“Schopenhauer contributed the concept of the will-to-live; Nietzsche that of the will-to-power; and de Gaultier that of the will-to-illusion.” —Wilmot E. Ellis
 
Can you construct your own reality? What if you don’t trust your senses, but you want to live a happy, productive life? How should you make moral decisions? What do you believe to be true? Do you believe in a supreme being? How do you decide your moral compass?
 
This work by the author of Le Bovarysme treats the tendency to think of things other than they are as a living source of art. Jules de Gaultier sees this sort of behavior not as a moral or ethical problem, but an aesthetic problem. His metaphysical position has a long and complicated history which can be traced back to the philosophical musings of Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. This book was his first published work, and serves as a thought-provoking introduction to his philosophy.