Why Delusions Matter

by Lisa Bortolotti, Constantine Sandis (Series Editor)

When we talk about delusions we may refer to symptoms of mental health problems, such as clinical delusions in schizophrenia, or simply the beliefs that people cling to which are implausible and resistant to counterevidence; these can include anything from beliefs about the benefits of homeopathy to concerns about the threat of alien abduction.

Why do people adopt delusional beliefs and why are they so reluctant to part with them? In Why Delusions Matter , Lisa Bortolotti explains what delusions really are and argues that, despite their negative reputation, they can also play a positive role in people's lives, imposing some meaning on adverse experiences and strengthening personal or social identities. In a clear and accessible style, Bortolotti contributes to the growing research on the philosophy of the cognitive sciences, offering a novel and nuanced view of delusions.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy

200 pages, Paperback

Published August 10, 2023

About the author

I am Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham.

My main research area is the philosophy of cognitive science, and in my work I have mostly focused on the limitations of human cognition and human agency including faulty reasoning, delusions, confabulations, irrational beliefs, poor knowledge of the self, distorted memories, unreliable self narratives, self deception, implicit bias, inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviour, unrealistic optimism and positive illusions.

I am also interested in the relationship between science and society and in the ethical issues emerging from biomedical research, psychiatry, reproduction, parenting, and the treatment of nonhuman animals.

I currently lead a 5-year project on Pragmatic and Epistemic Role of Factually Erroneous Cognitions and Thoughts (PERFECT), funded by a European Research Council Consolidator Grant (2014-2019).

My latest book is Irrationality (Polity Press, 2014). I am currently writing a new research monograph provisionally entitled The Epistemic Innocence of Imperfect Cognitions.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Health”, as Quentin Crisp memorably put it, “consists of having the same diseases as one’s neighbours”, and I was reminded of that reading this.
    Why Delusions Matter comes in two halves. The popular and ingrained view is that delusions are an individual and pathological trait, just flawed pictures of the world caused by a straightforward dysfunction, and Part One goes into some detail about this side of them—their chief characteristics and relationship to such things as belief and personal identity. In Part Two, though, Lisa Bortolotti introduces a lesser-known obverse side to incorrect beliefs of all kinds: the positive role they can also play, both individually and collectively. Such as: in defusing anxiety and other corrosive emotions by dealing with uncertainty and giving a sense of control; by contributing to meaning and a worldview which, whether accurate or not, does at least work. And as a social phenomenon, too, they can bind people together and give a feeling of belonging.
    I found the first part hard going, but interesting: classical “delusions”, as we usually think of them, are in fact just at one end of a whole range of milder self-deceptions. But it was Part Two which made the really big impression: the idea that things like incorrect beliefs, over-optimism, even conspiracy theories and outright clinical delusions can, in certain circumstances (as a last-ditch emergency measure in particular, when all might be psychologically lost otherwise), be beneficial to our mental health. There’s a lot more to delusions than I’d…well, imagined.

[Juny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una breve historia personal inspirada en este libro: https://junypagan.substack.com/p/deli...