Summary |
Imagination is typically taken to be the mental accompaniment to the activity of pretending. In the course of pretending to be a cat, for example, a child might imagine that her hands are paws or that her sister is a vicious dog who is chasing her. The precise nature of the relationship between imagination and pretending, however, is a matter of dispute. Some philosophers think imagination is essential for explaining pretend behavior, while others think that we can explain pretend behavior entirely in terms of beliefs and desires. The philosophical discussion of this topic also takes up issues about the importance of pretense in child development. |