Imagination is the production ofsensations,feelings andthoughts informingoneself.[1] These experiences can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes.[2] Imagination helps apply knowledge to solve problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and thelearning process.[3][4][5]
Imagination is the process of developing theories and ideas based on the functioning of the mind through a creative division. Drawing from actual perceptions, imagination employs intricate conditional processes that engage bothsemantic andepisodic memory to generate new or refined ideas.[6] This part of the mind helps develop better and easier ways to accomplish tasks, whether old or new.
A way to train imagination is by listening to and practicingstorytelling (narrative),[3][7] wherein imagination is expressed through stories and writings such asfairy tales,fantasies, andscience fiction.[8] When children develop their imagination, they often exercise it through pretend play. They userole-playing to act out what they have imagined, and followingly, they play on by acting as if their make-believe scenarios are actual reality.[9]
The English word "imagination" originates from the Latin term "imaginatio," which is the standard Latin translation of the Greek term "phantasia." The Latin term also translates to "mental image" or "fancy." The use of the word "imagination" in English can be traced back to the mid-14th century, referring to a faculty of the mind that forms and manipulates images.[10]
In modern philosophical understanding, imagination is commonly seen as a faculty for creatingmental images and for making non-rational, associative transitions among these images.[11]
One view of imagination links it tocognition, suggesting that imagination is acognitive process in mental functioning.[12] It is also associated withrational thinking in a way that both imaginative and rational thoughts involve the cognitive process that "underpins thinking about possibilities".[13] However, imagination is not considered to be purely a cognitive activity because it is also linked to the body and place. It involves setting up relationships with materials and people, precluding the notion that imagination is confined to the mind.[14]
Ancient Greek philosophers conceived imagination, or "phantasia," as working with "pictures" in the sense ofmental images.[17]Aristotle, in his workDe Anima, identified imagination as a faculty that enables animage to occur within us,[18][19] a definition associating imagination with a broad range of activities involved in thoughts,dreams, andmemories.[19]
InPhilebus,Plato discusses daydreaming and considers imagination about the future as the work of a painter within the soul.[20] However,Plato portrayed this painter as an illustrator rather than a creator, reflecting his view of imagination as a representational rather than an inventive faculty.[21]
Greek philosophers typically distinguished imagination fromperception and rational thinking: "For imagination is different from either perceiving or discursive thinking, though it is not found without sensation, or judgement without it" (De Anima, iii 3).[18][21]Aristotle viewed imagination as a faculty that mediates between thesenses andintellect.[19] The mental images it manipulates, whether arising from visions,dreams or sensory perception, were thought to be transmitted through the lower parts of the soul, suggesting that these images could be influenced by emotions and primal desires, thereby confusing the judgement of theintellect.[21]
In theMiddle Ages, the concept of imagination encompassed domains such asreligion,literature,artwork, and notably,poetry.[22] Men of science often recognizedpoets as "imaginative," viewing imagination as the mental faculty that specifically permitted poetry writing.[23] This association, they suggested, lies in the capacity of imagination for image-making and image-forming, which results in a sense of "visualizing" with "the inner eye."[17][24]
"That oon of hem was blynd and myghte not see, / But it were with thilke eyen of his mynde / With whiche men seen, after that they ben blynde."[25][26]
Medieval theories offaculty psychology posited imagination as a faculty of the internal senses (alongsidememory andcommon sense): imagination receives mental images frommemory orperception, organizes them, and transmits them to the reasoning faculties, providing theintellect with sense data.[27][28] In this way, it enables the reshaping of images fromsense perception (even in the absence ofperception, such as indreams), performing a filtering function of reality.[23][29]
Medieval paintings of imaginary creatures, as seen in frescos and manuscripts, often combined body parts of different animals, and even humans.
Although not attributed the capacity for creations, imagination was thought to combine images received from memory or perception in creative ways, allowing for the invention of novel concepts or expressions.[28] For example, it could fuse images of "gold" and "mountain" to produce the idea of a "golden mountain."[30]
In medieval artistic works, imagination served the role of combining images of perceivable things to portray legendary, mysterious, or extraordinary creatures.[31] This can be seen in the depiction of a Mongolian in theGrandes Chroniques de France(1241), as well as in the portrayal ofangels,demons,hell, and theapocalypse in Christian religious paintings.[21][22]
TheRenaissance saw the revival of classical texts and the celebration for men's dignity, yet scholars of the time did not significantly contribute to the conceptual understanding of "imagination."[17][27]Marsilio Ficino, for example, did not regard artistic creations such aspainting,sculpture andpoetry as privileged forms of humancreativity, nor did he attributecreativity to the faculty of imagination. Instead,Ficino posited that imagination could be the vehicle through whichdivine intervention transmits insights in the form ofimages, which ultimately facilitates the creation ofart.[21][23][32]
Don Quixote, engrossed in reading books of chivalry.
Nevertheless, the groundwork laid byhumanists made it easier for later thinkers to develop the connection between imagination andcreativity.[21]Early modern philosophers began to consider imagination as a trait or ability that an individual could possess.Miguel de Cervantes, influenced by Spanish physician and philosopherJuan Huarte de San Juan, crafted the iconic characterDon Quixote, who epitomizedHuarte's idea of "wits full ofinvention."[29][33][34] This type of wit was thought to be typically found in individuals for whom imagination was the most prominent component of their "ingenium" (Spanish:ingenio; term meaning close to "intellect").[35][29][36][37]
Early modern philosophers also started to acknowledge imagination as an active, cognitive faculty, although it was principally seen as a mediator betweensense perception (Latin:sensus) and pure understanding (Latin:intellectio pura).[17]René Descartes, inMeditations on First Philosophy (1641), interpreted imagination as a faculty actively focusing on bodies (corporeal entities) while being passively dependent on stimuli from different senses.[17][38][39] In the writing ofThomas Hobbes, imagination became a key element of humancognition.[40]
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the connotations of imagination" extended to many areas ofearly modern civic life.[41][42]Juan Luis Vives noted the connection between imagination andrhetoric skills.[43]Huarte extended this idea, linking imagination to any disciplines that necessitates "figures, correspondence, harmony, and proportion," such asmedical practice and the art of warfare.[35][44][45] Additionally,Galileo used the concept of imagination to conductthought experiments, such as asking readers to imagine the direction a stone released from a sling would fly.[46]
By theAge of Enlightenment, philosophical discussions frequently linked the power of imagination withcreativity, particularly inaesthetics.[47]William Duff was among the first to identify imagination as a quality of genius, distinguishing it from talent by emphasizing that only genius is characterized by creative innovation.[48]Samuel Taylor Coleridge distinguished between imagination expressing realities of an imaginal realm above our mundane personal existence, and "fancy", or fantasy, which represents the creativity of the artistic soul.[49] InPreliminary Discourseto theEncyclopediaofDiderot (French:Discours Préliminaire des Éditeurs),d'Alembert referred to imagination as the creative force forFine Arts.[50]
Immanuel Kant, in hisCritique of Pure Reason (German:Kritik der reinen Vernunft), viewed imagination (German:Einbildungskraft) as a faculty ofintuition, capable of making "presentations," i.e., sensible representations of objects that are not directly present.[51] Kant distinguished two forms of imagination: productive and reproductive. Productive imagination functions as the original source of the presentation of an object, thus precedingexperience; while reproductive imagination generates presentations derived from pastexperiences, recalling empirical intuitions it previously had.[52]Kant's treatise linked imagination tocognition,perception,aesthetic judgement, artistic creation, andmorality.[51][53]
The Kantian idea prepared the way forFichte,Schelling and theRomantics to transform the philosophical understanding of it into an authentic creative force, associated withgenius, inventive activity, andfreedom.[54] In the work ofHegel, imagination, though not given as much importance as by his predecessors, served as a starting point for the defense of Hegelianphenomenology. Hegel distinguished between a phenomenological account of imagination, which focuses on the livedexperience andconsciousness, and a scientific, speculative account, which seeks to understand thenature and function of imagination in a systematic and theoretical manner.[55]
Nikola Tesla described imagination as: "When I get an idea I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements and operate the device in my mind. It is absolutely immaterial to me whether I run my turbine in thought or test it in my shop. I even note if it is out of balance. There is no difference whatever, the results are the same. In this way I am able to rapidly develop and perfect a conception without touching anything."[59]
Thephenomenology of imagination is discussed inThe Imaginary: A Phenomenological Psychology of the Imagination (French:L'Imaginaire: Psychologie phénoménologique de l'imagination), also published under the titleThe Psychology of the Imagination, a 1940 book byJean-Paul Sartre. In this book,Sartre propounded his concept of imagination, with imaginary objects being "melanges of past impressions and recent knowledge," and discussed what the existence of imagination shows about the nature of humanconsciousness.[60] Based on Sartre's work, subsequent thinkers extended this idea into the realm of sociology, proposing ideas such asimaginary and theontology of imagination.[61][62]
Imagination has been, and continues to be a well-acknowledged concept in many cultures, particularly withinreligious contexts, as animage-forming faculty of themind.[63] InBuddhist aesthetics, imagination plays a crucial role inreligious practice, especially invisualization practices, which include the recollection of theBuddha's body,visualization of celestial Buddhas and Buddha-fields (Pure Lands andmandalas), and devotion toimages.[64][65]
InZhuang Zi'sTaoism, imagination is perceived as a complex mental activity that is championed as a vital form ofcognition. It is defended onempathetic grounds but discredited by the rationalintellect as only a presentation andfantasy.[63]
Memory andmental imagery are two mental activities involved in the process of imagination, each influencing the other.[66]Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology shows that remembering and imagining activate the identical parts of thebrain.[66] When compared to the recall of common ideas, the generation of new and old original ideas exhibits a similar activation pattern, particularly in the bilateral parahippocampal and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) regions. This suggests that the construction of new ideas relies on processes similar to those in the reconstruction of original ideas fromepisodic memory.[67]
Piaget posited that a person'sperceptions depend on their world view. The world view is the result of arranging perceptions into existing imagery by imagination. Piaget cites the example of a child saying that the moon is following her when she walks around the village at night. Like this, perceptions are integrated into the world view so that they make sense. Imagination is needed to make sense of perceptions.[68]
A study that usedfMRI while subjects were asked to imagine precise visual figures, to mentally disassemble them, or mentally blend them, showed activity in theoccipital, frontoparietal,posterior parietal,precuneus, anddorsolateral prefrontal regions of the subject's brains.[72]
Phylogenesis and ontogenesis of various components of imagination
Phylogenetic acquisition of imagination was a gradual process. The simplest form of imagination, REM-sleepdreaming, evolved inmammals with acquisition ofREM sleep 140 million years ago.[73] Spontaneousinsight improved inprimates with acquisition of thelateral prefrontal cortex 70 million years ago. Afterhominins split from thechimpanzee line 6 million years ago they further improved their imagination.Prefrontal analysis was acquired 3.3 million years ago when hominins started to manufactureMode One stone tools.[74] Progress in stone tools culture toMode Two stone tools by 2 million years ago signifies remarkable improvement of prefrontal analysis. The most advanced mechanism of imagination,prefrontal synthesis, was likely acquired by humans around 70,000 years ago and resulted in behavioral modernity.[75] This leap toward modern imagination has been characterized by paleoanthropologists as the "Cognitive revolution",[76] "Upper Paleolithic Revolution",[77] and the "Great Leap Forward".[78]
Moral imagination usually describes the mental capacity to find answers to ethical questions and dilemmas through the process of imagination andvisualization. Different definitions of "moral imagination" can be found in the literature.[79]
The philosopherMark Johnson described it as "[an ability to imaginatively discern various possibilities for acting in a given situation and to envision the potential help and harm that are likely to result from a given action."[80]
In one proposed example,Hitler's assassinClaus von Stauffenberg was said to have decided to dare to overthrow theNazi regime as a result (among other factors) of a process of "moral imagination". His willingness to kill Hitler was less due to his compassion for his comrades, his family, or friends living at that time, but from thinking about the potential problems of later generations and people he did not know. In other words, through a process of moral imagination he was able to become concerned for "abstract" people (for example, Germans of later generations, people who were not yet alive, or people outside his reach).[81]
The research fields ofartificial imagination traditionally include (artificial)visual[85] andaural imagination,[86] which extend to all actions involved in formingideas,images, andconcepts—activities linked to imagination. Practitioners are also exploring topics such as artificial visual memory, modeling and filtering content based on humanemotions, and interactive search.[87] Additionally, there is interest in howartificial imagination may evolve to create anartificial world comfortable enough for people to use as an escape from reality.[88]
A subfield ofartificial imagination that receives rising concern is artificial morals.Artificial intelligence faces challenges regarding the responsibility formachines' mistakes or decisions[89][90] and the difficulty in creating machines with universally accepted moral rules.[91] Recent research in artificial morals bypasses the strict definition ofmorality, usingmachine learning methods to train machines to imitate human morals instead.[92][93] However, by considering data about moral decisions from thousands of people, the trained moral model may reflect widely accepted rules.[93]
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^Szczelkun, Stefan (2018-03-03).Sense Think Act: a collection of exercises to experience total human ability. Stefan Szczelkun.ISBN9781870736107.To imagine is to form experiences in the mind. These can be recreations of past experiences as they happened such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or they can be completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes.
^abNorman, Ron (2000). "Cultivating Imagination in Adult Education".Proceedings of the 41st Annual Adult Education Research:1–2.
^Sutton-Smith, Brian (1988). "In Search of the Imagination". In Egan, K.; Nadaner, D. (eds.).Imagination and Education. New York: Teachers College Press. p. 22.
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^Goldman, Laurence (1998).Child's play: myth, mimesis and make-believe. Oxford New York: Berg Publishers.ISBN978-1-85973-918-1.Basically what this means is that the children use their make-believe situation and act as if what they are acting out is from a reality that already exists even though they have made it up.imagination comes after story created.[page needed]
Dierckxsens, Geoffrey (2019-10-10). "'Making Sense of (Moral) Things':Fallible Man in Relation to Enactivism". In Davidson, Scott (ed.).A Companion to Ricoeur's Fallible Man. Studies in the Thought of Paul Ricoeur. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 104.ISBN9781498587129. Retrieved6 October 2022.Kant's notion of imagination [...] designates a cognitive capacity that is purely mental.
Compare:Efland, Arthur (2002-06-14). "Imagination in Cognition".Art and Cognition: Integrating the Visual Arts in the Curriculum. Language and Literacy Series. New York: Teachers College Press. p. 133.ISBN9780807742181. Retrieved6 October 2022.Like feelings and emotions, imagination is a prickly topic with a history of exclusion from the realm of the cognitive.
^Pearson, Joel (2020-06-18). "The Visual Imagination". In Abraham, Anna (ed.).The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination. Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 175.ISBN9781108429245. Retrieved12 October 2022.Visual imagery typically refers to the voluntary creation of the conscious visual experience of an object or scene in its absence (e.g. solely in the mind). [...] imagery can play a core role in many anxiety disorders, depression, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease, and is increasingly harnessed as a uniquely powerful tool for psychological treatment [...].
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