Illusions: A Psychological Study

Sully, James, 1842-1923Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 623K words
Chapters: 63

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Illusions: A Psychological Study by James SullyAuthor: Sully, James, 1842-1923,Language: English, Class: BF: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Psychology, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Release Date: Feb 21, 2006

Editor's review

James Sully was a major 19th-century British psychologist, and this book treats "illusion" as a serious psychological subject rather than a catalogue of curiosities. Starting from sensory illusions, the author moves on to misjudgments in memory, belief and emotion, arguing that illusion is not an occasional failure of cognition but a by-product of psychological mechanisms working normally. Many of the experiments and classificatory frameworks now read as dated, yet the questions it raises—why do people systematically see, remember and believe wrongly—are precisely the forerunners of contemporary cognitive psychology and judgment research. Its value lies not in the latest conclusions but in watching a discipline separate itself from philosophical speculation and build its own methods of observation and classification. Suitable for readers interested in the history of psychology, epistemology or judgment bias as a primary source, and for writers seeking 19th-century psychological vocabulary and cases. The original is in English, of moderate length, and can be read in sections.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of psychology and early experimental psychology who are willing to read the English original
Those studying epistemology, judgment bias or illusion who want to trace the source literature
Practitioners who need 19th-century psychological cases and terminology for writing or teaching
General readers who read classics slowly and do not demand immediately practical conclusions

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking the latest cognitive science findings and empirical data
Those who struggle with English and need a Chinese translation or guided introduction
Readers expecting light, curiosity-driven popular science with lots of pictures and little text

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and the concluding chapter first to grasp the book's classificatory framework, then return to the cases in each chapter.
After finishing each type of illusion, restate its causes in your own words to check whether you have truly understood it.
Read alongside a modern cognitive psychology textbook and mark which views have since been revised.
With the English original, use the e-book search function to repeatedly check the context of key terms.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What types of "illusion" does this book discuss?

According to the book's framework, Sully extends illusion beyond sensory perception to distortions of memory and biases in belief and emotional judgment. It is not merely a picture book of optical illusions but an attempt at a systematic psychological classification of why people err, and readers should approach it with that overall perspective.

Is a 19th-century psychology work still worth reading today?

It retains value as a historical source and a methodological sample. Its specific experiments and conclusions have largely been superseded, but it shows how psychology became independent of philosophy and established observational and classificatory research paths. One reads it to understand how questions were posed, not to adopt its conclusions.

My English is average—can I read this book?

The original is in English, with the long sentences and older terminology of 19th-century academic prose, so readers with average English will find it demanding. It is advisable to first consult Chinese works on the history of psychology for background, or to read only the chapters that interest you rather than insisting on finishing the whole book.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to psychology?

Not really. It lacks the systematic framework and updated empirical basis of a modern textbook, and beginners may mistake outdated conclusions for established fact. It is better used after acquiring basic psychological knowledge, as a historical document for comparative reading.

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About the author

Sully, James, 1842-1923 Author

James Sully (1842–1923) was a British psychologist whose writing combines scholarly rigour with readability for general readers. Three of his works are held here, all centred on child psychology and everyday psychological phenomena. In Children's Ways he observes children's language, play and emotional expression, using detailed records to show psychological change during growth. An Essay on Laughter examines the forms and causes of laughter from several angles, while Illusions: A Psychological Study looks at the mechanisms behind errors of perception and judgement. These works show his gift for treating psychological questions concretely and engagingly, and they influenced both child study and popular psychological writing. Because public information is limited, biographical details are omitted here.