Book description

Imagination occupies a central place in philosophy, going back to Aristotle. However, following a period of relative neglect there has been an explosion of interest in imagination in the past two decades as philosophers examine the role of imagination in debates about the mind and cognition, aesthetics and ethics, as well as epistemology, science and mathematics.

This outstanding Handbook contains over thirty specially commissioned chapters by leading philosophers organised into six clear sections examining the most important aspects of the philosophy of imagination, including:

• Imagination in historical context: Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Husserl, and Sartre
• What is imagination? The relation between imagination and mental imagery; imagination contrasted with perception, memory, and dreaming
• Imagination in aesthetics: imagination and our engagement with music, art, and fiction; the problems of fictional emotions and ‘imaginative resistance’
• Imagination in philosophy of mind and cognitive science: imagination and creativity, the self, action, child development, and animal cognition
• Imagination in ethics and political philosophy, including the concept of 'moral imagination' and empathy
• Imagination in epistemology and philosophy of science, including learning, thought experiments, scientific modelling, and mathematics.

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Imagination is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of mind and psychology, aesthetics, and ethics. It will also be a valuable resource for those in related disciplines such as psychology and art.

Table of contents