Imagination

Olin Levi Warner, Imagination (1896). Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

Imagination is the production of sensations, feelings and thoughts informing oneself.[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 the learning 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 both semantic and episodic 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 practicing storytelling (narrative),[3][7] wherein imagination is expressed through stories and writings such as fairy tales, fantasies, and science fiction.[8] When children develop their imagination, they often exercise it through pretend play. They use role-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]

  1. ^ "Mental Imagery". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2021.
  2. ^ Szczelkun, Stefan (2018-03-03). Sense Think Act: a collection of exercises to experience total human ability. Stefan Szczelkun. ISBN 9781870736107. 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.
  3. ^ a b Norman, Ron (2000). "Cultivating Imagination in Adult Education". Proceedings of the 41st Annual Adult Education Research: 1–2.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Egan, Kieran (1992). Imagination in Teaching and Learning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 50.
  6. ^ Devitt, Aleea L.; Addis, Donna Rose; Schacter, Daniel L. (2017-10-01). "Episodic and semantic content of memory and imagination: A multilevel analysis". Memory & Cognition. 45 (7): 1078–1094. doi:10.3758/s13421-017-0716-1. ISSN 1532-5946. PMC 5702280. PMID 28547677.
  7. ^ Frye, Northrop (1963). The Educated Imagination. Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. p. 49.
  8. ^ "Top Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazines 2023". 10 August 2023.
  9. ^ Goldman, Laurence (1998). Child's play: myth, mimesis and make-believe. Oxford New York: Berg Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85973-918-1. 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]