Abstract
According to mentalistic philosophy, physical existence is merely an illusion, and only mental phenomena exist. Although few Americans accept mentalism in its literal sense, philosophies such as existentialism and phenomenology that incorporate a watered-down “as-if” version of mentalism are popular among college-educated individuals. The basic tenet of as-if mentalism is that, although we may share a common physical environment and common anatomy and physiology, our subjective experiences of the given object or event are idiosyncratic and determined by our own psychological expectations, fantasies, and needs (see Fell, 1977).
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Suggested Readings
Beck, A. T. Cognitive therapy and emotional disorders. New York: International Universities Press, 1976.
Breuer, J., and Freud, S. Studies in hysteria. 1895. Translated by J. Strachey and A. Freud. The standard edition of the complete works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. II (1893–1895). London, Hogarth, 1955.
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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Thompson, J.G. (1988). Mentalistic Models. In: The Psychobiology of Emotions. Emotions, Personality, and Psychotherapy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2121-5_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2121-5_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-2123-9
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