The Philosophy of Imagination: Technology, Art and Ethics

Combining perspectives from both continental and analytic philosophy, this timely volume explores how imagination today both shapes and is shaped by technology, art and ethics. Imagination is one of the most significant and broadly examined concepts in contemporary philosophy and is frequently understood as a basic human faculty that enables complex activities. This book shows, however, that imagination is more than a mere enabler. Whilst imagination shapes our experiences, it is at the same time shaped by our environments. Some of the most creative manifestations of imagination are the result of its two-way interaction with art or technology, or both. In short, imagination co-shapes us. Beyond the traditional perspectives of Kant and Heidegger, The Philosophy of Imagination: Technology, Art and Ethics examines our dynamic relationship with imagination, from contemporary technological advancements such as AI that transform the whole ecosystem to imagination in the context of videogames and literary fiction. Analysing societal imagination, it addresses the relationship between the racial imaginary and white ignorance, as well as the effects that societal mechanisms such as lockdowns can have on our imagination. Taking its cue from the here and now, this volume brings together leading international scholars to investigate how the concept of co-shaping allows us to see imagination and its crucial role in society in new and productive ways. Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Editors’ Introduction Imagination, Technology, Art, and Ethics Philosophy of Imagination across the Analytic-Continental Divide The Book’s Layout Part I: Imagination and Technology Chapter 1: Technologically Related Imagination: Postphenomenology and the Art of Dibutades Two General Approaches to the Imagination A Third Approach: Phenomenology Postphenomenology Chapter 2: Can Algorithms Imagine? Introduction Imagination in Kant and in Algorithms Imagination and Creativity The Layer Model Co-Shaping Summary Chapter 3: Emaginary; or Why the Essence of (Digital) Technology Is by No Means Entirely Technological Introduction From Imagination to Imaginary From Imaginary to Sociotechnical Imaginary From Emagination to Emaginary Conclusion: Emages Chapter 4: Techno-Activism Introduction Hybridity and Imagination in Engineering Studies Scaffold: A Framework for Hybridity and Imagination Hybrid Imagination = Hybridity + Imagination Hybridity as Interdisciplinarity Hybrid Imagination and the Body Sublime Hybrid Imagination—Liminality at Its Limits Hybrid Imagination, Technology, and Evolution Techno-Activism in the Perspective of Hybrid Imagination Discussion and Conclusion Part II: Imagination and Ethics Chapter 5: White Ignorance and the Racial Imaginary Race in Our Social Imaginaries White Ignorance and Denial Hesitation and Resistance Chapter 6: Moving in a World You Cannot See: From Imaginative Perception to Creative Moral Imagination Imaginative Perception Imaginative Perception and Moral Action Moral Creativity Chapter 7: Narrative and Imagination in Times of Global Pandemics The Blame Narrative: A Global Story Alternative Narratives Conclusion Part III: Imagination and Art Chapter 8: Poetic Imagination and Technology: A Dialectical Assessment Introduction First Moment: Poetry and Technology Intertwined Second Moment: Segregation (Art-for-Art’s-Sake) Technology and Poetic Imagination According to Jules Verne Third Moment: Negation of the Negation Discussion and Conclusion Chapter 9: Am I in Wonderland as Alice Is? The First-Person Perspective in Imaginative Art and Game Experiences Introduction De se Imagination and First-Person Imaginative Experiences First-Person Perspective and de se Imagination in Art and Game Experiences From First-Person to de se Imagination: A Transformation of the Self in Art and Game Experiences? Chapter 10: Representation, Expression, Exemplification: Paul Ricoeur, Nelson Goodman, and the Role of Imagination in the Metaphorical Process The Representative Illusion and the Metaphorical Process Expression—Exemplification Imagination and Truth Chapter 11: Imagination and Images between Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy Mental Images Imagination and the Perceptual World Imagination and Pictorial Images Conclusion Part IV: Imagination, the Human, and the Contemporary World Chapter 12: Why Imagination Needs Socratic Ignorance Introduction Recombining Reality Dreaming of Futures Questioning Imaginaries with Socratic Ignorance Imaginaries in Robotics as a Business Model Discussion and Conclusion Chapter 13: Ryle and Sartre against Hume’s Theory of the Imagination Introduction Sartre against the “Classical Conception” of the Imagination Sartre against Hume’s Distinction between Perception and Imagination Sartre against Hume’s Conception of Mental Images Ryle on Descartes’ Myth Ryle against Hume’s Criterion of “Liveliness” Ryle against Hume’s Copy Principle Conclusion Chapter 14: Enactive Imagination: Its Roots and Contemporary Horizons Introduction What Is Enactive Imagination? Roots of Enactive Imagination Contemporary Horizons Conclusion and Future Directions Acknowledgments Chapter 15: Phantasy and Technologically Embedded Imagination: A Phenomenological and Postphenomenological Analysis Introduction Phenomenology: Imagination and Phantasy Postphenomenology between Imagination and Technologies Conclusions Notes Contributors Index