Role of Imagination

Imagination, or the ability to evoke images in the context of space and time, is a core feature of the human mind. As discussed, James' definition of religion, or adhering to the belief that "there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto," utilizes imagination to suggest a larger framework for meaning. While the notion of imagination often is associated with the realm of myth and fairy tale, the ability to imagine also enables humans to hope, tell stories, and to heal. Traditionally, imagination was perpetuated through folklore; later, through religious institutions. Today imagination is increasingly being recognized as important in psychology and other mental health fields, often in the form of narrative therapy, storytelling, and the use of metaphor.

Psychologically, imagination is a major mode of human adaptation - providing substitute gratification for that which is lacking in life and consoling us for what we lack (Person, 1995). Imagination may also heal or undo past defects, wounds, and old conflicts. Person (1995) states:

Though many of us think of the mind as our organ of reason, dedicated mainly to analysis, logic, planning, and other kinds of abstract thought, in fact, the mind carries on a large number of its activities by invoking stories: self-generated fantasies, memories, family tales, or the myths and folk tales of the culture that surrounds us. Fantasy, which constitutes a major portion of these stories, takes many forms - dreams for the future, daydreams, castles in the air, reveries, imagery, imagined scripts, scenarios, and scenes. A fantasy or daydream - terms I use interchangeably - is an imaginative story or internal dialogue, that generally serves a more or less transparent fulfilling function, gratifying sexual, aggressive, or self-aggrandizing wishes and other wishes as well, or that transcribes our hopes, (p. 7)

K. Redfield Jamison (1993) in turn writes:

The notion of a special access to a power beyond what is ordinarily known to an individual or his society has extended across many different kinds of inspired states: the warlike, the druidic, the mystical, and the poetic. Attributions of inspiration once made to the gods or the muses have been transformed, during the twentieth century, into the rather more prosaic formulations of "primary process," "pre-logical thought," and "bisociative thinking." (p. 103)

From a variety of perspectives, Jamison observes there is agreement that artistic creativity and inspiration require drawing from irrational or prerational sources while also maintaining ongoing contact with reality and "life at the surface" (p. 104).

Imagination finds expression in early childhood and continues throughout adult life. Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein designates "phantasy" as the human being's vast elaboration through perceptions and experience of a residual animal biological

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instinct - using a "ph" to denote the process is unconscious. Whereas animal instinct knows and goes for its object - as a calf finds a nipple, a chick follows a hen - "in Klein's concept, phantasy emanates from within and imagines what is without, it offers an unconscious commentary on instinctual life and links feelings to objects and creates a new amalgam: the world of imagination" (Mitchell, 1986, p. 23).

Collective imagination provides the ground of human relationships. Imagination not only plays a major role in shaping our environment and in guiding our choices and adaptations, but it also dictates romantic, familial, and professional goals, fuels behavior, and engenders plans for the future. Many story lines are drawn not just from the earliest life experiences, but also from family stories and myths, and from fiction, art, and myths of the surrounding culture (Person, 1995). And as we will see in Melges' work, imagination also creates an ambiance of hope for the future - serving as a rehearsal for future action.