Landscapes of the Imagination

This Element links everyday, aesthetic, and scholarly approaches that lead to basic principles we can creatively apply in our lives.

Gerald C. Cupchik (Author)

9781009472050, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 January 2025

76 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.6 cm, 0.276 kg

The idea that imagination is everywhere in our lives, and that reality is an illusion, may sound absurd to the concrete mind. This book will try to convince you that imagination manifests in different 'phases,' encompassing even the most fundamental ideas about what is real (ontology) and what is true (epistemology). It is present in the contents (e.g., images) and the acts (e.g., fantasy) of our minds. Imagination helps us remove barriers through conscious planning and finds ways to fulfill unconscious desires. The many words related to imagination in the English language are part of a unified web and share a “family resemblance.” The first section of this book deals with imagination in everyday life, the second focuses on aesthetic imagination, and the third discusses scholarly approaches that incorporate both imagination types. The fourth section proposes a unified model integrating the diverse ways that imagination is manifested in our culture.

Introduction: a phase theory approach to imagination
1. Imagination in everyday life
2. The arc of imagination in aesthetic experience
3. Scholarly treatments of imagination
4. Toward a phase theory of imagination
5. Conclusions and implications
References.

Subject Areas: Psychology [JM]