The list of images that a person operates during his life includes not only objects or phenomena that exist in objective reality. This may be something that was not previously perceived directly by the individual: the distant past or future, places where he never is and never will be, living beings that do not exist in the Universe. Answering the question what is imagination, the main characteristic of which are images that are amazing for everyday life, we can say that this is going beyond the real world both in time and in space.
However, worldly and scientific definitions of human fantasies are very different. In the first case, this is just everything that is unreal, not corresponding to the reality around us, and therefore not endowed with any practical significance. Scientists do not quite share the opinion of ordinary people about what imagination is. Its definition from a scientific point of view covers all aspects of the cultural life of an individual and provides an incentive for the development of artistic, scientific and technical creativity.
On the Phenomenon of Imagination
Man is the only living being on our planet who tends to fantasize, that is, reflect the future and act in accordance with the expected (imaginary) situation, using his sensations, perception and thinking.
Speaking about what imagination is in biology, we can say that these are cognitive processes of representing any future events, which are based on the creation of new images, processed as a result of perception, thinking and knowledge about the world of a particular individual, that were obtained in previous life situations. The essence of any fantasy is the transformation of objective reality, in which there are objects and phenomena that have no points of contact with reality. It is this phenomenon that is the most important in the process of becoming a person as an acting subject.
About thinking and imagination
Soviet psychologist Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky called these two processes close both in structure and in function. They are characterized by him as extremely related, with a similar origin and structure. Speaking about what imagination is in psychology, the scientist considered it a necessary, integral moment of thinking, especially creative thinking, explaining this by the fact that the thinking process includes both forecasting and anticipating events.
Various problem situations make a person think, fantasize, form in the mind an idea of what can be done, strengthening the motivation for finding a solution and determining its direction. Degree of uncertaintycontroversial moments of life determines the importance of the role of the imagination, which performs its functions even if the initial situation is incomplete, supplementing it with the products of its activity.
L. S. Vygotsky's Law of Emotional Reality of Imagination
Speaking about what imagination is in psychology, one cannot ignore its connection with emotional-volitional processes, called, in accordance with the teachings of Lev Vygotsky, the law of the emotional reality of imagination. Its main manifestation is the appearance of true, and not imaginary, emotions when an image appears in the human mind. This contributes to the realization of the desired and the prevention of unwanted psychological impact. For example, while thinking about a situation, a person may experience unpleasant emotions when considering a certain scenario, which makes him look for other ways to solve the problem.
Continuing the theme of what imagination and fantasy are, we should mention the fact that both of them can influence human emotions and feelings. The clearest manifestation of this postulate is frequent anxiety about not real, but imaginary events. The surest way to deal with this is to change the fictional image. This will help reduce anxiety and relieve psychological stress.
"Trying on" the experiences of other people helps to form and show feelings towards them, such as empathy or empathy. Representing in his mind when performing any actions their final result, a personencourages himself to do so. The brightness of the image is directly related to the motivating force, but its realism and meaning play the main role.
Imagination is one of the significant factors influencing the comprehensive development of the individual. The ideals rooted in fantasies, to which a person strives, trying to imitate them, become examples for him, in accordance with which he organizes his life, personal and moral development.
What are human fantasies?
Earlier, we have already talked in general terms about what imagination is. The definition and characteristics of a narrower nature directly depend on what kind of it is in question in each particular case under consideration.
Imagination is divided into several types.
According to the degree of purposefulness, it can be::
- active;
- passive.
Based on results:
- productive;
- reproductive.
According to the degree of willpower:
- arbitrary;
- involuntary.
Also the individual's imagination can be:
- recreative;
- creative;
- realistic;
- sociological.
Active fantasies
Answering the question "What is active imagination?", it can be characterized as the process of creating various images in the individual's brain, which are realized in the future through practical efforts and actions and are reflected in the products of human activity. This type of fantasy is sometimes time consuming and requires a lot of effort. Nevertheless, it helps to increase the creative content and efficiency of both labor and other activities of the individual.
Passive fantasies
Speaking of what passive imagination is, one should especially note the fact that it in no way pushes a person to commit active actions, and therefore does not carry any practical meaning. Its main purpose is to satisfy the ambitions of a person with the images drawn by him. The dreamer himself in this case does not strive to translate his dreams into real life or dreams of what is impossible. Such a person is called a utopian or a fruitless dreamer.
Productive fantasies
Speaking of what a person's imagination is, we usually mean those dreams in which there is a huge number of new, different or little reminiscent of already known dreams, fantastic elements. Their experts rank as productive. This type of imagination can be reflected in various cultural fields, especially in painting and literature.
Reproductive imagination
This type is characterized by the fact that in its results there are a large number of fantasy elements already used by someone, although there is also something new. Basically, these are attempts by people starting their creative path to create their works based on well-known samples, and thusimprove your professional skills.
Hallucinations
Speaking of what imagination is, in most cases we mean the fact that it is born as a result of the thinking of a he althy person. However, hallucinations are the product of altered consciousness. The reason for their occurrence can be mental illness, hypnotic influence, the use of drugs or alcohol and other psychotropic substances.
Dreams
These products of the human imagination are aimed at the future that man desires. They mostly contain fairly realistic and usually feasible plans for school, work, career and family. This form of imagination is typical of young people who have most of their lives ahead of them.
Dreams
This peculiar type of fantasy is characterized by isolation from objective reality, and in most cases it will never be possible to bring images from them to life. They are a cross between hallucinations and dreams, but it should be remembered that, unlike the first, dreams are products of the activity of normal human consciousness.
Dreams
Dreams have always been of particular interest to brain scientists. Today, scientists tend to believe that they reflect the process of processing various information by consciousness, and dreams are not only functionally related to this activity, but can also contain human dreams and dreams, as well as new valuable ideas and discoveries. It's appropriate hererecall the Russian chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, who, according to legend, saw the periodic table of elements in a dream, later named after him.
Involuntary fantasies
Speaking of what imagination is, experts in one way or another associate it with the will of a person. Images with its involuntary type are created as a result of the activity of a weakened consciousness. This may be half-drowsy or a state of sleep, as well as some mental disorders. The process in this case is not controlled in any way and is completely unconscious.
Free imagination
This type is referred to as a conscious, directed activity, in which the individual fully understands its motives and goals. It is characterized by the deliberate creation of images, and the arbitrariness and activity of the imagination are combined in various ways. Daydreams are vivid examples of passive arbitrary imagination, and long-term purposeful search, characteristic of the work of writers, artists and the work of inventors, is an active one.
Recreative Imagination
This type is based on the creation of images of objects that were not previously perceived by the individual in their finished form, despite the fact that he has an idea about similar objects and their individual elements. Probably everyone knows well what spatial imagination is. But not everyone understands that it is recreative. All images are formed in reality through drawings, drawings and other similar schemes using the available relativelythem knowledge. The elements are more flexible, varied, dynamic and reproductive.
Creative imagination
It is a process of self-creation by the creator of new, unlike anything images, embodied in the original results of various activities. At the same time, the creator's indirect reliance on his past life experience is minimal, and only the flight of his imagination plays the main role.
Realistic imagination
Occurs when you believe in the possibility of bringing the created images to life. It is characterized by anticipation of the future, the ideal presentation of the result before it is achieved. There are many examples in the literature of how an image or situation, born only of the writer's imagination and considered unrealistic, is exactly repeated in objective reality.
Sociological imagination
It is difficult to argue with the fact that the life of an individual cannot be separated from the life of society. Speaking about what sociological imagination is, we can say that it is the ability to recognize the relationship of everything that happens in reality, taking into account structural, cultural and historical conditions. This variety also considers actions performed by both individual and collective social actors that form a complex and heterogeneous human society.
Having talked in detail about what imagination is, highlighting its varioustypes and describing their features, we can safely say that none of the many types of creativity can not be imagined without an element of fantasy, be it science, literature, painting. In a general sense, this is an anticipation of what is not yet there, but which, perhaps, will become part of our life. Imagination is directly related to intuition, conjecture, insight. Each person is more or less inclined to fantasize, but one should not forget about real life, so that dreams do not become painful hallucinations, and the built castles in the air do not collapse into gray everyday life.
