<p>The contribution of imagination to deliberation is underappreciated. Recent focus on this question has concerned only the motivational value of mental imagery–a kind of representational content. I go further in arguing that some instances of complex deliberation require distinctive kinds of imaginative attitudes. I argue that deliberation can involve imaginative desire, which is an imaginative recreation of desire, but free of the motivational value that genuine desires have. Because of this, imaginative desires are motivationally safe. Safety, in turn, marks an important continuity between deliberation, engagement with fiction, and empathy.</p>