The Uses of Delusion – Ebook Instant Download/Delivery ISBN(s): 9780190079871, 0190079878, 9780190079857, 0190079851

Product details:

• ISBN-10: 0190079878
• ISBN-13: 9780190079871
• Author: Stuart Vyse

The Uses of Delusion is about aspects of human nature that are not altogether rational but, nonetheless, help us achieve our social and personal goals. Psychologist Stuart Vyse presents a lively, accessible exploration of the psychological concepts behind “useful delusions”, fleshing out how delusional thinking may play a role in love and relationships, illness and loss, and personality and behavior. Along the way Vyse draws on the work of William James, Daniel Kahneman, and Joan Didion – who wrote about her compelling belief that her husband, though deceased, would soon return to her. Throughout, Vyse strives to answer the question: why would some of our most illogical beliefs be as helpful as they are? The concluding chapter offers an explanation grounded in natural selection – the ability to fool ourselves, Vyse argues, has actually helped us to survive. In the final pages of The Uses of Delusion, Vyse offers suggestions for determining when reason should rule and when intuition and emotion should be allowed to take over.

Table contents:

1. Ridiculous Reason

2. A Bright Future in Sales

3. I Feel Fine

4. Things Unseen

5. Soul Mates

6. The Living Dead

7. Bedtime Stories

8. The Gangster Within

9. The Mind’s Best Trick

10. Odysseus in Rags

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