mwc Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Well, maybe not kids and Santa but what about someone who is simply mentally ill and believes that they are truly having a two-way conversation with one or more real people (that just so happen to be imaginary as far as the rest of us are concerned)? What would this mean? Would this mean that the imaginary people are real? Or that they are "real" to that person? I'm leaning really hard toward the latter. And the same goes for "god." None of this means that "god" is real but I'm more than willing to concede that it all adds up to mean that "god" is "real" to that person and that person alone. It just so happens that a lot of individuals tend to accept that "god" is "real." So you get a lot of positives but that doesn't make "god" real but simply a lot of people who believe "god" is real. But I think we already knew that. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuidEstCaritas? Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Well, maybe not kids and Santa but what about someone who is simply mentally ill and believes that they are truly having a two-way conversation with one or more real people (that just so happen to be imaginary as far as the rest of us are concerned)? What would this mean? Would this mean that the imaginary people are real? Or that they are "real" to that person? I'm leaning really hard toward the latter. And the same goes for "god." None of this means that "god" is real but I'm more than willing to concede that it all adds up to mean that "god" is "real" to that person and that person alone. It just so happens that a lot of individuals tend to accept that "god" is "real." So you get a lot of positives but that doesn't make "god" real but simply a lot of people who believe "god" is real. But I think we already knew that. mwc Perhaps that might work but I think that children who go through that stage where they believe in Invisible Friends, are far more reliable as test subjects. It's a phase they go through and the tests could have the potential to be pretty insightful. As far as people who are mentally ill that believe they are having a conversation with more than one person, I am pretty sure that is subjective. If such a person could provide evidence otherwise I would be willing to examine the evidence. Also, I wouldn't put believers in the same category as others who see, feel, taste, touch, and hear Invisible Friends as adults (and such people are mentally ill). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Perhaps that might work but I think that children who go through that stage where they believe in Invisible Friends, are far more reliable as test subjects. It's a phase they go through and the tests could have the potential to be pretty insightful. As far as people who are mentally ill that believe they are having a conversation with more than one person, I am pretty sure that is subjective. If such a person could provide evidence otherwise I would be willing to examine the evidence. Also, I wouldn't put believers in the same category as others who see, feel, taste, touch, and hear Invisible Friends as adults (and such people are mentally ill). I don't work in research and I don't know anyone who has but I would imagine that it would be tough to work with kids. You'd have to get straight answers from interviews and have them go through brain scans all while the parents are around supervising. This seems like a lot of effort. But maybe I'm envisioning it all wrong? It's been known to happen. The thing about adults who really, truly, believe in the imaginary don't have to be "crazy" but perhaps just schizophrenic. This can be mild and once you establish that the person does believe in an imaginary pal you can test them to verify it. You can also medicate them and see if their pal goes away. I guess the effectiveness of this depends on what you're testing for and the area of the brain that this all relies on. Though I say that plenty of believers are mentally ill. I've started to think that this type of thing attracts, then masks, mental illness. You go where you blend in and to where you get "support" for things you "believe." What better place than religion for these people? That's not to make fun (though I so easily could) but simply to state an observation. People who have all sorts of "issues" wind up in religion and they're catered to rather than helped. Look at some places where things like gyrating around and speaking gibberish is considered "good." Or being a controlling monster is to be "desired." And all other "wrong" behavior" is "good?" It's Bizarro World there. Mentally ill people gravitate to it, and probably dominate it, I have no doubt. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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