“Imagination is more important than
knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world”- Albert
Einstein
Introduction
Imagination according to my Oxford dictionary
refers (1) the process of forming mental
images or concepts of external objects not present in the senses, the result of
this process, (2) the process of forming mental images or concepts of external
objects not present in the senses, and of their relations to each other or to
the subject (3) scheming or devising a plot or a fanciful project, expectation
or anticipation (4) The faculty of fanciful thought. The creative faculty of
the mind, the ability to frame new and striking concepts. (5) The mind
thinking, thought and opinion.
Philosophical enquiry has retreated from the view
imagination is a discrete function of the mind to one that covers the full
gambit of human experience, as is evident in this definition.
Hence philosophical discussion ranges from
debates over how the imagined mental images are represented in our minds;
whether they pictorial or descriptive or in combinations -for what is mostly
analysed as visual imagery distinct to the sensory modalities. Others posit the
interaction between imagination and mental images is a function of
consciousness that just presents possibilities. But as the elegant quote from
Einstein concludes I think we can say imagination has no boundaries and applies
across the full spectrum of our rich human experience.
Evidence for the wider reach of imagination can be found in many
expressionist forms; to underpin artful expression across all genres, in
enhanced learning, in prompting or acting as a catalyst for new discoveries or
in providing a bridge between nature and culture and so the list goes on.
In this essay I will attempt to shed some thoughts on (1) How is
imagination formed in the mind (2) How imagination becomes intertwined
inextricably into a culture and (3) the downside where images can become a
paradigm to erroneous conclusions that can persist for centuries. Finally I ask the question can we
imagine the possibility of intergenerational cellular development in biological
traits that generate images from one generation to another.
How is imagination formed in the mind?
Imagination allows us to engage in the creation
of many and varied types of mental images which are prompted from stimuli. The
stimuli in turn references what is already known to construct existing or new
or altered images in the mind in many different ways. Our curiosity can be the
stimuli to ignite our imagination, so if I was to imagine what life was like on
say a corral island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which I had never
visited, what comes to mind is: a limited local food supply, scarcity of water,
possible bathing in the ocean, reliance on imports, exposure to global warming
etc. That imagined view of life on the island comes from memory stored in the
outer regions of the brain, which came from what I read in books, newspapers,
TV, video and so on. The stimuli in curiosity over life on the island activates
the search in memory, for those images
or material which will be disseminated into imagined life experiences in that
far off unvisited location. So that image will be dependent upon the
quality of the information previously stored versus the actual experience, say
if we were to visit to view the position first hand so to speak. Even so, we may still be caught up in the
paradigm created previously to only see what we expect, rather than to be open
to change or spot the nuances that may be important in avoiding
superficiality.
But our imagination can also rescue us from difficult situations or be
our downfall when we fail to imagine opportunities. Nowhere is this more
evident in relation to some of the early explorers who perished when engagement
with the aborigines would have saved their lives; to introduce them to bush
tucker.
An indication as to how imagination is intertwined
inextricably into a culture
Imagination is thought to be one of the key drivers in our evolution since
it gives us the power to imagine differing landscapes and lands from others to
facilitate our survival. In other words to be able to imagine where we had
been, in stored images in memory and what resources were associated with those
regions. This in turn enhanced our ability to survive and spread out over ever
wider geographical areas.
Aborigines were thought to have migrated to Australia possibly up to 60,
000 years ago when the climate became very dry. This meant that survival was even more dependent upon travel to and fro
to territories according to the availability of food and resources which became
predictable with the changing patterns in climate.
This requires even more imagination, to spot the landscape patterns, the
seasonal influences and so forth which then became integral to their culture. The
landscape, the hunts and so forth stimulated imaginative enquiry, to become
integral to their customs, social behaviour and creative expression, since
all were in tune with that of nature. Hence the celebration of that
changing landscape was enshrined in the images in song and dance ceremonies
across the nations, to transcend language differences. Opinions differ on the
dreamtime creation stories, which some suggest might relate back to blurred
images of the original migratory journeys. A good description can be found in: The
dreamtime was central to their rich spiritual life; in mythical creation
stories, ceremonial art, music, ritualistic practice; initiation rites into
adulthood; and in the repository of knowledge of the law handed down from one
generation to another. Within the tribal system adolescents were isolated away
from the rest of the tribe under the control of elders who provided tutelage on
all matters of their law until they were sufficiently aware to make the
positive transition to adulthood which carried with it the responsibility
towards their tribe and the environment upon which they were dependant -
Charles P Mountford – The Dawn of Time.
The downside where images can become a paradigm to
erroneous conclusions that can persist for centuries-as was the case for the
Australin aboriginal.
The absence
of a written language, combined with the embedded visual idea that civilisation
was indicative of ownership and cultivation of land, helped obscure the reality
of advanced nation representative of the Australian aborigines. The distorted image
that has persisted from the early days of the colonisers is only recently being
replaced by a better understanding of their rich culture, underpinned by science,
a rigid system of education, farming and a deep spiritual affinity to the land.
Notwithstanding some notable exceptions
the paradigm of the distorted image of the primitive nomadic native tribes has persisted.
This paradigm, confirmed in the images and in superficial enquiry In contrast they
lived as a society united under an incredibly complex kinship system, under groups
responsible for the custody of the land, and their languages and philosophies. Evidence
exists of an advanced knowledge of astronomy, enabling them to very accurately predict
the tides, guide their travel and understand the seasons. There are many
examples which suggest there were groups of astronomers who understood lunar
eclipses which adorned cave walls. There is evidence of agriculture, grain
storage and trade agreements between the nations including the trade of water rights
commensurate of any advanced civilizations.
Herein this evidence was largely undiscovered by the colonisers because
first early images became the paradigm of what was expected in the future. Such a superficiality was
even embedded in the erroneously described textbooks I studied as a child of a
nomadic highly primitive people. Hence this leads me to conclude how easy it is
for us to retain images in the brain which at times, in isolation can so easily
be assimilated with other information to form erroneous conclusions that remain
unchallenged for centuries.
A final thought
Finally I return to where I began to ask can we imagine the possibility
of intergenerational cellular development in biological traits that generate
images from the time of our entry out of the womb. Certainly there is some
evidence of severe trauma encountered by one generation can be transmitted to a child, possibly due to a hereditary
factors which are unconnected to the
direct behaviours of a parent towards that child. But I am afraid, for the time being, my
imagination on this topic is temporarily exhausted so I hope to re-evaluate
this question in more depth sometime in the future.
