It is no secret to any observer of the scientific scene in recent years that experimental science has enjoyed increasing reverence, coinciding with the tremendous technological progress it has brought to people's lives. While science undoubtedly deserves this reverence, the problem lies in adopting science as a creed rather than considering it an important human activity, or as a worldview that establishes it as the sole founder of truths concerning human thought. Human thought is certainly more comprehensive than experimental science; it contains it but is not limited to it. Therefore, the absolute and unparalleled confidence that the word 'science' bestows upon some people's convictions, regardless of how it contradicts other aspects of human thought, needs reconsideration. Science is not transcendent with a special privilege that grants it sanctity or exempts it from review; in fact, the nature of science itself is contrary to this concept.

Driven by this idea, British philosopher Mary Midgley wrote this short book, 'Are You an Illusion?'. She was prompted by the claim made by some affiliated with science—who enjoy trust and reverence due to this affiliation—that the human self has no real existence and has been replaced by arrangements of brain cells. She sets out to show that an idea does not become scientific merely by being claimed as such, that scientists can be mistaken like anyone else, and to uncover throughout the book the roots from which this argument emerged and its danger to all aspects of human thought. She then concludes her work, after a thrilling journey of critical navigation through various fields of knowledge, by affirming that 'we are still here'.

• Author: Mary Midgley
• Translation: Zainab Salah
• Publisher: Barahin Center for Research and Studies - London
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Number of Pages: 228
• Binding Type: Paperback
• ISBN: 9789776545380