“A hallucination is a fact, not an error; what is erroneous is a judgment based upon it.”

Simplified Meaning:

When someone sees or hears something that isn’t really there, it’s called a hallucination. Having a hallucination means experiencing something that seems very real to you, but isn’t actually happening outside of your mind. The mistake isn't in having the hallucination; it's in believing that what you are seeing or hearing is really happening. Imagine you’re in a desert, very thirsty, and you think you see a lake of water. The hallucination itself is your brain playing tricks on you because of the intense heat and dehydration. The real error happens when you think the lake is real and start running towards it, even though it’s just a mirage. Understanding this helps people realize that the issue isn't the hallucination itself, but how we interpret and react to it. In everyday life, this means you should be careful about how you assess things that seem real to you, especially if you are stressed, tired, or in an unusual situation. Taking a moment to question whether what you’re experiencing is truly real can prevent you from making decisions based on false perceptions.