Theists, What Do You Get Out of Religion?

[Neo-Scholastic]

To say that something is an illusion isn't necessarily to say that it's phantasy. All it means is that there is a description of the phenomena that is closer to reality than the surface description normally attributed to a thing. If meaning and intentionality are illusions, it simply means there's a better description of them than the one we have. It doesn't imply that the phenomena are empty.

I think you are referring to an epistemological difference of degree (like Newtonian vs. Quantum physics) whereas I am pointing to an ontological difference of kind.
I think an illusion occurs when something only appears to be one thing when it is actually another. For example, the thing in the dark corner may appear to be a snake when it is actually a coil of rope. Mistaking a coil of rope for a snake is an error of kind, not of degree.

As it applies to the issue of intentionality, something either has it or it doesn’t. The needle of a thermostat only appears intent on reaching the set point, whereas a cheetah actually intends to nab zebras. I say the goal directed behavior of the thermostat is an illusion while the goal directed behavior of the cheetah is real – a difference of kind.

Likewise, as it applies to meaning, the idea that meaning can be found in a purely physical description of something is ludicrous. While the physical beads can represent the non-physical ideas of enumeration, no purely physical description of an abacus would ever reveal the significance of the beads. Again, we see a difference in kind between a sign and its significance.