A brief historical analysis of the general concept of hallucination is presented. The author suggests that this phenomenon appeared as an unjustified generalization of a model of perception that originally applied only to vision and the "senses of distance." The evolution of tactile hallucinations is discussed here, together with their interaction with 19th-century psychological theory. It can be concluded that tactile hallucinations are sui generis phenomena that do not fit into the conventional model and that today the identification of this clinical condition is based on very poorly specified criteria. A short review of the taxonomy and usefulness of this concept is presented and several broader implications are delineated, which may also be important for the general concept of hallucination.
Tactile hallucinations; psychopathology of touch; hallucinations; hallucinations