Tibetan Buddhist writings frequently state that many of the things we perceive in the world are in fact illusory, as illusory as echoes or mirages. In Twelve Examples of Illusion, Jan Westerhoff offers an engaging look at a dozen illusions--including magic tricks, dreams, rainbows, and reflections in a mirror--showing how these phenomena can give us insight into reality. For instance, he offers a fascinating discussion of optical illusions, such as the wheel of fire (the "wheel" seen when a torch is swung rapidly in a circle), discussing Tibetan explanations of this phenomenon as well as the findings of modern psychology, and significantly clarifying the idea that most phenomena--from chairs to trees--are similar illusions. The book uses a variety of crystal-clear examples drawn from a wide variety of fields, including contemporary philosophy and cognitive science, as well as the history of science, optics, artificial intelligence, geometry, economics, and literary theory. Throughout, Westerhoff makes both Buddhist philosophical ideas and the latest theories of mind and brain come alive for the general reader.

Twelve Examples of Illusion, Jan Westerhoff, Oxford University Press, Hardcover, 199 pages, $42.95

Jan Westerhoff is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Durham and Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is the author of Ontological Categories, Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction and The Dispeller of Disputes: Nagarjuna's Vigrahavyavartani.

	Contents: TWELVE EXAMPLES OF ILLUSION
	Introduction	3
	Magic	9
	The Moon in the Water	23
	A Visual Distortion	41
	A Mirage	56
.	A Dream	69
	An Echo	83
	The City of Gandharvas	95
	An Optical Illusion	110
	Rainbows	122
	Lightning	135
	Water Bubbles	150
	A Reflection in a Mirror	161
	References and Further Reading	175
	Review of Twelve Examples of Illusion	189
	Credits	193
	Index	197