The boundary between paranoia and accurate perception is undecidable in the present

Evidence

For beliefs to serve as effective bulwarks against existential terror, people must be absolutely certain of their validity. However, most of the core beliefs we depend on for psychological security are based on faith rather than fact; they cannot be unambiguously proven. Consequently, the more people who share our beliefs, the more sure we feel that they are correct. If just one person believed that God spoke to Moses in the form of a burning bush, antipsychotic medication would be sought to relieve this poor soul of his florid delusion. But when the same belief is shared by millions of people, it becomes unassailable truth. — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 497 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Cultural evolution can create groups where, under the right conditions, any behavior spreads and becomes common, not only cooperative behaviors. This is why we often see subcultures or entire cultures stuck in a pattern or “equilibrium” that seems maladaptive and hurts the group and the individuals. A case in point is the mass paranoia and distrust that was seen in police states like the former Soviet Union and its satellite states. Another example is the recent spread of witchcraft and sorcery-based killings in certain parts of Liberia, creating an environment of such pervasive mutual suspicion that even the most basic forms of social cooperation could not flourish. These cases show that not all cultural or religious beliefs and practices lead to prosocial behavior. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 447 (#expands, via linked claim)

Illness is socialized: in the intoxication of joint ecstasy, as community, blindness becomes a move of reference and the paranoiac mechanism is rendered controllable without losing the possibility of horror or fright. Perhaps this was one of the great contributions of religion to the preservation of the species. The paranoiac forms of consciousness tend toward the formation of alliances, parties, and rackets. Their members are afraid of believing in their delusion on their own. Projecting their madness, they see conspiracy and proselytism everywhere. The established group always adopts a paranoiac attitude to others. The great empires and even organized humanity as such are not more advanced than headhunters in this respect. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 156 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Realism is a form of paranoia that dehumanizes both nature and peoples — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 153; Group membership socializes paranoia by collectivizing shared delusion — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 156; Cultural equilibria can lock in maladaptive paranoia and mutual suspicion — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 447 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Shared belief renders delusion indistinguishable from truth #corroborates (0.88) — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 497
• Cultural equilibria can lock in maladaptive paranoia and mutual suspicion #expands (0.80) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 447
• Group membership socializes paranoia by collectivizing shared delusion #expands (0.78) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 156
• Contradictory perceptions can both be true simultaneously #corroborates (0.75) — , A Year of World Stories, 4077