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ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY NC ND
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY NC ND
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2025
License: CC BY NC ND
Data sources: Datacite
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Epistemological Debugging: Therapy As Premise Falsification

Authors: Oliver, James;

Epistemological Debugging: Therapy As Premise Falsification

Abstract

This paper offers a clarifying framework for a fundamental question: why does therapy work when it works? It presents a new lens for understanding the therapeutic process, not as a mysterious healing art, but as a precise, computational act of "epistemological debugging." The core thesis is that psychological suffering is the logical output of flawed foundational beliefs, or "premises," which trap us in helplessness by annihilating our sense of agency. The only way to resolve this suffering is to systematically falsify these premises. This single, unifying principle reveals the common algorithm at the heart of all effective modalities—from CBT and DBT to Psychodynamic and Somatic therapies—and scales to illuminate not only individual suffering like addiction, but also institutional failures and the logic of collective atrocity. This work provides a formal theory, a set of falsifiable predictions, and a practical protocol for application, reframing our relationship to suffering. It is a guide to understanding the code that generates our psychological prisons and the process by which we can debug it to reclaim our freedom.

Keywords

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods, Mental Healing, Psychological Trauma, Dialectical Behavior Therapy/methods, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Psychotherapy, FOS: Psychology, Mental Health, Psychotherapy/methods, Mental Health Recovery, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Therapy, Behavioural psychology, Mental Healing/psychology, Addiction Medicine

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green