Starry Wisdom

I was going to continue the Abortion comments but yet another recent challenge to my “negative insulting comments about people’s beliefs” changed my mind.

Beliefs … lot of discussion about them. Respecting them… sharing them… understanding them.

They can inspire wonderful compassionate behavior. They also can inspire murder, hatred, intolerance, delusion and all sorts of “bad stuff”. In my opinion … this is the dominant case now and has been very much so for the past couple of years… and of course a constant drumbeat over the centuries.

So here are some of my thoughts/beliefs about beliefs. Comments/questions/challenges welcomed.

A belief is like a thought… and idea. “something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction”. It is something in your mind. It is often not based on fact or evidence…. but rather social/religious/cultural conditioned thinking. Facts/evidence/proof not required … and often (obviously) shunned.

“You have to respect my belief.” No … that is nonsense. I respect your right to have it… and you need to respect my right to totally reject it… especially if it based on provably false assumptions.

That is something that fascinates me… people using the word “right” to support their delusional beliefs in many cases… “I have the right to be wrong! I have to right to believe something not real/true! I have the right to be deluded!”

As long is they stay in your head/your conversation/your church I have no problem. If they lead you to be compassionate/ethical/moral I admire them and you. But when acting on them leads you to act violently/cruelly/unethically/immorally/greedily/with willful rejection of facts and evidence, then I oppose you.

And this second case is what I see as dominant in this country and the world today. It’s pretty damned obvious.

And people really get offended if I label some beliefs mental illness. Take a look at the following from DSM-5, which describes “criteria” for clinical and legal findings of “mental illness”… and think about what you see in the “news” … in Washington… in fundamentalism… in politics… in conspiracy theory followers… in people you know.

“Symptoms of Delusional Disorder

Delusions are generally categorized in 4 groups: bizarre, non-bizarre, mood-congruent and mood-neutral. Bizarre delusions are strange and implausible, such as being vivisected by aliens, while non-bizarre delusions are possible but unlikely, such as being under surveillance. Mood-congruent delusions are false beliefs that are consistent with the patient’s mood if disordered, such as power and influence with mania and rejection and ostracism with depression. Mood-neutral delusions are not related to the patient’s mood, such as having two heads or one arm.

Delusions have a great variety of themes, but certain recurrent themes have been identified (Spitzer, 1990). These include delusions of control, mind-reading, thought insertion, reference, persecution, grandeur, self-accusation, jealousy (Othello syndrome), romance or sexual involvement (erotomania), somatic change or disease or death (Cotard syndrome). Somatic delusions are associated with mood disorders and organic dementias, and may constitute their own diagnostic entity (body dysmorphic disorder) (Spitzer, 1990), while grandiose or persecutory delusions are often cardinal symptoms of schizophrenia and related disorders (Freeman, 2004).

Munro identified 10 characteristics of delusions (Munro, 1999). The patient expresses the delusional belief(s) with unusual force and persistence, and the belief or beliefs exert and inordinate effect on the patient’s life, often altering or dominating it. Despite profound conviction about the delusion, the patient is often secretive or suspicious in discussing it. Delusional patients tend to be oversensitive and humorless, especially regarding the delusion. The belief is central to the patient’s existence, and questioning it elicits an inappropriately strong emotional reaction. The belief is nevertheless unlikely, and not in keeping with the patient’s social, cultural or religious background. The patient is highly invested emotionally in the belief, and other elements of the psyche may be overwhelmed. If the belief is acted upon, abnormal behavior may result which is out of character for the patient, but which may be understandable in light of the delusion; the belief and behavior are felt to be uncharacteristic by those who know the patient.

Delusional disorder is a primary disorder, with no medical or neurologic cause apparent. It is chronic and may be lifelong, but the delusions are internally consistent and logically constructed. Although the logic of the delusion may be abnormal, general logical reasoning is unaffected, and there is no general disturbance of behavior. Abnormal behavior, if it occurs, is specifically related to the delusional belief. The patient has a heightened sense of self-reference, and trivial or nonspecific events assume great importance through connection to the delusional belief (Munro, 1999).” Author: Dr. Miles E. Drake Jr., MD