Delusions and Compelling Experiences

Abstract Delusion is one of the most puzzling doxastic phenomena: on the one hand, the subject appears irrational, holding a delusion despite counterevidence; on the other hand, the subject appears otherwise rational, apportioning their non-delusional beliefs to the evidence. Leading theories of delusion, despite their strengths, still face notable limitations. This article argues that they may benefit from a new empiricist approach. Drawing on insights from Hobbes and Locke, it proposes that the subject may have a distinctive kind of compelling experience that is phenomenologically analogous to, and can effectively be more compelling than, the Cartesian ‘clear experience’. How the experience may, in various ways and to varying degrees, compel domain-specific irrational belief in the face of counterevidence will be articulated.