Imagination

With the Imagination is called the imagination of humans. We understand it to be the ability to create images in our mind's eye. Spatial imagination is often used in this context, but it is also about the imagination of entire episodes. Until Plato (427-347 BC) there was no theory about imagination. Plato spoke of the human mind.

What is the imagination?

Imagination is the human imagination. We understand it to be the ability to create images in our mind's eye.

Up until the 18th century, Plato's considerations about imagination, thinking and perception were dominant in the West. Plato saw in fantasy the link between external sensory impressions and intellect. The fantasy is an appearance of the imagination and mixes perception and opinion with one another. Plato was already of the opinion that thinking, fantasy and opinions can be false or true.

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Plato's student Aristotle continued his teacher's elaborations on fantasy and intellect. He differentiated between perceptions that are tied to the body, such as appetite, anger and anger, and thinking without the involvement of the body.

In the Middle Ages, a distinction was made between the memory of an early perception and the presentation of imaginary images: "phantasiae" and "phantasma". In the eyes of scholars, phantasmata came about through fantasized images, allegories and myths, brought about by the free activity of the spirit. Today this is called the productive imagination.

However, negative properties were ascribed to both forms at the time. Anything that could not be associated with divine existence was considered dangerous. Church scholars believed that “phantasiae” and “phantasma” were harmful to human knowledge. Phantasiae were seen as obstacles to understanding divine truth, phantasmata were simply defined as misconceptions.

In the 11th century, deepened concepts of imagination emerged. The imagination took on a positive meaning. The scholars tried to assign a specific place in the brain to human mental abilities. In the Renaissance it was believed that imagination came from the stars and was a question of talent. In the age of the Enlightenment, the imagination became more and more important. Today's neuroscientists can explain many mental processes, but nobody knows exactly how fantasy works.

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Function & task

The ability to imagine is the result of many influences and is different in each person. It cannot be separated from culture and is a basic requirement for creative processes. It is only through imagination that living beings can interpret and understand new things. The visual imagination is rooted in all areas of life. Fantasy is therefore also referred to as imagination, imagination, imagination and originality.

Pictorial imagination, on the other hand, is not possible without spatial imagination. Spatial imagination relates to the mental conception of movement or spatial displacement and to the relationship between objects that can be viewed from different perspectives. It also relates to orientation, i.e. the classification of one's own person in spatial conditions. Spatial imagination is essential for sports, especially ball games, and can be improved through cognitive exercises. Even manual work cannot do without a spatial conception.

Today it is all about stimulating the child's imagination in order to better prepare children for a complex world. By giving the child time and space to play, they can develop their imagination better. While playing, it experiences fantasy as reality. It integrates different beings into its fantasy world, they become part of its everyday life, help and comfort. The invisible friends from Fantasy Land have social and emotional tasks. The child's imagination is still unburdened and free of judgments. That is why we are always amazed at the children's unbroken joy in imaginary games.

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Over the years, people are confronted with many limitations, so that they block their imagination more and more. Social norms and judgments also contribute.

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Illnesses & ailments

The imagination has power and can evoke physical reactions. Whoever imagines with all his might a juicy lemon that he is about to bite into will inevitably twist his mouth and taste the acidity. Imagination alone led to physical reactions. What we imagine we can feel physically and mentally. The brain does not distinguish between what is reality and what is imagination. Fantasy is influenced by different forces, especially sensory perception. It can be productive, but it can also be harmful.

The work of many brain areas is necessary for cognitive visualization. However, there are people who are completely lacking in imagination. You are suffering from aphantasia. Affected people cannot create images in their minds. The pictorial symbolism that makes us indulge in memories is alien to these people. Researchers suspect a defect in the affected brain regions.

In turn, some mental illnesses provoke an exaggerated form of imagination. For example, the sick suffer from delusions and have such active imaginations that they take things for real that do not exist. Schizophrenia is a disease that presents with hallucinations, formal thought disorders, and delusions. About one percent of the world's population is affected by schizophrenia and as a result has severe psychosocial restrictions.

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Imagination problems can also be associated with depression. If the cognitive performance is impaired by depression, thinking disorders often arise. Some sufferers find it difficult to make logical conclusions or are fixated on a certain idea. Depending on your personal disposition, the clinical pictures can be very different.