Corruption of Reality: A Unified Theory of Religion, Hypnosis, and Psychopathology

by John F. Schumaker

This groundbreaking volume examines our sometimes strained grasp of reality and sheds new light on three subject areas that continue to fascinate religion, hypnosis and psychopathology.The Corruption of Reality challenges many of the ideas in all three disciplines and paves the way for an exciting, far-reaching and unified theory of conscious and unconscious behavior. Schumaker argues that, despite their apparent differences, religion, hypnosis, and psychopathology are all expressions of the unique human ability to modify and regulate reality in ways that ultimately serve the individual and society. In turn, these same behaviors can be traced to the brain's remarkable capacity to process information along multiple pathways, thus allowing the person to manipulate reality in strategic directions aimed at improved coping. He includes a historical and cross-cultural analysis showing how reality reconstruction takes place, and outlines the shortcomings of current psychotherapeutic approaches as well as the promising trends toward a spiritualization of psychotherapy.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Philosophy, Religion

290 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1995

Reviews

[Delany · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has a good central point about the way that humans distort reality, but he presents it in an overly dramatic and nearly crackpot fashion. Yes, there are similarities between/among religion, hypnosis, and psychosis (and other psychopathologies) -- but his "unified theory" overstates the case and does not give rise to hypotheses that would advance our understanding.

[Jef · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really fascinating book but one of the central premises is that our society is sick because we are not spiritual. That science has failed to provide a basis for reality distortion, reality distortion being the central tenant of religion. We need our reality to be dissociated because the cold-hard facts are too toxic for us to take. "Intact" cultures are religious and hold all adherents in a matrix that is a culturally conspired corruption of reality. I think that what this book calls intact cultures are what I would call stable cultures and what this book calls a sick culture (ours) is in reality a dynamic culture. Also, I think that there IS a culturally conspired reality that is based (somewhat) on science and technology. This is the reality distortion that is seen when one turns on the television, a subject that the author brings up but dismisses as a psychopathology.

[Eduard Barbu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a great old Western movie starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone. Like the movie, this book has three sides: a good one, a bad one and an ugly one. Let's start with the good one. The author is a specialist in psychotherapy and perhaps a hypnotist; thus the best part of the book is related to his experience as a psychotherapist. The central theory of the book is: the man needs transcendence, but the reality is cold and cruel. Therefore a person needs to hold useful illusions to be well adapted to the disappointing daily reality. The religion with the aid of ritual is first inducing a dissociated mental state and then it is instilling in the mind irrational content that allow the individual to cope with the reality and live a sane mental life. The way the religion operates on the individual, through the ritual and the cultural milieu, bears a striking resemblance with the way the hypnotist operates, and with the psychopathology. I have nothing to argue against the main thesis. It is well presented, with many outstanding scientific references and citations. Through well-chosen examples and a good argumentation, the author made me better understand the function of the religious ritual. For this part of the book, Schumaker deserves 5 stars. But then the bad happens. He makes many statements that lack quantitative justification. For example, he claims that the number of people with psychopathology in the secular Western World is much higher than in ancient (religious) times. Or that the planet Earth can safely sustain only 1.5 billions of persons. And then the ugly comes. In the last part of the book, he teaches that in principle a new religion (that lacks all the bad features of the traditional religions) can be invented and made universal. This strikes me as naive. The main world religions , Christianity and Islam, were spread by the sword. Nowdays when more and more people have access to information and many divergent opinions are spread online is unlikely that a new religion can triumph. In fact, our society is more plural than before and this is a good thing. Let it be like this and let also the individuals find their personal path to transcendence. Amen!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly you need a good grasp of the English language, next you need to be intellectually agile and conceptual and finally you should have some understanding of psychology and be counter cultural. If you can manage that, this is an excellent and illuminating book which has the potential to fundamentally change your view of reality. A great book.

[Chris Dimarco · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely amazing.

[Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nails primary reality. Ignores deep reality.