Theories of Imagination

This chapter surveys recent work in philosophy of imagination. It is noted that theories of imagination have largely emerged from work on particular imagination-involving activities. So, for example, a philosopher investigating mind reading, or engagement with fiction, or modal epistemology might make some general remarks about imagination. But it does not ultimately matter for their purposes whether the remarks apply to all instances of imagination. This makes truly general theories of imagination more challenging to catalog. The chapter surveys numerous dimensions and features of imagination that have received attention in the literature, including sensory, belief-like, and desire-like imagining; voluntary and involuntary imagining; emotional affect; rationality constraints; connection to action; resistance; and unconscious imagining. These dimensions and features are used to draw out six general theories of imagination: recreativism, single-code theory, simulationism, imagery theory, lens theory, and reductionism. The chapter closes by pressing the need for more work toward a general theory.