Abstract
ABSTRACTDelusions are widely believed to reflect disturbed cognitive function, but the nature of this remains elusive. The “un-Cartesian” cognitive-linguistic hypothesis maintains (a) that there is no thought separate from language, that is, there is no distinct mental space removed from language where “thinking” takes place; and (b) that a somewhat broadened concept of grammar is responsible for bestowing meaning on propositions, and this among other things gives them their quality of being true or false. It is argued that a loss of propositional meaning explains why delusions are false, impossible and sometimes fantastic. A closely related abnormality, failure of linguistic embedding, can additionally account for why delusions are held with fixed conviction and are not adequately justified by the patient. The un-Cartesian linguistic approach to delusions has points of contact with Frith’s theory that inability to form meta-representations underlies a range of schizophrenic symptoms. It may also be relevant to the nature of the “second factor” in monothematic delusions in neurological disease. Finally, it can inform the current debate about whether or not delusions really are beliefs.
Highlights
Delusions are widely believed to reflect disturbed cognitive function, but the nature of this remains elusive
We have argued that the un-Cartesian approach allows what we term propositional delusions to be characterised linguistically, as a breakdown in the kind of meaning that words in combination acquire as a result of the operation of grammar
We have not developed the theme, it may be that a corresponding set of linguistic features define referential delusions, perhaps acting on language comprehension rather than production
Summary
Delusions are widely believed to reflect disturbed cognitive function, but the nature of this remains elusive. There is no anomaly at the lexical level: the words themselves are not being used in an unusual or novel way – in the first example the patient is talking about the same person as we do when we refer to Jesus, and the meanings of wine glass, stomach, the Mafia and killing are likewise entirely conventional.
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