Why delusions matter: Lisa Bortolotti at Barnes Philosophy Club, April 2024

Описание: Barnes Philosophy Club is a public club that meets to talk with philosophers and discuss a wide variety of philosophical issues. We aim to promote a philosophical and thoughtful approach to everyday life, and to help connect the outside world to the thinking of professional philosophers.

We are supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and based in Barnes, London SW13, UK.

www.osoarts.org.uk/philosophyclub

Delusions can be many things. They can be symptoms of mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, clinical delusions, or simply the beliefs that people cling to which are unsupported by evidence. We call the latter everyday delusions and they can include anything from the benefits of homeopathy to the dangers of alien abduction. Yet, why do people adopt delusional beliefs and why can they be so reluctant to part with them? In Why Delusions Matter, Lisa Bortolotti explains what delusions really are and that despite their negative reputation, that they can also play a positive role, such as providing meaning to people’s experiences and strengthening their identities. In a clear and accessible style, she contributes to the growing study of philosophy and the cognitive sciences, providing an intelligent and nuanced view of delusions.

Professor Bortolotti is a philosopher of the cognitive sciences, focusing on the philosophy of psychology and psychiatry. She is also interested in some issues in biomedical ethics. She is the Editor in Chief of Philosophical Psychology. Her main interests lie in the strengths and limitations of human cognition and agency, investigating faulty reasoning and irrational beliefs, delusions, confabulations, distorted memories, poor knowledge of the self, unreliable self narratives, self deception, inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviour, unrealistic optimism, and other positive illusions. She is also interested in how health, wellbeing, rationality, and agency interact.