Capacity to Imagine as a Catalyst for Social Progress

Abstract

In keeping with the ongoing discourses within the Philosophy of Mind, I will examine our capacity to imagine that which does not yet exist as a generative mental architecture. This architectural framing serves to elucidate the full potential of our uniquely human capacity for imagination as a catalyst for social and political progress. The argument is then made as follows: because we are fundamentally capable of creating a detailed mental picture of non-existent realities, which are largely altered from the present moment, these pictures can serve as unifying visions that can be rallied around. These optimistic imaginations serve as the most basic motivators, activating swaths of the public to fight for them. From here, we can continue to use our imaginative faculties to detail the steps necessary to create the imagined change that we now endeavor to make real. It is this very process of translational imaginative creation that has enabled us, up to this point in human history, to create the very systems and societies in which we live.

Keywords: Imagination, philosophy of mind, cognitive architecture, social change, progress, collective action

“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.” ― Maria Montessori, 1870-1952

I. Introduction

It seems an uncontroversial notion when discussed in contemporary circles that one of the defining characteristics of humanity is our ability to engage with the abstract. The contemplation of that which is not yet actual, as though it were, to grasp at some greater message or idea that would, itself, be impossible to obtain otherwise. From Plato’s Ideal World of Forms to modern concepts of manifestation, the prevalence of deep fascination with our ability to imagine the unreal has permeated the annals of history.

This work then hopes to continue this discourse and expand upon a particular lens through which our imaginative capacity is viewed, Imagination as a generative creative force. Through a detailed examination of this translational creative process which we are all capable of on some level, a tremendous potential is revealed. The potential to enact substantive and effectual change when our creative capabilities are leveraged communally is tremendous and seemingly under-recognized in modern discourse.

First, a working definition of what it is to imagine will be detailed and an overview of the state of conversations surrounding imagination in the field of the Philosophy of Mind will be given. After that grounding is established, the relationships between our imagination and other fundamental fields of philosophy will be discussed and arguments will be given surrounding the capacity of imaginative force as it compares to our more tangible sense perceptions. This discussion will evolve to cover our process of producing mental images and the boundless nature of abstract space. Within this framework, spatial metaphors for how to conceptualize our visualization process, what I will refer to for the sake of this work as ‘Metavisuals’, will be elucidated pulling from a variety of references which all conceptualize mental spaces differently to one another.

I will then put forward my own Metavisual for the imaginative process, The ‘Generative Mental Architecture’ model. Finally, these ideas will then be focused upon tangible goals when realized beyond their abstract origins through all together common practices which help turn ideas into realities, and, once tangible, the fruits of our mental labor when allowed to collaborate with the labors of our peers are at once transformed into powerful progressive outcomes.

a. The Definition of Imagination.

According to the entry on Imagination in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), «To imagine is to represent without aiming at things as they actually, presently, and subjectively are.» This definition speaks, quite succinctly, to the fundamentally intangible aspect of the imaginative process in a way that almost makes the act out to be somehow dishonest. To represent something without aiming at it as it actually is, is to, on some level, misrepresent the object of your imagination. Put another way, something about your imagination of a given subject is changed from its existent counterpart. This is crucial to understanding a fundamental way in which imagination specifically differs from the kind of conceptual understanding of concepts and objects which is a part of the normal learning process. While the learning process hinges on understanding things largely as they actually exist, embedded within the basic formation of any kind of 3

imaginative thought involves something new that is not yet realized as objective fact or feature.

This distinction lays the foundation for the undercurrent of tremendous latent potential within the interpersonal imaginative process which will be argued for throughout this work. Since this aspect of creation is definitionally inseparable from the act of imagining anything, we are obligated to explore how our imagination can subsequently be leveraged not only in its home of the abstract, but back in the tangible realm experienced by our physical senses. As the SEP entry goes on to specify «Unlike perceiving and believing, imagining something does not require one to consider that something to be the case.» In this sense, there is a deeply exploratory nature to the act of imagining since doing so does not commit the thinking person to convictions or beliefs about the subject of their contemplation. As will be explored once more context on discussions around imagination have been established, this situates the field of imagination as a sort of sandbox for both creative and problem solving endeavors of the mind.

b. Current Discourses in the Philosophy of Mind

The subject of imagination within the Philosophy of Mind is well regarded for its versatility in application to a great number of subject areas, taxonomy, literary distinction, knowledge generation, and so on. For the purposes of this work, we will primarily explore an area referred to as “Imagination in Cognitive Architecture” which is the ongoing activity of elucidating the nature of imagination through its relationship to other cognitive processes, drawing conclusions from “contradistinction”. The following is an overview of attempts made by contemporary thinkers to discover attributes distinct to imagination by means of contrast to other mental entities such as belief, desire, and perception.

i. Imagination in Cognitive Architecture

When placed directly adjacent to other common mental phenomena a lot can be learned about the formerly elusive practice of imagination. Compared to belief, “to believe” in this context means «to take something to be the case or regard it as true.» Imagination is distinct in that it does not connote the same regard for truth as belief. Truth claims have no agency in the realm of the imagined for something imagined is not required to hold true to a physically existent counterpart. However, it is worth keeping in one’s mind a similarity between imagination and belief «they are both cognitive attitudes that are representational.»

When compared to desire, “to desire” in this context means «to want something to be the case.» In contrast to the comparison of imagination and belief, there appears to be a lot more in common between desire and imagination. These commonalities are so pervasive that there is an attitude that can be adopted by our imaginative process referred to as “desire-like imagination”. This use of desire as a descriptor for a particular act of imagining imparts a motivated character to whatever is being imagined. To imply desire as present within the contemplation is to indicate a want for the image to become realized or obtained by those who imagine something in this way.

As a final contradistinction to help us understand the nature of our imaginative process we must examine imagination and perception; as contrasted earlier, the primary aspect of imagination to be learned here is its ability to divorce from accuracy of observation as opposed to the goal of perception chiefly being the accurate understanding of what is being perceived.

c. Imagination and Epistemology

The relationship between our central subject of imagination and the study of how we come to know things, Epistemology, uncovers a lot about norms of decision making in ourselves and others and the realm of theoretical thought. In Epistemological Study, imagination is often leveraged by subjects of study in any variety of thought experiments and dilemmas requiring complex decision making which hope to discern coherent “Theories of Knowledge” from their results. In this way the learning capacity of our imagination is on full display. Epistemologists wondered what our imagination can teach 5

us about ourselves and how we come to know things and have seen substantive returns in practice.

d. Imagination and Creativity

As alluded to above, there is a very fundamental interplay between imagination and our creative faculties. So intertwined that it could be convincingly argued that they enable one another as abstract mental processes. Dating as far back as Immanuel Kant’s magnum opus The Critique of Pure Reason, 1781, Imagination's ambitions for the aesthetic have been envisioned as one of the capacities within which « ”it is allowed to engage in free play beyond the understanding available to oneself. The unconstrained imagination can thereby take raw materials and produce outputs that transcend concepts that one possesses.” »

e. The Vivacity of Imagination

“Belief doesn’t consists in any special nature or order of ideas ·because the imagination has no limits with respect to those·, but rather in the manner of their conception and in their feeling to the mind. [...] In philosophy we can go no further than to assert that belief is something felt by the mind that distinguishes the ideas of the judgment from the fictions of the imagination.”

― David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1748

The above observation from English philosopher David Hume in his seminal work An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1748, not only reinforces the ideas expressed above, but alludes to a distinction between how vivid our sense perceptions are capable of being in comparison to the realm of our imagination. He posits through analytic argument that no conjuring of our imagination or our memory will ever be as vivid as our sensory experience in the day to day. This serves as one of the few fundamental limits of our cognitive capabilities in regards to the abstract realm, for it is one thing to imagine an object that does not yet exist, and another thing entirely to hold said object in one’s hand, straining under the full weight of its reality.

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II. The Space of Imagination

Now equipped with a thorough understanding of the act of imagination in and of itself, our focus is set to shift to the characteristics, if any, of the abstract space our mind inhabits during this process. While the resolution of this experience varies quite substantially from person to person, most can understand what is being asked of them when one commands them to imagine something in as much detail as possible.

a. The Mental Image and Aphantasia

The ‘detail’ here refers to whatever immaterial characteristics the individual exercising their imaginative faculties can give to the subject of their imagination. This type of basic imaginative exercise is often used to assess a person’s degree of imaginative capability. In more general terms, in each person, there exists an upper limit to which their mental image can produce no more detail or characteristics of what they imagine. For instance, when asked to picture a simple apple, alone in an empty space, someone with a limited mental imaging capacity might not be able to render said apple in color, or only recognize it in 2 dimensions, perhaps even in a non-realistic form. However, according to experts from The Aphantasia Network, (AN) for roughly 1% of the population, no image appears no matter how much they may try to produce one. This phenomenon, known as “Aphantasia” is named in part for the term “phantasma” as coined by Aristotle’s assertion that « ”the soul never thinks without a phantasma.” ».

This condition however is contrasted directly by that 3% of the population affected by “Hyperphantasia” which connotes a rich and vivid visual imagery flush with detail and abstract creative capability (AN). While research in this area of imaginative capabilities is fairly new, and given the scope of this work, we will forgo exceptions for these individuals for the sake of a broader application to the general imaginative public.

b. The Sandbox of the Mind

For those of us with standard imaginative capabilities the abstract mind can be thought of as containing a “Sandbox”. Sandbox here coming from the common gaming taxonomy 7

referring to a setting that is open-ended and unrestrictive, allowing for freedom of action and creative expression. When our own process of imagination is conceptualized in this way, our creative potential becomes clear.

When the real is made unreal it also becomes fundamentally unrestricted by the bounds of its former condition. As such, possibility erupts out of our imaginative faculties at a pace which can out strip our ability to keep up. In the SEP entry on Imagination subsection 3.5 ‘Creativity’ «Peter Carruthers(2002) argues that the same cognitive resources, including imagination, underlie children’s pretend play and adults’ creative thinking. Specifically, Carruthers hypothesizes that children’s play evolutionarily developed as precursors to and practices for adults’ creative thinking.» Under the framework and evolutionary understanding of the relationship between imagination and how we create, we can now shift once more. In the next section of this work we will discuss ways to leverage this creative capacity first and foremost by how we can come to conceptualize the metaphysical and subsequently ‘Metavisual’ structure of our imagination.

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III. Defining the Metavisual of Imagination as Generative Mental Architecture

a. Conceptual Metaphors for Visualization: The ‘Metavisual’

In their 2010 contribution to volume 24 of the Problems of Education in the 21st Century publication titled “Metavisualization; An Important Skill in the Learning Chemistry” authors Solange Locatelli, Celeste Ferreira, and Agnaldo Arroio from the University of São Paulo, define “Metavisualization” with the help of the following graphic.

Figure 1. Metavisualization - metacognition x visualization.

They go on to state «We can understand the metavisualization, as it is a process to monitor and regulate the internal representation of the individual.» This term therefore being understood as a dualism of internal representation and reflection on cognitive processes can help to guide the reflection of this work on mental image generation via the imagination. It is through these representative structures that we can prepare to leverage our imaginative capacities towards tangible action.

b. Some examples of ‘Metavisuals’

Pulling from a variety of references, here are some key examples of ‘Metavisuals’ which all conceptualize mental spaces differently to one another…

i. Imagination as a Higher Dimension

In Neville Goddard’s 1949 work “Out of this World: Thinking Fourth-Dimensionally” Our capacity for imagination is framed as a powerful tool for generating desired real outcomes through language dripping in biblical reference and appeals to the spiritual. This framing is spoken of as a literal interfacing with a higher ‘forth-dimension’ subsequently a deterministic lens is described in the opening pages of the work as a means to advocate for aligning one's desires with their «predetermined fourth-dimensional selves.» While parts 9

of the mysticism surrounding this framing come across as superfluous for our purposes, the abstraction here is both creative and inspiring.

ii. Imagination as a Structure

In Sir Arthor Conan Doyle’s classic literary phenomenon “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” during the story “A Study in Scarlet” The titular detective’s first reference to an imagined spatial conception of his superior memory is made. Holmes refers to the mind as a “Brain Attic.” While this is not specifically centered on structure at first, later development in reimaginings of the infamous detective would expand upon this compelling spatial metaphor, going as far as to describe the inner workings of Sherlock’s imagination as a “Mind Palace.” Viewing our minds as a physical space that we may inhabit can help greatly with our own immersion into the creative endeavors of our personal imaginative process.

iii. Imagination as a Parametric System

On the frontier of ways to conceptualize or mental faculties exists a parallel to the world of design which I hope to build upon as this work develops. The comparison of the neurochemical mechanisms which drive the physiological functions of our minds, to modern parametric three-dimensional modeling software is incredibly compelling.

In System-Parametric Analysis of a Creative Person: New Facets of Comprehension by authors, Alla Nerabasska, Halyna Taranenko, Olga Poprvako, and Inna Kuzmenko, the second section is began first and foremost with the emphasis «I would like to emphasize the importance of applying a systems approach in the cognition process. The method itself is characterized by a hierarchical pattern in object analysis.» This highlight of hierarchy and relationships between the various parts that make up a whole is a hallmark characteristic of parametric systems.

The key difference between a system that is parametric versus one that isn’t lies solely amidst these relationships. Imagine you had a square laying in front of you, if the square is ‘parametric’ and you want to transform it into a rectangle, all you would need to do is pull on one side of the square. Under a parametric framework, the connected perpendicular sides would causally extend creating the rectangle automatically. By contrast a non-parametric square would behave with each line-side functioning independent of the others and you would need to manually extend the conjoining sides in order to complete the rectangle. In other words, under a parametric paradigm, there is a causally interdependent link between the parts that the system is composed of.

With the nature of parametric systems in mind, it is worth identifying the incredible similarity this view shares with external systemic issues of our day. Just like parametric systems, emerging studies on the intersectionality of contemporary social issues posit the very same interdependency of parts to a whole. The central difference here being this interdependency serves to perpetuate these issues in a pervasive and complex manner, instead of being an asset for positive change, it is the very disease we must remedy on a larger societal scale.

c. Imagination as a Generative Mental Architecture

Informed by my extensive study of parametric design processes as a graduate student of architecture at Kansas State University, the design field as a whole is foundationally based in two things, ideation and problem solving. The labor of creation as you iterate on a foundational idea that drives decision making processes for the duration of the project timeline encompasses ideation. All the while you toil over how to solve all the problems which inevitably arise as a by-product of the program constraints. The duality of the design process is felt constantly. In so far as this relates to our imaginative capacities, we first ought to dwell on our motivations for imagination in this context in the first place. When properly considered it becomes evident that most imaginative endeavors either desire further understanding of the real through careful consideration of alternative hypotheticals, or are driven by the more fundamental human desire to create. It is this second motivation, the translation of the abstract into tangible outcomes, that can benefit directly from this perspective on imagination as a whole. Let us consider one final metavisual before turning our collective energy to a desired real effect.

A conceptual understanding of our imaginative processes ought to be some combination of the three examples referenced above so that the full potential of our creative capabilities can be actualized. I will call this new metavisual a ‘Generative Mental Architecture.’ The creativity of the dimensional framing, the immersion of the structural framing, and the potential for the parametric framing to inform our approach to systemic issues, combine to establish a unified system of thought which is uniquely positioned to help us solve problems, tackle crisis, and present effectual solutions.

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IV. The Process of Realizing the Imagined

With the nature of imagination and how we ought to conceptualize it thoroughly discussed and delineated, our focus now turns to the undertaking of transforming that imagination into some realized result. Despite the evident boundless nature of this aspect of our cognition, in order to properly translate to the real, pragmatic boundaries must be adopted during the development of our abstracted constructions. If an imagined development of a physical object doesn’t obey the laws of physics, it is reasonable to conclude the possibility of making said development occur would be all but non-existent. It remains pertinent to our endeavors however to leverage our creativity against these constraints as opposed to letting our idea die against the fires of restriction.

a. Utilizing a Creative Vision

In order to fully take advantage of a promising imaginative endeavor, take stock of the novel aspects of your vision. What makes your mission in particular both beneficial and compelling? This process can help to motivate yourself and others to take the first steps towards action. This most fundamental idea and vision for what you are attempting to 12

make real is to be your guiding light through any process of translating products of the imagination into features of the physical world.

b. Translating Idea into Action

But what steps are we actually meant to take which would bring our ideas to fruition? At this juncture, in order to get a solid idea of where to start, find out what those who have come before you have done. Engage in educational research, what went well for your predecessors, where did they go wrong? Answering questions of this variety is the first step in creating a plan of action to enact your ideas upon your environment.

Suppose your goals lie in local advocacy for a given social cause. After utilizing your imagination to generate a vivid cognitive architecture of a novel solution to the cause for which you are passionate, look for examples of advocacy in that field within your local community and places like it. Become knowledgeable of any shortfalls and success stories you may come across such that you feel empowered to enact the change you wish to see in the world.

c. Proximity of Specifics and Timelines

As thrilling as it may sound to hit the ground running all at once, it is of particular importance that you keep a sensible perspective of time as it relates to your goals. Change and creation take time especially on larger scales, typically, the more you want to do, the longer it’s going to take. Map out each step with expected outcomes and timelines so as to keep your expectations realistic and in lock-step with your generated outcomes once you start to see returns for all of your efforts.

It can be especially crucial in these sorts of creative and problem-solving endeavors to let the specificity and details of your goals and actions come into focus as they become closer to the present day. If you have something planned related to your goals for a couple months from now, best to know the general details, when, where, who, desired outcome, etc. If a particular goal is sought after for years down the line, this type of detail resolution is not yet necessary. In contrast, If there is an important meeting with people who can make your vision come to life scheduled for that afternoon, it becomes pertinent that you have as many of the most minute specifics ironed out ahead of time as possible. What is your proposal? How will you be convincing? What do they stand to gain from your collaboration? It’s best that you are confident in the answers to all of these questions in order to produce desirable outcomes pursuant to your mission and vision.

d. Expect the Plan to Change

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

― Seneca, 5 BCE - 65 CE

There are plenty of good reasons why plans and initiatives fail, chief among them, unexpected or unaccounted for change. It is a misguided assumption that all factors outside your direct control will stay favorable to your goals as you work to achieve them. Things change, attitudes shift, and windows of opportunity close. Outside of extenuating circumstances such as institutional privilege or discrimination, the above quote often attributed to famous roman stoic philosopher Seneca, appeals to the need for preparation to produce what is often considered blind luck. For our purposes, one of the most pressing conditions to prepare for is the reality that the journeys our ideas take to become reality won’t always follow the path we attempt to neatly set out for them. Therefore, we must come to expect these deviations and stay steadfast in our determination and patience as we pursue our goals.

e. Goal Setting and Personal Achievement

When making plans and setting goals that intend to facilitate a personal achievement of some sort, we need to keep in our mind how much to map out, and what to leave alone as that which is outside of our control. As individuals, our goals and achievements are almost entirely our own when pursued independent of others. Whether it's a passion project or a personal challenge to see how far you’ve come, the agency that comes from this type of activity cannot be overstated.

Equipped with total creative freedom and only the limits of your personal ambition and schedule, the appeal of ‘working alone’ is obvious. Goals which only you are beholden to can be both easier to achieve, and easier to adjust when faced with adversity as opposed to more collaborative endeavors; However, while this form of utilizing our imaginative and creative capacity for action can be both tremendously fulfilling and deeply personally rewarding it is important for us to understand that this represents only the beginning of the change that is possible.

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V. Leveraging this Capacity to Communal Means

Taking a solid step back to broaden our perspective, reveals the opportunity all of this discussion has been building to. When a creative vision is brought forward to a community and developed in concert with others, it is made immeasurably better as a result. A shared cause, elevated by the masses, is the only form of imagination truly capable of changing the world on a comparatively measurable scale. As such, there are key ways our strategies for realizing these goals must differ resultant from the increased scope of our refined vision. So much more is possible given the means and resources of a communal effort, the activity of collaboration itself, the diverse ideas and perspectives of your collaborators, and the potential for coordinated parallel action can all serve to magnify the impact of the collective endeavor.

The journey necessary to realize an imagined goal is of course augmented as a result. New opportunities beget new challenges to be overcome, and new challenges necessitate innovative approaches to action. These innovations then, are able to be generated by our calibrated mental architecture which, as mentioned earlier, is perfectly situated to problem solve in this manner. A generic set of actions that relate more to the communal process of social change than the individual are as follows:

a. Imagining with a Collective

As opposed to the total freedom elicited by being allowed to imagine independently, imagining in unity with others intrinsically requires compromise. The minutiae of each individual's desire will have to be carefully aligned to represent the muti-faceted needs of 15

the engaged populace. The consequence of this phenomena being a lower sense of authority on the project for each individual involved; However, the value of what is to be gained from this compromise is not to be understated. For it is through this careful compromise that each member of the collective can feel heard and respected.

This is when the bond of your shared mission will form, every member will begin to feel as though they are a part of something much larger than themselves. From this point onward dedication to the accomplishment of your shared mission will increase exponentially. With a dedicated collective ready to fight for progress and societal change for the better, the strength of collective action is ready to be harnessed.

b. The Strength of Collective Action

The capabilities of large swaths of the public dedicated to shared causes is well documented. From Civil Rights to Stonewall, Vietnam to Women’s Suffrage, when the masses leverage their power in response to injustice, the normative fabric of our collective culture shifts significantly. In all of the groundwork laid up to this point, if done right, change at this scale and beyond becomes possible.

Considering the context of our contemporary socio-political situation, the attitudes towards the needs of the public have become much more overtly hostile compared to our institutional history. It seems imperative to disclose the potential need to consider alternate approaches to collective action to meet the needs of the moment. This is, of course, in keeping with strategies discussed earlier, the contemporary conditions have changed, and so too should our approach to solving the intersectional issues which still persist.

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VI. Collaborative Social Progress Under a Shared Vision

As an emerging academic voice doing everything I can to understand the conditions of the society which I am about to enter, the recent decline in hard-won civil liberties is both tangible and seemingly omni-present. The sensory demand of everyday life has penetrated every second of engagement with the world around us. The rise of hyper-optimized addictive products and artificial social engagement posts engineered to generate outrage work tirelessly to siphon corporate profit from our attention and our time. Past it all, there are the very real and devastating impacts of systemic intersectional violence both at home and abroad. Given the pace at which injustice seems to prevail over joy and fellowship, It can be all too easy to retreat into cynicism, dejection, and defeat.

Even so, it remains our responsibility, in the absence of proper representative advocacy on the part of our leaders, to fight for our chance to be a part of a future that is kind to us all instead of needlessly bitter and antagonistic on the account of perceived socio-cultural differences. This is the underlying imperative that, while political, is an unavoidable condition of the environment that has been forced upon us by our predecessors. Said imperative then, calls for us to depend on each other, to prove that the collaborative power of our collective spirit is both real and powerful. Within the recent cultural movement among my peers, there lies dormant an optimistic potential for tremendous progressive development that utilizes our collective power of imagination towards a vision of a more equitable future.

a. The Potential for a Better World

To get to this imagined better world is shaping up to be a long and arduous journey which will certainly be anything but linear. Progress is never simple or easy, as discussed above, the timeline of any given attempt at creation or enacting change is directly proportional to its scale. Given even momentary consideration of the tremendous existential change that we are confronted with, the size of the barrel we appear to be looking down becomes obvious. The shared trauma inflicted by our bleak condition serves as a convenient equalizer across the diverse spectrum of our unique impressions of our own humanity. An essential habit for us to form then, is to grip the possibility of emerging from the other side of this endeavor victorious, tighter than ever before. The necessary paradox of conviction that is required of us speaks not only to our conviction as a collective, but our magnificent resilience that, when examined inspires the very hope required for its continued persistence.

The obligation we readily recognize to ourselves and those who will come into this world after us (an obligation largely ignored by our predecessors) is one of our most fundamental activating agents. This agent drives the growing presence of individual activism seen in recent years. The absence then, of widespread success of these efforts, lies not in the efforts themselves, but their lack of communal co-ordination. If we shifted the focus of our efforts not upon individual glory and hero narratives but instead collaborative effort in equal steps with our fellow ‘sufferers’

b. Recentering Community and Mutual Aid

This shift in focus or essential ‘recentering’ on community can first be completed as an adjustment of our personal imagination of the future. Once this task is accomplished for each of us, we will be renewed. Revived with a fresh perspective on interpersonal community, empathy, and what we have in common, we will, all at once, be able to more effectively lean on one another. With community and collaboration at the heart of our efforts, we will be all the more resilient against the efforts of those powerful few who stand to gain at the expense of our well-being, the exploited and vulnerable masses.

Under this new shifted paradigm our imaginative capacity as a group stands a much greater chance to succeed against those who would prefer to maintain the existing systemic structures of power and oppression from which they currently benefit. In this brave imagined future we stand to gain for our tireless efforts, might we be more free to follow our subjective desires unshackled by existential and metaphysical responsibilities.

Additionally, it’s worth challenging the assumption that victories for the working public necessitate loss in equal measure for the privileged. It does not take a terribly developed imagination to fathom a reality in which the less fortunate can be taken care of 18

without others taking their place. It is worth earnestly considering whether it may be possible for the unhoused, impoverished, and disenfranchised to enter a calm non-existence not through a gruesome physical end, but a conceptual one. Given the tremendous amount of affluence and capital that exists in our world, there is at least one distribution of that wealth that might keep every citizen out of pertinent financial distress.

c. Everyone Rises with the Tide

In the United States as well as other developed nation-states, there exists an incredibly prevalent “Winner take all” attitude which influences responses to ideas which are partial to collective benefit, an ‘everyone rises with the tide’ ethos. As a result of the false pretense that “if someone wins, someone else has to lose” any proposition in which there are no real losing parties is regarded with both tremendous suspicion and contempt. Subsequently it has become all that more difficult to develop positive social change while being taken seriously by those with the ability to enact it.

This condition of being forced to begin 3 extra steps behind the proverbial starting line, elicites, as it is designed to, a substantive decrease in motivation and patience by activists. Resulting, however unfortunately in more combative interactions with the powerful institutions we wish to change, opening the door for our efforts to be more effectively labeled as extreme, further delegitimizing our collective causes. This is an example of important ways that the system which we are forced to operate within makes it more difficult for progress to be made. Making it all the more pressing to make it clear that a strategy for social development in which ‘everyone rises with the tide’ is not only possible but fundamentally rational and humane in a complex society of free and independent citizens.

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VII. Conclusion

Throughout this extensive investigation into the nature of our imaginative faculties and how they can be leveraged for positive individual and communal outcomes, we have covered first and foremost a working definition of what it is to imagine. Then, an overview of the state of conversations surrounding imagination in the field of the Philosophy of Mind was discussed at length. Once that grounding was established, the relationships between our imagination and other fundamental fields of philosophy were elucidated and arguments were given surrounding the capacity of imaginative force as it compares to our more tangible sense perceptions. This discussion then evolved to cover our process of producing mental images and the boundless nature of abstract space. Within this framework, spatial metaphors for how to conceptualize our visualization process, defined succinctly as ‘Metavisuals’, were contemplated from a variety of references which all conceptualize mental spaces differently to one another.

I then put forward my own Metavisual for the imaginative process, The ‘Generative Mental Architecture’ model. This model for visualizing our imaginative capacity leveraged the most useful aspects of the prior models to create an optimal lens through which to continue our discourse.

Finally, these ideas were focused upon tangible goals when realized beyond their abstract origins through all together common practices which help turn ideas into realities. Once tangible, the fruits of our mental labor when allowed to collaborate with the labors of our peers were at once transformed into powerful progressive outcomes within our current socio-political paradigm. To conclude, I will share a few final key takeaways from the process of discovery which was attempted throughout this work.

a. Imagination is the Window to the New

The most novel and substantive distinction from imagination and its proverbial cognitive neighbors is its ability to divorce from fact and belief with a freedom to glimpse that which has not yet become real, not the future, but the new and novel. This is an incredibly powerful tool, as we have seen, that can be leveraged as a generative creative force to contribute positively to your own life and the lives of others. Of all of the 20

features unique to humanity, this creativity through imagination, has enabled our most substantive growth and our ability to transform both the external environment and our own mental-emotional landscapes.

By careful and practiced study of this exceptional glimpse our minds offer us to what can be we become capable of tremendous development and growth. As a result, we have an obligation to leverage these capabilities towards equitable ends, for who would we be if we waged destruction instead?

b. Change is Only Possible Together

As a single individual when situated against problems of the magnitude we are faced with everyday, it is crucial to keep at the front of your mind that there is only so much you will be able to do alone. If we instead lean on each other and systematically reinforce one another’s efforts towards positive and substantive socio-political change, our impact will compound upon the goals of our comparatively meager former ambitions. As mentioned above, with community and collaboration at the heart of our efforts, we will be all the more resilient against the slings and arrows of our opposition.

When together, progress can be made towards realizing the world we wish to experience first hand in our own personal future. In order to get there, we will need to work together in a similar spirit to movements from our shared history and learn from their successes and failures in order to more effectively leverage our collective abilities as we apply these lessons to our contemporary socio-political environment. During this long effort we can take solace in knowing that we are doing all we can to bring about our collective vision for a more just and equitable future.

c. Our Debt to The Future

Finally, we must keep at the front of our collective perception of our systemic condition the obligation we have to ourselves and the future generations who are to inherit the condition we leave the world in to them. We are faced with a sort of “categorical imperative” per Immanuel Kant, though instead of an overarching ethical absolute, we are called upon to foot the bill for the damages done unto the world by our current and former leaders such that future generations will not have to suffer as we have through sweeping systemic injustice and shared societal trauma. This debt must be paid, and if not by us, the window of opportunity to pay the ‘outstanding bill’ might expire in its totality. Should this come to pass, irreparable and tangible human and environmental suffering will be the result. Since the stakes are so colossal, the critical nature of our obligation could not be clearer.

We ought to be thankful then that our capacity to imagine paths forward which don’t have such a grave result is capable of inspiring the very actions that may cause those paths to be pursued. In other words, our answer to the future is to work to pay the debt and create the world that those who will inherit it after us truly deserve.

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VIII. Bibliography

1. Carruthers, Peter, 2002, “Human Creativity: Its Cognitive Basis, Its Evolution, and Its Connections with Childhood Pretence”, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 53(2): 225–249. doi:10.1093/bjps/53.2.225

2. Doyle, A. C. (2001). The adventures of sherlock holmes. Electric Book Co.

3. Goddard Neville (author). (1901). Out of this world thinking fourth-dimensionally. Goddard Neville (author). Distributed via Smashwords.

4. Goodreads. (n.d.). A quote by Seneca. Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/17490-luck-is-what-happens-when-preparation-meets-opportunity

5. Hendel, C. W. (1955). Hume: An inquiry concerning human understanding. Pearson Custom Publishing.

6. Liao, Shen-yi and Tamar Gendler, "Imagination", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/imagination/>. 22

7. Locatelli, Solange & Ferreira, Celeste & Arroio, Agnaldo. (2010). Metavisualization: an important skill in the learning chemistry. Problems of Education in the 21st Century. 24. 75.

8. Nerubasska, Alla & Taranenko, Halyna & Popravko, Olga & Kuzmenko, Inna. (2022). System-Parametric Analysis of a Creative Person: New Facets of Comprehension. Postmodern Openings. 13. 254-266. 10.18662/po/13.1/395.