Abstract

Part of the ‘Studies in Philosophical Psychology’ series, Sense and Delusion is a little book which is surprising, enjoyable, interesting and, at times, disappointing. It consists of five brief essays, three by Ilham Dilman and two by D Z Phillips. The theme of the first two essays, a theme usually associated with ‘existential thought’ but not so usually treated by those philosophers of the so-called ‘analytic’ school, is ‘What is the meaning of life?’ along with the attendant issues ‘What is it to question the meaningfulness of a person’s life?’ and ‘What is it to question and/or be mistaken about the meaningfulness of one’s own life?’. The succeeding two chapters ask what is involved in the notion of self-deception as it applies to the worth-whileness of one’s existence. And the last chapter devotes itself to a discussion of what it means to take a moral stance, have moral opinions, and be merely concerned.