: Making and Inhabiting a Different Reality
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