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Illusions are deceptions of the senses or of the mind. Either perceptions are interpreted falsely, or something is added to reality or subtracted from it by fantasy, or unfounded notions or hopes about a person, a situation, or the future are established. That illusions can be corrected by evidence or persuasion distinguishes them from hallucinations and delusions.
This study of illusions began twenty years ago with an interest in appersonation.1 If one holds a cane and taps, one feels the hardness or softness of the ground at the distal end. In the use of artificial dentures, one projects his sensations to the surface of the dentures; when one is riding a horse or in a motorcar, the limits of the vehicle become illusory boundaries of the ego. Appersonation is a good example for demonstrating the transition from illusions which deceive the senses to illusions which deceive the mind. If another car touches the rear of one's car, one has the sensation of having been touched oneself. If a singer is engaged to entertain one's guests and is derided, one's pride is hurt as if one were personally humiliated. The singer is an extension of one's person, and praise or criticism affects both the host and the performer.
Why are there such illusions which do not add to the perception of reality, but only blur and complicate it? The need for such illusions can be traced to the child's desire to be bigger. To include in its own person its apparel, the house, the car, the family, and the nation gratifies the childish narcissism.
It seems useful to differentiate between naïve illusions and controlled illusions. An illusion is naïve if the deception either of the senses or of the mind is complete and not contradicted. If, however, the illusion is entertained only to a limited