Illusion

Summary

Dominique Pagani consistently distinguishes illusion from error: error is simply different from the true, whereas illusion is its inverse, "the truth multiplied by minus one," like a reflection in a mirror12. This inversion is no accident. Its necessity lies in the subject, who has an interest in not being enlightened, and this is why it is harder to get rid of an illusion than to correct an error3. He takes the example of geocentrism, which lasts because it is reassuring to be at the centre, and connects it to libido rather than to the episteme4. He also cites optical illusions and robinsonades, which believe they describe the origins when they are projecting onto them the isolated producer of the bourgeois economy5. With Spinoza, he sees in the false a displaced reality. He allows for prospective illusions and, in recent sessions, asks how one can let oneself be charmed by an illusion one knows to be one6.

1. 1#4.8 Angélique (by Nerval)16 May 2018 · 1:10:48
2. 2#4 Harnessed to confinitude11 Apr 2020 · 27:16
3. 3#4.4 Angélique (by Nerval)15 Jan 2018 · 47:41
4. 4#5.2 ter Questions, following workshop #5.2 (Facebook Live)6 Dec 2018 · 37:55
5. 5Is history a subject?9 Mar 2017 · 1:07:22
6. 6Flagrante Delights27 May 2025 · 1:00:16

Summary produced automatically from 26 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.