Imaginative minds
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Imaginative minds
（Proceedings of the British Academy, 147）
Published for The British Academy by Oxford University Press, 2007
Available at 10 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Imagination is one of the most distinctive characteristics of human thought. The supreme powers of flexibility, supposition and inventiveness that are its hallmarks, whether in science, technology, business or the visual, literary and performing arts, are highly prized in contemporary societies. Yet in the fields of psychology and cognitive science, where we might expect to find the topic 'centre-stage', there has been comparatively little work. This volumes
addresses this omission by bringing together the theories and methods of these disciplines with other perspectives offering important insights into the imagination.
The 15 chapters address key questions about the imaginative workings of the mind, including how the capacity for imagination evolved, how it is expressed and what roles it plays in children's thinking, what psychological processes and brain mechanisms are involved, and how imagination operates in universal cultural phenomena such as music, fiction and religion, which are both the fruits of and the 'fuel' for imaginative minds.
The exceptional interdisciplinary scope of the volume, and its exploration and juxtaposition of different forms of imaginative cognition, offer an engaging and innovative take on the topic, bringing together approaches from psychology, cognitive science, anthropology and evolutionary studies with philosophy and the humanities. Distinguished contributors demonstrate their own imaginative flair in a fascinating and varied collection of essays about this most elusive and special human
capacity.
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- EVOLUTION OF THE IMAGINATION
- DEVELOPMENT OF IMAGINATION IN CHILDREN
- MIND INTO CULTURE: PERSPECTIVES ON MUSICAL IMAGINATION
- IMAGINATION, COGNITION AND CREATIVE THINKING
- COGNITIVE ARCHITECTURE OF THE IMAGINATION
- ATYPICAL IMAGINATION AND BRAIN MECHANISMS
by "Nielsen BookData"