Interpersonal Reality Theory

A theoretical framework positing that reality—or at least what individuals experience as “real”—varies from person to person, shaped by personal history, community belonging, cultural background, and social position. It argues that facts, evidence, and even the criteria for what counts as proof are not universal but are mediated through interpersonal relationships and group identities. Two people can look at the same event and inhabit two different “realities” because their frameworks for interpreting it are incommensurable. The theory does not claim that nothing exists outside perception, but that our access to reality is always filtered through the interpersonal contexts that constitute us.

Example: “They argued past each other for hours until she invoked Interpersonal Reality Theory: ‘We’re not disputing facts; we’re living in different realities shaped by different communities, and until we acknowledge that, we’ll never hear each other.’”

Interpersonal Reality Theory by Dumu The Void March 30, 2026