Paranoic Conspiratory Delusion

Abstract

The theme of conspiracy, together with those of attention, of persecution, of calling, of omnipotence, of redemption, of being victim, of apocalyptic vision, is among the current themes of paranoic-schizophrenic, sensitive as well as involutive, products of delusion. From a descriptive-psychopathological¹ point of view, these themes have more-or-less optimal contents; they are drawn from the material of experienced based on the person’s biographical and sociocultural background. This is what thought processes whose form has been changed by delusion (see Jaspers, 1946, pp. 88, 340–344, 614; Peters, 1977, p. 572) utilize. Something a specific culture has not thought of, therefore, cannot form part of the experience of the members of this community, and, consequently, cannot become a delusionary theme. If one turns the conclusions around, can one however deduce that everything that is part of the cultural repertoire and which the individual in question has had access to as a result of his biographical constellations, therefore constitutes a potential delusionary theme? No. As one sees right away, obviously there are privileged delusionary themes such as the ones mentioned earlier, while other themes, which are as accessible culturally and biographically, are hardly ever (or never) the theme of a delusion. For instance, it is difficult to imagine a gardening or cooking, a mediocrity or coincidence delusion. Hence the question, which descriptive psychopathology tends to neglect, namely whether the theme of a delusion is not linked to the function of the delusion, whether there is not a structural connection, seems justified (Jaspers, 1946, p. 88; Schneider, 1971, p. 112ff.).

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