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In its many manifestations, psychosis leads to a number of clinical and philosophical debates. Despite their practical and conceptual importance, a number of these debates remain unresolved. Appealing to the connection between phenomenological descriptions, empirical evidence, and philosophical analysis, this dissertation is devoted to the careful examination of five of the main debates surrounding the occurrence of delusions of thought insertion, one of the most complex and severe symptoms of psychotic disorders. Roughly speaking, patients suffering from thought insertion report that external agents of different nature have placed certain thoughts into the patients' minds. The introduction to this compilation clarifies the main distinctions underlying the general discussions about delusions and the specific debates surrounding thought insertion. The introduction is followed by a collection of five papers. The first paper tries to explain the way in which subjects self-attribute their own conscious thoughts in terms of agency. The second paper, assuming that delusions are a type of belief, engages with the discussion about the role that experiential abnormalities have in the process of formation of the delusional belief of thought insertion. The third paper examines the role that affective impairments might have in the process of production of thought insertion, an issue that is often overlooked by current dominant approaches to thought insertion. Taken altogether, the first three papers of this collection offer a novel understanding of the aetiology and architecture of thought insertion. The fourth paper examines a much larger discussion that overlaps with the debate about the subjective features of thought insertion. It is argued that cases of thought insertion - in conjunction with other psychotic phenomena - undermine the current self-presenting theory of consciousness, a theory meant to explain the most fundamental subjective character of conscious experiences. Finally, the fifth paper of the compilation engages with a more general discussion about the nature and role that delusions might play in a subject's life. It is argued against the dominant view that there are good reasons to characterize a certain type of monothematic delusions (including some cases of thought insertion) as biologically adaptive.

Le présent mémoire de maîtrise contient un roman dans lequel on trouve des adresses courriel fictives. Elles correspondent à des personnages imaginaires, et non à des personnes réelles. Comme dans toute oeuvre de fiction, toute ressemblance avec des personnes réelles est fortuite ou l'effet du hasard. Je vous confirme donc que ce mémoire ne contient aucun véritable renseignement personnel ou confidentiel. Il s'agit de la version du mémoire telle qu'elle a été acceptée par les membres du jury d'évaluation. / Cultiver le doute est l’idée centrale autour de laquelle s’articulent tous les éléments de ce projet de recherche création, où j’ai voulu approfondir et mettre en œuvre différents procédés susceptibles de produire une narration empreinte d’incertitude qui laisse libre cours à une variété d’interprétations. Le volet essai, Les contradictions polyphoniques de narrateurs non fiables dans « Asiles de fous » de Régis Jauffret, se concentre sur ce roman représentatif d’une certaine littérature française contemporaine dite « déconcertante ». Asiles de fous constitue un objet d’étude particulièrement intéressant pour aborder la problématique d’un espace interprétatif en tension. La dissonance des voix inhérente à sa forme polyphonique ainsi que la « non-fiabilité » de chacun de ses quatre narrateurs complexifient la lecture, au point où il est littéralement impossible de trouver ancrage dans ce récit hypothétique où tout semble orchestré pour dérouter le lecteur. Fractures multiples, second volet de ce mémoire, est un roman porté par sept voix qui explore l’insoutenable complexité de l’être. Il retrace différentes périodes de l’existence de Jean-Philippe Dumoulin en disséquant ses liens affectifs troubles et ambigus avec sa famille, ses amours et ses amis. Jadis enfant modèle aspirant à une carrière de violoniste de concert, Jean-Philippe adulte s’est plutôt fait connaître comme une sorte de vagabond libertin, tristement célèbre pour ses variations de tempérament et ses épisodes dépressifs fulgurants. Maintenant quadragénaire, il s’est retranché dans une existence quasi ascétique, tout absorbé par ses études doctorales en philosophie psychopathologique. Une rencontre fortuite sera le catalyseur d’une réaction en chaîne qui va l’inciter à renouer des liens jadis significatifs qu’il avait choisi de rompre dans l’espoir de s’extraire de l’enclos de ses conflits psychiques. À l’image d’une courtepointe composée d’étoffes soigneusement choisies pour témoigner de toutes les époques d’une vie, la trame narrative de Fractures multiples se présente comme un amalgame de 37 récits courts qui confèrent à chaque personnage son ton, son motif et sa couleur. Une grande part de l’action est véhiculée sous forme de dialogues nourris par les notions de la polyphonie linguistique, où des voix divergentes s’expriment, s’affrontent, se font écho et s’emboîtent. Il en résulte un jeu de perceptions animé par une quête de vérité toujours fugace, chacun ajustant sa focale pour refléter une réalité confortant sa vision du monde. / To cast doubt is the main idea around which revolve all the elements of this research-creation project. My intent was to deepen and experiment with literary principles likely to produce a narrative filled with uncertainty that gives free rein to a variety of interpretations. The theorical part of this project, Les contradictions polyphoniques de narrateurs non fiables dans “Asiles de fous” de Régis Jauffret, is an essay focusing on the novel Asiles de fous by Régis Jauffret, which can be seen as emblematic of a type of modern French literature dubbed “disconcerting”. Asiles de fous constitutes a particularly interesting object of study to approach the problem of an interpretative space in tension. The dissonance of the voices inherent in its polyphonic form, as well as the “unreliability” of each of its four narrators, complicate the reading process to the point where it is impossible to find an anchor in this hypothetical story where everything seems orchestrated to confuse the reader. Fractures multiples, the creative part of this project, is a novel steered by seven voices that explore the unbearable complexity of being. It recollects various phases in the life of Jean-Philippe Dumoulin by dissecting his troubled and ambiguous emotional ties with his family, his lovers, and his friends. Formerly a model child aspiring to a career as a concert violinist, Jean-Philippe grew up to become a promiscuous freeloader of sorts, infamous for his mood swings and dramatic bouts of depression. Now in his forties, he lives almost secluded, entirely devoted to his doctoral studies in philosophical psychopathology. A chance encounter will be the catalyst for a chain reaction that will spur him to rebuild once significant bonds he had chosen to sever in the hope of extricating himself from the enclosure of his psychic conflicts. In the same way that a quilt is made of fabrics carefully chosen to represent different periods of one’s life, the storyline of Fractures multiples is a collection of 37 short stories which give each character its own poetic imagery and undertone. Much of the action is conveyed through dialogues informed by notions of linguistic polyphony, where divergent voices express themselves, confront or echo each other, and interlock. The result is a game of perceptions driven by an ever-fleeting quest for truth, showing how everybody tends to adjust one’s focus to reflect a reality that comforts one’s views.