Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Surveying the Imagination Landscape
- Part I Theoretical Perspectives on the Imagination
- 2 The Evolution of a Human Imagination
- 3 Material Imagination: An Anthropological Perspective
- 4 The Archaeological Imagination
- 5 Philosophical Perspectives on Imagination in the Western Tradition
- 6 Imagination in Classical India: A Short Introduction
- 7 From Prediction to Imagination
- 8 Memory and Imagination: Perspectives on Constructive Episodic Simulation
- 9 Capturing the Imagination
- 10 A Sociocultural Perspective on Imagination
- 11 Artificial Intelligence and Imagination
- Part II Imagery-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part III Intentionality-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part IV Novel Combinatorial Forms of the Imagination
- Part V Phenomenology-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part VI Altered States of the Imagination
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- References
10 - A Sociocultural Perspective on Imagination
from Part I - Theoretical Perspectives on the Imagination
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2020
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Surveying the Imagination Landscape
- Part I Theoretical Perspectives on the Imagination
- 2 The Evolution of a Human Imagination
- 3 Material Imagination: An Anthropological Perspective
- 4 The Archaeological Imagination
- 5 Philosophical Perspectives on Imagination in the Western Tradition
- 6 Imagination in Classical India: A Short Introduction
- 7 From Prediction to Imagination
- 8 Memory and Imagination: Perspectives on Constructive Episodic Simulation
- 9 Capturing the Imagination
- 10 A Sociocultural Perspective on Imagination
- 11 Artificial Intelligence and Imagination
- Part II Imagery-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part III Intentionality-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part IV Novel Combinatorial Forms of the Imagination
- Part V Phenomenology-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part VI Altered States of the Imagination
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
This chapter outlines a sociocultural approach to imagination, an approach that considers imagination at once as an individual and cultural phenomenon, grounded in our embodied experience of the world, in social interactions, and in the use of symbolic resources. We begin by reviewing the classical philosophical debates about the nature of imagination – whether it is based on images or experience and whether it is primarily personal or cultural – in order to position the sociocultural framework that builds on the seminal work of Lev Vygotsky. Following this, we review old and recent sociocultural research in this area, focusing on four main issues: imagination and perception, the phenomenology of art experience, intentionality and imagination, and the imagination as generative. We conclude the chapter with an integrative model – the imagination loop – and a discussion of how imagination plays a fundamental role not only for individual development but also the development of society through the construction of collective futures.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination , pp. 143 - 161Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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