Human Imagination

The human mind has several faculties that make it capable of certain powerful intellectual functions. One of these is the imagination. It is defined by the New National Dictionary as the mental faculty which apprehends and forms ideas of external objects. It is “the ability to mentally visualize abstract ideas and concepts and to associate this mental power with vocal sounds and writing” (Hamilton, 2002). Unlike the commonly held belief, the imagination is responsible for much more than human creativity. It is in fact vital to several other mental tasks, such as the ability to recognize the meaning of words and symbols, to logically reason through a concept and to perceive ideas. It is through the imagination that we gain an understanding of knowledge and it is what gives meaning to experience (Wikipedia.com). Through the imagination, man has access to an infinite variety of worlds, both based on reality and completely abstract. It enables him to make sense of and draw from these worlds. Even the memory function of the human brain relies on the imagination. The imagination furthermore engages all five senses so that it is possible to imagine sounds, smells, tastes and sensations as well as images. (Sasson, 2011).

Imagination is one of the things that creates a marked difference between human beings and other animals (Alter, 2011). Only humans have the ability to imagine and thereby transcend the sensory abilities possessed by other animals. It is the force behind technological development and the revolution from primitive society to developed and civilised society. This is because it is responsible for the human ability to innovate. However, innovation is only one aspect of it. Most thinking processes require input from the imagination and it is even claimed that without it, man would be completely unable to think (Kime, 2008).

There are essentially two types of imagination. The ‘Creative imagination’ is what most people would identify if asked about imagination. It is responsible for the human ability to conceive new ideas or creations. The ‘Learning imagination’ is the ability of humans to learn to associate sounds and symbols with abstract ideas in their mind and to communicate these abstract ideas with other minds (Hamilton, 2002).

The imagination is said to be one of the greatest influences determining the course of human life. This is because apart from enabling him to create, it is also critical to problem solving and can actually be a factor in how positively or negatively one deals with every day circumstances. The story is told of George Hall, a colonel who spent seven years in a Vietnamese prison. During this time, he imagined every day that he was playing a full game of golf. When he was finally released, he shot a 76 in the Greater New Orleans Open only a week after leaving the prison. His performance was attributed to the powerful effect of his imagination; it was as though he had actually been playing golf for those seven years even though in reality he had not. There are also certain musicians who suggest that practising an instrument in the mind is just as important as doing it physically, including world renowned Pablo Casals the cellist.

At its most extreme, the theory of the power of the imagination proposes that in fact, one can determine exactly what will happen in their life simply by visualisation. There are even claims that serious diseases could be cured simply by enabling the patient to visualize themselves in a healthy state. Others dispute this and posit that the imagination is only one of many factors in life’s cycle. Whatever the case, it is easy to underestimate what power the imagination renders to the human mind.

Reference:

Alter, 2011 Limits of Human Imagination

http://enchantedmind.com/html/creativity/techniques/power_of_imagination.html accessed on 8th July 2011

http://novan.com/imagine.htm accessed on 7th July 2011

http://successconsciousness.com/index_000007.htm Sasson, 2011 The Power of Imagination retrieved on 8th July 2011

http://wikipedia.com/wiki/imagination accessed on 7th July 2011