Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IAL (Imagination As A Lens)
Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2020-08-31
The aim of the project was to try to work out what it is that we mean when we talk of the imagination. In more detail, the aim was argue for a unified conception of imagination, the lens approach, via three research objectives: (1) to motivate a unified conception of imagination by arguing that it’s possible and desirable; (2) to articulate and argue for the lens approach as the best such conception; (3) to apply the approach to two problems of imagination, thus demonstrating its utility. The project's importance owes to to the central place imagination takes in our thinking about how we interact with others, appreciate art, and perform other important social functions.
During the reporting period, the main researcher conducted philosophical research into the questions of the project, resulting in a number of papers submitted for publication, and a draft of a book proposal.
The project was curtailed early, owing to the researcher's acceptance of a permanent academic position. The results described above thus encompass the results of the entire project. Progress beyond the state of the art has been made in critiquing currently prevalent views of imagination in philosophy, and advancing an alternative. Wider societal implications are hard to discern at present, but may emerge in the future.