Imagination
Starting Activity
– How do you feel?
– What does this scene make you think of?
– Have you been here before?
TV Activity
– Maria will explain the directions.
Bellwork
– "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." - John
Lennon, 1940-80
– Compare and contrast imagination and reason. Use
real life examples.
Imagination
– the ability to form a representation of something which is not
present to the senses
– What distinguishes imagination from mental concepts such as
perception and memory is truth.
– If a claim allegedly based on perception or memory turns out
to be wrong, we simply downgrade it to imagination:
– What distinguishes perception, memory, and imagination are
different degrees of 'force and vivacity'
– Perception being the strongest; memory intermediate; and
imagination the weakest
Types of Imagination
Fantasy
– an escapist form of imagination that is only distantly connected with the real
world
– The distinguishing feature of fantasy is that it is not connected with the real world
– the dream of effortless achieve
– There is no clear dividing line between fantasy and more realistic forms of
imagination
– Fantasy can nourish the imagination and help to push back the borders of the
possible; but at worse, it can lead to escapism and a refusal to engage with reality
Realistic imagination
– imagination which is informed and guided by the relevant facts
– Most productive uses of imagination are realistic in the sense that they are
constrained by reality
Creativity
– the ability to generate ideas or produce artefacts which are original,
surprising and valuable
– Creativity is best thought of as a subset of imagination in the sense
that while creativity requires imagination, one can imagine all kinds
of things without being particularly creative
– What distinguishes creative imagination from imagination is
originality
– A creative idea is novel in the sense that it hasn't been thought of
before, and it is often surprising in the sense that it could not have
been predicted in advance
Quick Activity:
Imagination Workout
Drawing! Use your imagination.