Full ectogenesis as the complete externalization of human reproduction by bypassing the bodily processes of gestation and childbirth can be considered the culmination of genetic and reproductive technologies. Despite its still being a hypothetical scenario, it has been discussed for decades as the ultimate means to liberate women from their reproductive tasks in society and hence finally end fundamental gender injustices generally. In the debate about the application of artificial wombs to achieve gender equality, one aspect is barely mentioned but (...) is of crucial relevance from a medical‐ethical perspective: whether and how could full ectogenesis be justified as a proper use of medicine? After characterizing the technology as a special form of human enhancement and as an extension of medical practice that goes beyond the traditional field of medicine, this paper critically assesses the theoretical possibilities of legitimizing this extension. We identify two ways of justification: either one argues that ectogenesis fulfils a proper goal of medicine (a justification we call pathologization), or one argues that the application of ectogenesis achieves a non‐medical goal (which we call medicalization). Because it is important from a medical‐ethical point of view to avoid an inappropriate instrumentalization or misuse of medicine and thus an undue medicalization of non‐medical problems, a set of necessary conditions has to be met. It is doubtful whether full ectogenesis for non‐medical purposes could fulfil these conditions. Rather, its comprehensive usage could be seen as a revolutionary modification of what it means to be human. (shrink)

Given the recent interest in the subjective or phenomenal dimension of consciousness it is no wonder that many authors have once more started to speak of the need for pheno- menological considerations. Often however the term ‘phenomenology’ is being used simply as a synonym for ‘folk psychology', and in our article we argue that it would be far more fruitful to turn to the argumentation to be found within the continental tradition inaugurated by Husserl. In order to exemplify this claim, (...) we criticize Rosenthal's higher-order thought theory as well as Strawson's recent contribution in this journal, and argue that a phenomenological analysis of the nature of self-awareness can provide us with a more sophisticated and accurate model for understanding both phenomenal consciousness and the notion of self. (shrink)

We propose that typical schizophrenic delusions develop on the background of preexisting anomalies of self-experience. We argue that disorders of the Self represent the experiential core clinical phenomena of schizophrenia, as was already suggested by the founders of the concept of schizophrenia and elaborated in the phenomenological psychiatric tradition. The article provides detailed descriptions of the pre-psychotic or schizotypal anomalies of self-experience, often illustrated through clinical vignettes. We argue that delusional transformation in the evolution of schizophrenic psychosis reflects a global (...) reorganization of consciousness and existential reorientation, both of which radiate from a fundamental alteration of the Self. We critically address the contemporary cognitive approaches to delusion formation, often finding them inconsistent with the clinical features of schizophrenia or implausible from a phenomenological point of view. (shrink)

PurposeTo evaluate the relationship between intraocular straylight perception and: (i) contrast sensitivity (CS), (ii) halo size, and (iii) hazard recognition distance, in the presence and absence of glare.Subjects and methodsParticipants were 15 (5 female) ophthalmologically healthy adults, aged 54.6–80.6 (median: 67.2) years. Intraocular straylight (log s) was measured using a straylight meter (C-Quant; Oculus GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany). CS with glare was measured clinically using the Optovist I device (Vistec Inc., Olching, Germany) and also within a driving simulator using Landolt Cs. (...) These were presented under both static or dynamic viewing conditions, and either with or without glare. Hazard detection distance was measured for simulated obstacles of varying contrast. For this, the participant was required to maintain a speed of 60 km/h within a custom-built nighttime driving simulator. Glare was simulated by LED arrays, moved by cable robots to mimic an oncoming car’s headlights. Halo size (“halometry”) was measured by moving Landolt Cs outward originating from the center of a static glare source. The outcome measure from “halometry” was the radius of the halo (angular extent, in degrees visual angle).ResultsThe correlation between intraocular straylight perception, log s, and hazard recognition distance under glare was poor for the low contrast obstacles (leading/subdominant eye: r = 0.27/r = 0.34). Conversely, log CS measured with glare strongly predicted hazard recognition distances under glare. This was true both when log CS was measured using a clinical device (Optovist I: r = 0.93) and within the driving simulator, under static (r = 0.69) and dynamic (r = 0.61) conditions, and also with “halometry” (r = 0.70). Glare reduced log CS and hazard recognition distance for almost all visual function parameters.ConclusionIntraocular straylight was a poor predictor of visual function and driving performance within this experiment. Conversely, CS was a strong predictor of both hazard recognition and halo extent. The presence of glare and motion lead to a degradation of CS in a driving simulator. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of all above-mentioned vision-related parameters for predicting fitness to drive under real-life conditions. (shrink)

Throughout the history of mankind, energy security has been always seen as a means of protection from disruptions of essential energy systems. The idea of protection from disorders emerged from the process of securing political and military control over energy resources to set up policies and measures on managing risks that affect all elements of energy systems. The various systems placed in a place to achieve energy security are the driving force towards the energy innovations or emerging trends in the (...) energy sector. Our paper discusses energy security status and innovations in the energy sector in European Union (EU). We analyze the recent up-to-date developments of the energy policy and exploitation of energy sources, as well as scrutinize the channels of energy streaming to the EU countries and the risks associated with this energy import. Moreover, we argue that the shift to the low-carbon production of energy and the massive deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) might become the key issue in ensuring the energy security and independency of the EU from its external energy supplies. Both RES, distributed energy resources (DER) and “green energy” that will be based on the energy efficiency and the shift to the alternative energy supply might change the energy security status quo for the EU. (shrink)

The ethics of human enhancement has been a hotly debated topic in the last 15 years. In this debate, some advocate examining science fiction stories to elucidate the ethical issues regarding the current phenomenon of human enhancement. Stories from science fiction seem well suited to analyze biomedical advances, providing some possible case studies. Of particular interest is the work of screenwriter Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, S1m0ne, In Time, and Good Kill), which often focuses on ethical questions raised by the use of (...) new technologies. Examining the movie In Time (2011), the aim of this paper is to show how science fiction can contribute to the ethical debate of human enhancement. In Time provides an interesting case study to explore what could be some of the consequences of radical life-extension technologies. In this paper, we will show how arguments regarding radical life-extension portrayed in this particular movie differ from what is found in the scientific literature. We will see how In Time gives flesh to arguments defending or rejecting radical life-extension. It articulates feelings of unease, alienation and boredom associated with this possibility. Finally, this article will conclude that science fiction movies in general, and In Time in particular, are a valuable resource for a broad and comprehensive debate about our coming future. (shrink)

The definition of ‘patient’ is commonly taken for granted and considered as obvious, but the term is rather underconceptualised in the literature. In this paper, it will be argued that the criterion of suffering can be considered a sufficient criterion for a parent to be considered a secondary patient when their seriously ill child is receiving medical care (i.e. not necessarily the parents themselves) – these parents are sufferers in virtue of the suffering of others. The nature of parental and (...) child health and well-being is clearly relational and bidirectional, thus also a bidirectional and relational integration of parental and paediatric patient care is necessary. A genuine expansion of the concept ‘patient’ to parents, both practically and theoretically, can help to bring awareness to the closely intertwining, interacting and interdependent vulnerabilities of both parties, the potential conflicts of interests involved, and also to demand support and reduce hurdles, for example, in reimbursement by health insurers. Treating parents as patients will (1) help the affected child (the primary patient), as unhealthy and/or mentally unstable parents are likely to negatively influence a child's treatment and (2) prevent the parents (the secondary patients) from becoming primary patients themselves due to their suffering because of their child's illness. (shrink)

This article examines the structure of self-consciousness in people with schizophrenia. The findings indicate that our self-experience is not neutral with respect to the metaphysical status of the self and that it is important to attend carefully to the experience of the subject in order to understand schizophrenia. The results also suggest that the variable disruptions in the sense of self-presence, first-person perspective, and the phenomenality of experience in schizophrenics directly affect the minimal self and it may also have implications (...) for the narrative self. (shrink)

Evidence shows that during birth women frequently experience unconsented care, coercion, and a loss of autonomy. For many countries, this contradicts both the law and medical ethics guidelines, which emphasize that competent and fully informed women’s autonomy must always be respected. To better understand this discordance, we empirically describe perinatal maternity care providers’ and women’s moral deliberation surrounding coercive measures during birth. Data were obtained from 1-on-1 interviews with providers (N = 15) and women (N = 14), and a survey (...) of women (N = 118). Analyses focused on an in-depth exploration of responses to a question on the permissibility of coercion in birth whose wording was borrowed from a Swiss medical-ethical guideline. Reasons for and against a principle permissibility of coercive measures in birth were grouped into clusters of reasons to build a coherent explanatory framework. Factors considered morally relevant when deliberating on coercion included women’s decisional capacity, beneficence/non-maleficence, authority through knowledge on the part of providers, flaws of the medical system, or the imperative to protect the most vulnerable. Also, we identified various misconceptions, such as the conviction that a pathological birth can justify coercion or that fetal rights can justifiably infringe on women’s autonomy. Information and education on the issue of coercion in birth are urgently needed to enable women to fully exercise their reproductive autonomy, to prevent long-term adverse health outcomes of women and children, and to reconcile the medical vigilance which has lead to a reduction of perinatal morbidity and mortality with women’s enfranchisement in their own care. (shrink)

A model of writing in cognitive development, Understanding the Representational Mind synthesizes the burgeoning literature on the child’s theory of mind to provide an integrated account of children’s understanding of representational and mental processes, which is crucial in their acquisition of our commonsense psychology. Perner describes experimental work on children’s acquisition of a theory of mind and representation, offers a theoretical account of this acquisition, and gives examples of how the increased sophistication in children’s theory of mind improves their understanding (...) of social interaction and how, in the case of autistic children, an impairment results in social ineptitude. He analyzes the concepts of representation and metarepresentation as they appear in current discussion in the philosophy of cognitive science and explains how the unfolding of mental representation enables infants to comprehend change over time, engage in pretence, and use representational systems like pictures and language. Perner goes on to show that around age four children become able to understand the representational nature of pictures and language and to distinguish appearance from reality. Introducing basic distinctions in philosophy of mind for characterizing the mental, Perner discusses differences in how commonsense and cognitive psychology view the mind. Tracing the onset of a commonsense psychology in the social and emotional awareness of early infancy, he reveals how the child begins to take a cognitive, representational view of the mind with repercussions for children’s episodic memory, self control, and their ability to engage in deception. Perner concludes by describing the observed developmental changes as a case of theory change And contrasts his thesis with competing proposals. Josef Perner is Lecturer in Experimental Psychology at Sussex University, Brighton, England. (shrink)

The definition of ‘patient’ is commonly taken for granted and considered as obvious, but the term is rather underconceptualised in the literature. In this paper, it will be argued that the criterion of suffering can be considered a sufficient criterion for a parent to be considered a secondary patient when their seriously ill child is receiving medical care (i.e. not necessarily the parents themselves) – these parents are sufferers in virtue of the suffering of others. The nature of parental and (...) child health and well-being is clearly relational and bidirectional, thus also a bidirectional and relational integration of parental and paediatric patient care is necessary. A genuine expansion of the concept ‘patient’ to parents, both practically and theoretically, can help to bring awareness to the closely intertwining, interacting and interdependent vulnerabilities of both parties, the potential conflicts of interests involved, and also to demand support and reduce hurdles, for example, in reimbursement by health insurers. Treating parents as patients will (1) help the affected child (the primary patient), as unhealthy and/or mentally unstable parents are likely to negatively influence a child's treatment and (2) prevent the parents (the secondary patients) from becoming primary patients themselves due to their suffering because of their child's illness. (shrink)

Cílem této studie je prozkoumat postavení metafory na poli zkoumání významu a následně představit potenciál metafory, a obrazných vyjádření obecně, zastávat pozici kritéria hodnocení teorií významu. Jako výchozí bod si práce bere několik vlivných pojetí metafory, na nichž ukazuje šíři bádání o metafoře a obraznosti a zároveň různorodost možných přístupů k vysvětlení těchto jazykových fenoménů. Dále je věnována pozornost několika sporným bodům opakovaně se objevujícím v různých teoriích metafory. Na základě analýzy těchto sporných bodů jsou předloženy argumenty zpochybňující předpokládanou odlišnost (...) mechanismů konstituování významu u obrazných a doslovných vyjádření. Následkem toho je pak vznesen návrh, zda by metafora, pro své kvalitativní a kvantitativní rysy, nemohla být chápána jako prubířský kámen teorií významu, tj. byla nástrojem k hodnocení těchto teorií, k jejich falsifikování, modifikování či přímo k jejich vytváření.The main aim of this study is to examine the role that metaphor plays in investigation of linguistic meaning and to present the potential of metaphor and figurative language in general to maintain a position of an evaluating criterion for theories of meaning. Several influential theories of metaphor are used as a starting point for this inquiry, to show how vast the field of investigation of metaphors and figurative language might be and how various approaches attempt to explain these language phenomena. I then focus on a number of problematic points repeatedly resurfacing in various theories of metaphor. My analysis of these problems issues in arguments questioning supposed difference between constituting mechanisms of literal and figurative meaning. Having this in place, I propose that, on account of its quantitative and qualitative features, metaphor could be understood as a touchstone of theories of meaning, i.e. the tool for their evaluating, refuting, modifying and even for creating new ones. (shrink)

This work is both an introduction to, and a reader in, contemporary hermeneutics. Included are papers by Betti, Gadamer, Ricoeur, Apel and Habermas.

Die Frage nach den Faktoren, die eine wirksame Ethik-Lehre in der Medizin ausmachen, blieb bislang weitgehend unbeantwortet. Vor allem im deutschsprachigen Raum wird hier zu wenig Forschung betrieben. Aufgrund fehlender wissenschaftlich aussagekräftiger Evaluationsstudien lässt sich somit mitunter nur vermuten, wie wirksam bestimmte Lehrformate und -methoden in der Ethik-Lehre tatsächlich sind. Die Auswahl von Lehrformaten und -methoden, die Ethik-Dozierende für das Erreichen eines festgelegten Lernziels einsetzen, wird häufig nicht nach evidenzbasierten Kriterien, sondern auf der Grundlage von guten oder schlechten Lehrerfahrungen sowie (...) von unmittelbarem Feedback der Studierenden getroffen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden nach einem kurzen Überblick über Evaluationsverfahren ethischer Kompetenzen Erkenntnisse aus ausgewählten internationalen Wirksamkeitsstudien vorgestellt und auf ihre Relevanz für den Medizinethik-Unterricht diskutiert. Wenngleich die Erkenntnisse aus diesen Evaluations- und Meta-Studien aus anderen, angrenzenden Bereichen wie der Forschungsethik und anderen Lehrkontexten kommen, so können sie doch als Diskussionsanstoß dienen und dazu beitragen, Eckpunkte für die Gestaltung wirksamer Ethik-Lehre in der Medizin im deutschsprachigen Raum zu definieren. (shrink)

ProblemThe question of what factors drive the effectiveness of ethics teaching in medicine has remained largely unanswered in German-speaking countries. Due to the lack of scientifically sound evaluation studies, it is sometimes only possible to assume how effective certain teaching formats and methods actually are in ethics courses. The selection of teaching formats and methods that ethics lecturers use to achieve a specified learning objective is often not made according to evidence-based criteria, but on the basis of positive or negative (...) teaching experiences and direct feedback from students.Methods and argumentsIn this article, after a brief overview of evaluation procedures of ethical competences, findings from selected international effectiveness studies are presented and discussed in terms of their relevance for teaching medical ethics.Results and conclusionAlthough the findings from these evaluation and meta-studies come from other, related fields such as research ethics and other teaching contexts, they can serve as an impetus for discussion and contribute to defining cornerstones in order to design effective ways to teach ethics in medicine in the German-speaking countries. (shrink)

We translate Socrates’ famous saying I know that I know nothing into the arithmetical sentence I prove that I prove nothing. Then it is easy to show that this translated saying is formally undecidable in formal arithmetic, using Gödel’s Second Incompleteness Theorem. We investigate some variations of this Socrates-Gödel sentence. In an appendix we sketch a ramified epistemic logic with propositional quantifiers in order to analyze the Socrates-Gödel sentence in a more logical way, separated from the arithmetical context.

ZusammenfassungObwohl Film nicht nur eine große Popularität und mediale Vertrautheit genießt, sondern auch als eine der bedeutendsten kulturprägenden Kunstformen der Gegenwart sowie als Mittel kollektiver Selbstverständigung und Ausdruck gesellschaftlicher Reflexion gelten kann, finden filmische Auseinandersetzungen mit aktuellen bioethischen Problemkonstellationen bislang kaum Beachtung im akademischen Diskurs. Dies gilt nicht nur für die vielschichtige Symbolbildung von Spielfilmen, sondern auch für das narrative Potenzial von Dokumentarfilmen. Dabei können dokumentarische Erzählformen wichtige Bedeutungsebenen ethischer Fragestellungen erschließen, indem sie Einblick in die individuellen Lebenslagen der Betroffenen (...) und ihre jeweiligen Perspektiven gewähren. Wie kaum ein anderes Medium ist der Dokumentarfilm geeignet, dabei die persönliche Dimension medizinischer Entscheidungen jenseits theoretischer Argumentationen erfahrbar zu machen. Dieser diskursive Mehrwert, den die Einbeziehung von Dokumentarfilmen in die bioethische Debatte haben kann, wird in diesem Beitrag zunächst als Theorie formuliert und anschließend an zwei Filmbeispielen erläutert, welche die Thematik der Leihmutterschaft aufgreifen und somit eine aktuelle Fragestellung der Reproduktionsmedizin ins Bild setzen. (shrink)

Entamoeba histolytica is a protozoan parasite of humans, and the causitive agent of intestinal amebiasis. The disease‐causing stage of the parasite is an osmotically sensitive ameboid form, which differentiates into a thick‐walled cyst for transmission from person to person. The conditions within the human intestine that induce encystment of the amoeba are unknown, but studies using an amoebic parasite of reptiles are now yielding information about the molecules and host:parasite interactions involved in the process. An understanding of the amoeba's obligatory (...) encystment pathway should provide an approach for interrupting the transmission of this parasite, for which there is currently no vaccine. (shrink)

Durch Fortschritte in der modernen Reproduktionsmedizin ist es Frauen heute möglich, auch nach der Menopause mit eigenen Eizellen schwanger zu werden. Damit wird die Fortpflanzung im homologen System auch im Alter zu einer realistischen Option. Gegen derartige späte Schwangerschaften gibt es vielfältige Argumente, die vor allem auf mögliche Schädigungen aufgrund des hohen Alters der Mutter verweisen. Maßnahmen der Anti-Aging-Medizin zum Erhalt bzw. zur Verbesserung der kognitiven und physischen Leistungsfähigkeit im fortgeschrittenen Alter könnten diese Einwände gegen den Einsatz von Reproduktionstechniken nach (...) der Menopause entkräften. Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie erstrebenswert postmenopausale Schwangerschaften unter diesen Voraussetzungen eigentlich sind. Es wird die These vertreten, dass eine Schadensargumentation für eine ethische Bewertung allein nicht ausreichend ist, sondern auch Überlegungen zu Status und Authentizität des Kinderwunsches, zum Selbstverständnis der Medizin, zur Autonomie der Betroffenen sowie zur Natürlichkeit der Lebensführung berücksichtigt werden müssen. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich, wie Entwicklungen in zwei spezifischen Anwendungsbereichen (Anti-Aging- und Reproduktionsmedizin) in einer gemeinsamen Betrachtung zusammengeführt und mit Gewinn für allgemeinere medizinethische Überlegungen bewertet werden können. (shrink)

Die Bestimmung des Herstellungsbegriffs setzt bei der aristotelischen Unterscheidung zwischen den Tätigkeitsformen der poiesis sowie praxis an. Anders als das selbstzweckliche Handeln ist das herstellende Hervorbringen immer zweckorientierte, auf etwas außerhalb ihrer selbst gerichtete Tätigkeit. Anthropologisch gewendet, lässt sich die entsprechende Fähigkeit zur instrumentellen Mittel erfindung und systematischen Mittelherstellung als zentrales Wesensmerkmal des Menschen bestimmen. Nach Hannah Arendt sind veschiedene Aspekte des Herstellens als einzigartiger Fähigkeit des Menschen zu unterscheiden. Auf der Seite des Herstellungsprozesses sind die eindeutig bestimmbare Abgeschlossenheit und (...) die Finalität das Herstellens charakteristisch; auf der Seite des hergestellten Produktes sind die Gegenständlichkeit des Hergestellten sowie die von diesem unabhängige Beständigkeit des Produktentwurfs bestimmend, in dem wiederum die grundsätzliche Anlage zur Vervielfältigung und Massenproduktion jeder Hervorbringung gründet. Hieraus ergibt sich die Haltbarkeit als inhärente Eigenheit des Hergestellten, das somit seinen Hersteller potenziell überdauert. Schließlich wird die anthopologische Bedeutung des Herstellungshandelns deutlich: der unstete Mensch, dessen Leben in Struktur und Verlauf dauerhaft anfällig und beständig unbeständig ist, benötigt zum Überleben verlässlich Dauerhaftes, Beständiges. Als Homo faber gelingt es ihm, seine eigene Unnatürlichkeit durch selbstgemachte Künstlichkeit zu ergänzen und sich so eine “Heimat” zu schaffen. (shrink)

It is suggested that the world is locally projectively flat rather than Euclidean. From this postulate it is shown that an (N+1)-particle system has the global geometry of the symmetric spaceSO(4,N+1)/SO(4)×SO(N+1). A complex representation also exists, with structureSU(2,N+1)/S[U(2)×U(N+1)]. Several aspects of these geometrics are developed. Physical states are taken to be eigenfunctions of the Laplace-Beltrami operators. The theory may provide a rational basis for comprehending the groupsSO(4, 2),SU(2)×U(1),SU(3), etc., of current interest.

Durch Fortschritte in der modernen Reproduktionsmedizin ist es Frauen heute möglich, auch nach der Menopause mit eigenen Eizellen schwanger zu werden. Damit wird die Fortpflanzung im homologen System auch im Alter zu einer realistischen Option. Gegen derartige späte Schwangerschaften gibt es vielfältige Argumente, die vor allem auf mögliche Schädigungen aufgrund des hohen Alters der Mutter verweisen. Maßnahmen der Anti-Aging-Medizin zum Erhalt bzw. zur Verbesserung der kognitiven und physischen Leistungsfähigkeit im fortgeschrittenen Alter könnten diese Einwände gegen den Einsatz von Reproduktionstechniken nach (...) der Menopause entkräften. Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie erstrebenswert postmenopausale Schwangerschaften unter diesen Voraussetzungen eigentlich sind. Es wird die These vertreten, dass eine Schadensargumentation für eine ethische Bewertung allein nicht ausreichend ist, sondern auch Überlegungen zu Status und Authentizität des Kinderwunsches, zum Selbstverständnis der Medizin, zur Autonomie der Betroffenen sowie zur Natürlichkeit der Lebensführung berücksichtigt werden müssen. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich, wie Entwicklungen in zwei spezifischen Anwendungsbereichen (Anti-Aging- und Reproduktionsmedizin) in einer gemeinsamen Betrachtung zusammengeführt und mit Gewinn für allgemeinere medizinethische Überlegungen bewertet werden können. (shrink)

In this response to Wiggins and Schwartz, Ratcliffe, and Stanghellini, we first wish to express our gratitude to Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology for providing us the space to clarify our views and to overcome certain misunderstandings. Ratcliffe notes that our critique is "harsh," whereas Wiggins and Schwartz lament the fact that the debate "has taken the form of sometimes acid formulations and rejoinders . . . that lack the tone of mutual appreciation" (2011, 31). We deplore the fact that this (...) exchange was at all necessary, and we share Wiggins and Schwartz's concerns. However, we need to recall here and emphasize that our article originated as a response. It originated as a response to an article that was .. (shrink)

In his previous book, Contemporary Hermeneutics, Josef Bleicher offered an introduction to the subject, locating it mainly within the philosophy of social science, and looking at the profound impact it is having on a wide range of intellectual pursuits. This book follows on from this and expounds the author's view that the development of the hermeneutic imagination is an indispensable condition for reflexive sociological work and emancipatory social practice. Dr Bleicher examines the various approaches to sociology – empiricist, functionalist, (...) structuralist, interpretive, critical – by reference to a hermeneutic paradigm, and shows how the hermeneutic imagination leads to a redirection in sociology, away from scientistic presuppositions and towards an awareness of the dialogue which links the subject and object in the study of social phenomena. He argues that by allowing the hermeneutic imagination to develop, it is possible to counter the steering of social processes on the basis of technocratic imperatives, and to provide a rational anticipation of a better future. (shrink)

Delusions are usually defined as false beliefs about the state of affairs in the public world. Taking this premise as unquestionable, the debate in cognitive science tends to oscillate between the so-called 'rationalist approach'- proposing some breakdown in the central intellective modules embodying human rationality - and the 'empiricist approach' - proposing a primary peripheral deficit , followed by explanatory efforts in the form of delusions. In this article the foundational assumption about delusion is questioned. Especially in the case of (...) schizophrenia, delusions are not epistemic statements about external world but metaphorical reports of altered structure of experiencing . Delusions as epistemic statements or beliefs occur paradigmatically in delusional disorder . These two types of delusions are compared from a primarily phenomenological stance. (shrink)