The purpose of this article is to analyze the differences of the visualization in scientific and humanitarian cognition and identify the boundaries of visualization due to the essence of thinking as the ability to form ideal images of reality. Visualization of sensually perceived features of cognizable material objects is an important element of the cognition process and increases the heuristic possibilities of the scientific hypotheses put forward. However, the sensually non-perceptible essence of material objects can be visualized only after theoretical comprehension of empirical information in the process of abstract logical analysis and construction of a mental model of the studied object. In humanitarian knowledge, it is necessary to take into account that only material carriers and forms of expression of the ideal content of socio-cultural activity are subject to visualization, but not the ideal content itself. The identification of visualizations of material forms of human activity with the knowledge of their ideal content poses a real danger to human life. Visualization as a way of representing, organizing, and systematizing knowledge plays an important role in the learning process and the activation of cognitive processes. However, visualization limits the development of thinking as the ability to operate with ideal, abstract objects and does not play an essential role in the formation of critical thinking, since it is based on reproducing the sensually perceived side of reality. Visualization of the sensually non-perceptible essence of the studied objects is the result of mental processes that cannot be visualized.