ImaginationImagination is an outstanding contribution to a notoriously elusive and confusing subject. It skillfully interrelates problems in philosophy, the history of ideas and literary theory and criticism, tracing the evolution of the concept of imagination from Hume and Kant in the eighteenth century to Ryle, Sartre and Wittgenstein in the twentieth. She strongly belies that the cultivation of imagination should be the chief aim of education and one of her objectives in writing the book has been to put forward reasons why this is so. Purely philosophical treatment of the concept is shown to be related to its use in the work of Coleridge and Wordsworth, who she considers to be the creators of a new kind of awareness with more than literary implications. The purpose of her historical account is to suggest that the role of imagination in our perception and thought is more pervasive than may at first sight appear, and that the thread she traces is an important link joining apparently different areas of our experience. She argues that imagination is an essential element in both our awareness of the world and our attaching of value to it. |
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absent activity actual aesthetic judgment appearance argues artist aspect associationism attempt aware beautiful believe Biographia Literaria bush Coleridge Coleridge's concept connexion consciousness contemplation continuous existence create creative Critique of Judgment describe distinction distinguish dream emotions envisage essential example experience expression fact faculty feeling Fichte function of imagination genius Geoffrey Grigson grasp hear human Hume and Kant Hume's Humean Husserl ideas of reason image-forming impressions interpretation Kant says Kant's Kantian kind look MARY WARNOCK means mental image Merleau-Ponty mind mind's eye nature Necessitarian Notebook object ordinary perception ourselves pantheism particular passage perceive perhaps phenomenology philosophical picture pleasure poem poetry portrait present produce psychological pure question recognize representation rhododendron role Ryle Sartre Schelling seems seen sensation sense significance sound speaks sublime suggested symbol things thought Tintern Abbey tion unconscious understanding visual Wittgenstein word Wordsworth