Reassertion of Reality

 

Delusion, Fiction, and the Reassertion of Reality: A Psychological and Philosophical Investigation into the Consequences of Reality Distortion through Belief and Creative Projection.

Abstract

The boundary between imagination and empirical reality has long been a subject of inquiry across disciplines including psychology, neuroscience, literature, and philosophy. This paper explores the psychological and societal consequences of a breakdown in this boundary, particularly among artists and writers who conflate fictional narratives with real-world social dynamics. Emphasis is placed on the dangers of projecting fictional archetypes onto real individuals, the neurological and emotional consequences of sustained delusional belief, and the inherent corrective force of reality itself. The paper incorporates concepts from neuroplasticity, cognitive dissonance, psychiatric diagnosis, and metaphysical philosophies such as Zen, in order to illuminate the intrinsic harmonizing tendency of reality.

1. Introduction

The human capacity for imagination is both a creative blessing and a cognitive vulnerability. While immersion in fictional narratives is essential to artistic expression and innovation, the psychological delineation between fantasy and reality is vital for personal and social health. Artists and writers may at times find this boundary blurred, leading to a phenomenon where imagined constructs begin to spill over into real-life perceptions and behaviors (McGinn, 2004; Jung, 1966). This paper investigates the risks and repercussions of such cognitive conflations, especially when they manifest in socially manipulative or harmful ways.

2. The Fiction-Reality Distortion Spectrum

While immersion in fiction can lead to states of dissociation or imaginative identification (Oatley, 1999), most individuals retain an awareness of the distinction between imaginative engagement and the empirical world. However, in certain contexts, especially those involving ideological or emotional charge, this boundary can collapse. A notable manifestation is the externalization of internal narratives, whereby individuals treat others as symbolic stand-ins for hated or idealized figures, often through projection and straw man fallacies (Freud, 1920; Festinger, 1957).

This phenomenon can be particularly dangerous when fiction is used as a template for real-world scapegoating. For example, when a character in a novel or screenplay embodies loathsome traits and is met with justifiable contempt within the narrative, the temptation may arise for the creator—or the audience—to assign these traits to a real person or group, thereby enacting a form of social punishment derived from fictional logic (Girard, 1977).

3. Magical Thinking and Cognitive Elasticity

The neurological concept of neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to change its structure and function in response to experience—is often misappropriated in magical or mystical frameworks that suggest one can “shape reality” through belief alone (Doidge, 2007). This is especially common among individuals who identify with roles such as “chaos magicians” or “reality hackers,” who intentionally blur the boundaries between subjective belief and objective circumstance.

The principle here resembles the psychological model of magical thinking, where belief in one’s capacity to influence external events through thought or ritual is inflated beyond empirical evidence (Vyse, 2014). While temporary illusions of control may appear convincing, reality’s inherent structural integrity tends to resist and eventually correct such distortions.

4. The Backlash of Reality: Psychological and Social Consequences

When the tension between belief and empirical reality reaches a breaking point, individuals may suffer from a form of cognitive whiplash, where the discrepancy becomes too large to maintain. This can result in psychological collapse, ranging from emotional burnout to psychiatric breakdowns (APA, 2022).

Reality, in this sense, functions like an elastic system: the further it is stretched by belief, the more forceful its reversion to equilibrium. In quantum mechanical metaphor, this resembles the collapse of the wavefunction, where an indeterminate state resolves into a single reality (Heisenberg, 1958). Delusional frameworks, sustained by ego and collective reinforcement, are subject to sudden dissolution when contradicted by incontrovertible external conditions.

Such collapses often necessitate psychiatric intervention, including antipsychotic medication, not only to safeguard the individual but also to protect society from erratic behavior driven by internal narrative disintegration (Kaplan & Sadock, 2015).

5. Belief, Consensus, and the Social Reality Feedback Loop

Reality, while objective, is also socially interpreted. The philosopher Alfred Schutz noted that intersubjectivity—shared agreement on the nature of reality—is what sustains social norms and expectations (Schutz, 1967). When one’s belief system radically diverges from consensus reality, the individual risks being pathologized unless others validate the belief. Thus, social consensus becomes a determinant of whether a belief is seen as divine revelation or psychotic delusion (Laing, 1960).

The danger emerges when the ego weaponizes belief, mistaking personal conviction for universal truth. As Zen teachings and scientific methods alike emphasize, observation untainted by preconception is the clearest path to understanding reality (Suzuki, 1956; Popper, 1959). The goal is not to bend reality to fit the ego, but to quiet the ego in order to perceive reality as it is.

6. Harmony as the Fundamental Tendency of Reality

Despite the seeming chaos of existence, systems theory, ecological science, and Eastern philosophy all point toward a deep-seated preference for homeostasis—the tendency of systems to self-regulate and maintain internal balance (Capra, 1996). In Jungian terms, individuation requires the integration of fantasy with reality, myth with self-awareness, in order to establish psychological wholeness (Jung, 1959).

The assertion that reality seeks harmony reflects ancient philosophical intuitions now echoed by modern complexity science: dissonance may arise temporarily, but systems tend toward resolution. Fiction that seeks to disturb this order must be carefully managed, lest its symbolic logic contaminate the real.

7. Conclusion

While artistic and magical frameworks encourage exploration of alternate realities, the distinction between internal narrative and external truth must be vigilantly preserved. When delusions become weaponized or egos attempt to reshape the real in their image, the resulting backlash—psychological, social, and spiritual—is inevitable. Reality, unlike illusion, is not sustained by belief but by its own consistency and resistance to distortion. The pursuit of harmony, whether through science, art, or spirituality, remains the most effective method of aligning human experience with the deeper structure of existence.

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