Imagination and the mind of man
This series of posts explores how imagination is connected to the development of man’s mind and how imagination has provided man’s mind with capabilities that exceed the capabilities of the minds of other entities created in Genesis thereby enabling man to “master the earth” (Gen 1:28) and be master over the other entities created in Genesis.
Preview of the post.
This is post number 1 of 7 and introduces the study.
- Introduction
For the purposes of this series of posts, imagination will be defined as the ability to form a mental image without the benefit of one’s senses. That is, in the absence of a physical source of a sensation, imagination is the formation of a mental image of what one would be sensing if that physical source were actually present and actually being sensed.
With regard to physical objects, we can form a mental impression of that portion of a sensed object that is not directly observable by our senses. For example, we can form a mental image of a hidden portion of an object based on the portions of that object that we can see or examine, such as a hidden surface of a cube when we can observe less than all of the six planes. We can form a mental image of the smell of an orange, the taste of the orange, the feel of the orange – all without actually holding an orange in our hand; we can have a mental impression of the sound of a cricket without actually hearing a cricket. Creation of all of these mental impressions requires imagination.
Imagination also permits one to “fill in the blanks’ or “connect the dots.” That is, we do not need to hear every single word that is said, our imagination takes what we actually hear and fills in what we do not hear; we do not need to see everything in front of us, our imagination fills in what we do not see.. Of course, this aspect of imagination sometimes gets us into trouble because we might fill in a blank erroneously. For example, based on past experience, we might expect a step to be present when in fact it is not, so we trip. The most dangerous example of this filling in is when we think we heard what someone said, when, in fact, they did not say that or said the opposite. Imagination allows us to skim a text and know what was said without actually reading every single word, or skim a scene and know what we saw without actually seeing every single element in the scene, again, however, this skimming can get us into trouble[1].
In the series of posts titled “In God’s Image,” it is argued that imagination is the characteristic that sets human beings apart from all the other entities mentioned in Genesis as being God’s creations. That series continues this thesis that imagination is God’s great gift to humans so those humans can exercise dominion over and protection of the earth and all the creatures on earth.
With regard to experiences, that is non-physical objects, humans can form an image of a future result based on results of similar experiences in the past. We use our imagination as a prior indicator based on past events. Subsequent to an event is memory, prior to an event is imagination.
As such, imagination is a necessary component of human progress. Imagination is not merely vital, it is necessary. Progress is made by learning from past experiences and applying that knowledge to other situations. Actions have consequences. Imagination allows a human to form a mental impression of potential consequences associated with any action without requiring that human to actually experience the consequence, or consequences, associated with the action. The human can then select the most desirable consequence of those that he imagines as being the most possible and act accordingly. The human will then learn based on whether the mental impression was correct or not. If the consequence which actually resulted was correctly imagined, the human will learn that this consequence is likely to be associated with this action. If the consequence is different from what was initially imagined, then the human will learn from that as well. In both instances, the human will have learned and can apply that learning to future situations. Imagination then allows the human to form mental impressions, that is imagine, consequences which might be associated with similar, but not necessarily identical, actions in the future. Thus, experience gained by an individual from one situation can be used to broaden that person’s perspective and actions in the future.
Still further, imagination provides humans the ability to learn from the experiences of others. We can understand a mistake made by someone else and use our imagination to apply the lessons learned by that other person to a situation we might be experiencing. Even though we did not, ourselves, go through the process of error/consequence experienced by someone else, we can use our imagination to place ourselves in that situation and thus learn from the experience of another person. Our imagination also gives us the ability to learn from a situation without ever actually experiencing that situation. We can read a report and imagine the situation: action-error-consequence – and imagine ourselves in that situation and act accordingly.
For example, we can read about the dangers of assimilation and its effects on a religion. We can read the stories of Joseph and the stories of Judges and then use our imagination to learn from these stories and apply that learning to events in our own lives which might lead to assimilation. Joseph adopted the ways of the Egyptians, the people began to adopt the ways of the people among whom they were living in the stories in Judges, we can read those stories and apply the teachings to our present situations. We do not regularly go to Temple, the people in the Northern Kingdom adopted the ways of the indigenous people, how far away is not regularly going to Temple from what the people of the Northern Kingdom did? Our imaginations will provide the answer on an individual basis. However, we will have an example on which to base our conclusions – using our imagination[2].
Our morality and sense of social justice are based on our imagination. It is our ability to have a mental impression of the suffering of another, especially if it might be caused by our own actions, which allows us to avoid such consequence by altering our actions accordingly. However, without imagination, we would not be able to have a mental impression of the effects of our actions on another or to have empathy for another’s situation even if we are not a direct or even indirect cause of their suffering. Imagination lies at the heart of social justice, morality and ethics.
Furthermore, without imagination, the process of repentance is pointless at best, and worthless and futile at worst. The process of repentance requires one to identify a mistake (transgression), accept his responsibility for the mistake, take steps to cure or at least mitigate any damage caused by the erroneous action, and then take steps so the action is not repeated in the future. At a future time if or when the same situation arises, the person will then use their imagination to form a mental impression of the consequences associated with the action and, having repented, choose an action which is associated with desirable consequences rather than the action which was a mistake. This is the very essence of learning: action-consequences-change action next time to avoid undesired consequences. Without imagination, the connection between action and consequences cannot be made and the error may be repeated thus rendering the process of repentance pointless. Still further, without the ability to imagine potential consequences associated with an action, the concept of punishment is, at best pointless, and at worst vindictive. Punishment should be directed to instructing what actions are desired, but punishment will be instructive only if the person being punished is able to learn so he will not repeat the mistake. Imagination is the link between this instruction and future actions whereby in the future, the person will have an idea in his mind of the consequences (and punishment) associated with the actions which are not desired and have an idea of the consequences which are desired and will avoid those actions associated with undesired consequences and take actions which are associated with desired consequences.
Without imagination such learning is at best rote. It is not likely to be applied in situations which differ from the situation resulting in undesired consequences. Animals learn by rote, humans should be better than that. Imagination provides humans with the ability to extrapolate the lessons learned from one situation and apply those lessons to other, even unrelated, situations. Lessons learned in one situation thus can instruct in other situations. If humans are to have dominion over the entities identified in Genesis, we must be able to learn and progress beyond the abilities of these other entities. Imagination gives us that ability.
Preview of the next post.
The next post, post number 2 of 7, presents a discussion of “imagination” as it pertains to the instant discussion.
[1] An interesting book which discusses this human trait of “connecting the dots” and/or “filling in the blanks” is Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan (Broadway Books, New York, 2009).
[2] Greek tragedy is filled with such “instructive experiences.”