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Imagination has always held a central place in human history, whether it be in religions, myths, legendary tales, or universal stories. This is explained by the answers that imagination can provide to the complex questions that humankind asks ourselves. For Aristotle, what drove humans to philosophize is related to their capacity for wonder in the face of what they could encounter without understanding its meaning or origin: Why thunderstorms and seasons? Why tides and the lunar and solar calendar? Is the earth round, flat, or something else? Where do we come from, and where are we going? These questions arise from wonder in the face of natural elements, in the face of the existence we lead, which prompts us to imagine answers, to reflect on our existence, to question time, and to reason on the basis of our experience. Malebranche writes, “Men are always curious, always inclined to seek the cause of what they see.” Science will offer the best answers as advances and discoveries progress. Nevertheless, between questioning and wonder on the one hand and scientific answers on the other, several centuries can elapse, and imagination then fills the gap left by the absence of a solid answer. This is the role that myths, in particular, could play. Humans, as Malebranche also says, fascinated by everything extraordinary, will provide initial answers with surprising and prodigious stories that aim to terrify others as well as themselves. Myths are nothing but imaginative constructions that explain what is not yet explainable by science, whether it be natural, cosmic, or social phenomena, from the creation of the world to the status of human beings, including existential questions about our nature and reason. Moreover, our imagination feeds itself, and thought on any subject is fully capable of being stoked to develop further. As Malebranche points out once again, “the imagination warms up on its object, enlarges it further, and is even inclined to add what would be lacking to make it completely marvelous.” For the theologian, being cautious that imagination doesn’t control people is important because it can act independently and, in some way, govern the mind according to its own rules:

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What Does Imagination Stand for?

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Xavier Pavie

摘要

Imagination has always held a central place in human history, whether it be in religions, myths, legendary tales, or universal stories. This is explained by the answers that imagination can provide to the complex questions that humankind asks ourselves. For Aristotle, what drove humans to philosophize is related to their capacity for wonder in the face of what they could encounter without understanding its meaning or origin: Why thunderstorms and seasons? Why tides and the lunar and solar calendar? Is the earth round, flat, or something else? Where do we come from, and where are we going? These questions arise from wonder in the face of natural elements, in the face of the existence we lead, which prompts us to imagine answers, to reflect on our existence, to question time, and to reason on the basis of our experience. Malebranche writes, “Men are always curious, always inclined to seek the cause of what they see.” Science will offer the best answers as advances and discoveries progress. Nevertheless, between questioning and wonder on the one hand and scientific answers on the other, several centuries can elapse, and imagination then fills the gap left by the absence of a solid answer. This is the role that myths, in particular, could play. Humans, as Malebranche also says, fascinated by everything extraordinary, will provide initial answers with surprising and prodigious stories that aim to terrify others as well as themselves. Myths are nothing but imaginative constructions that explain what is not yet explainable by science, whether it be natural, cosmic, or social phenomena, from the creation of the world to the status of human beings, including existential questions about our nature and reason. Moreover, our imagination feeds itself, and thought on any subject is fully capable of being stoked to develop further. As Malebranche points out once again, “the imagination warms up on its object, enlarges it further, and is even inclined to add what would be lacking to make it completely marvelous.” For the theologian, being cautious that imagination doesn’t control people is important because it can act independently and, in some way, govern the mind according to its own rules: