The principle of symmetry from the respondents' perspective : Possessions, apparitions and mental illnesses in research interviews with clerics
Abstract
We study how experiences such as hearing the voice of the Lord or having a vision of Virgin Mary are dealt with in psychiatry and catholic pastoral practice. We approach the study of these issues "symmetrically" - we do not prefer a priori medical or spiritual explanations.
Can such a symmetrical approach be of any relevance also for people we are studying? In an attempt to give an answer, we have interviewed four catholic priests on this issue. Based on discussions of our earlier work and of an exorcism movie (and also on our current research in general), we want to shed some light on whether and in what ways our specific epistemic perspective coheres with the views and positions of our respondents; and also, how this reflexive research experiment contributed to our own understanding of the role of the symmetry principle in our current research project.