Veridical. This technical term refers to a mental interpretation of reality. It is an interpretation that our brains construct from sensory information, but does not include illusory of delusory interpretations. So is an illusion "veridical"? A philosopher might argue that any "interpretation" of reality is illusory, and some may argue that reality itself is an illusion (or at least that we have no way to prove that anything is "real"). Philosophy aside, the term "veridical" is used in psychology to describe those mental interpretations that are clearly and consistently grounded on repeatable and independently measurable sensory input. This excludes dreams and halucinations perceived only by one individual. But it includes interpretations that go somewhat beyond the data input, such as assuming that a cube has six sides, even when we are seeing only three of them.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 09:55:40 +0000
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