An Empirical Approach to Understanding Delusions vs. A priori reasoning.Delusional (Paranoid) Disorders
Lets have a look into the definition of Delusional Disorders...
they are a form of Psychosis in which a person has paranoid delusion(s) which are often long-lasting, and do not have an obvious physical/medical cause (e.g. head injuries). Occasionally they may be accompanied by the person hearing noises, sounds, other people talking, which don't exist (called auditory hallucinations).
If the cause is not found, the person can still be helped by things such as Antipsychotic Medication, and possibly psychotherapies. People can and do recover from paranoid delusions. However, it is extremely variable, and there are many people who do not.
Thanks to the empirical approach, the Disorder is studied and understood as a health/ brain disorder rather than meta-physical. While in hospital, or perhaps being seen by a mental health professional (e.g. a psychiatrist) out of hospital, the cause of the paranoid delusions might be found (e.g. Schizophrenia), and this can then be treated.
"With the growth of psychopharmacology and the development of biochemical and neurophysiological research, the need for careful description of clinical phenomena in psychiatry is greater than ever before." (Hamilton 1976)
A-priori (without the science research) a person with such a disorder would not be helped and further more, not believed and left alone with the problem. That could result in being excluded from a society, avoided and left for self distraction.
However,furthermore, given all the research on psychosis in the intervening three decades, it is striking that our understanding of the concept of delusion remains limited. It is often assumed that delusion and normal thinking are qualitatively different. This belief may derive in part from the subjective strangeness (craziness).
But empirical and conceptual, studies of delusional thinking provide support for the view that delusions lie at the extreme of a continuum of thought content. Much like the label "hypertension" the decision to use the label "delusion" is somewhat arbitrary, since a qualitative difference at some point appears to be clinically described, whereas the empirical and conceptual evidence suggests only quantitative difference.
Inspiration:
Winchester University Journalism Course People and Politics, Empiricism vs. A-Priori
Ghaemi, S. Nassir. An Empirical Approach to Understanding Delusions
Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology - Volume 6, Number 1, March 1999, pp. 21-24
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/simplepsych/paranoia.html
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/delusional_disorder.htm
