Imagination is an important, groundbreaking and influential aspect of the human psyche. First of all, what is it exactly? How can we define it? Furthermore, what are the good and bad aspects of imagination? I would like to say that imagination is mostly good, in the sense that it has more pros than cons. The only negative aspect I can find about imagination will be explored here.
What is imagination? Oxford has two main definitions of the term:
Imagination:
1) the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.
2) The ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.
These definitions show the two sides of imagination. One, is to create images, sounds and other things in the mind. Secondly, the quality of being creative is another way to understand imagination.
Now that we sorted that out, what are the pros and cons of having an imagination.? Let’s start with the pros. One can create something out of nothing if they exercise their imaginative faculties. All invention and innovation stems from peoples’ imagination. That is how significant this phenomenon is. Moreover, all art and scientific creations also come from individuals’ imagination. Imagine a world without songs, scientific knowledge or business products. How impoverished will our collective lived experience be in that case? We should thank imagination for a lot of what we have, experience and enjoy!
The one negative I can see is more medical. If you imagine all the time, like all day, everyday, then you can start experience social deficits. I read a case when someone was having social problems because of their habit of being withdrawn and imagining all the time. This does not mean we should never imagine. It just means that we should strike the right balance between imagination and life.
There you have the pros and cons. What are your thoughts on this topic. Do you think we should imagine more or less? What about the link between imagination and creativity, innovation and invention, do you think that is real? Please leave all your thoughts, concerns and ideas in the comments section. Also, please remember to like and share this post, as well as follow me, if you choose to do that. Many thanks WordPress community, I’ll be posting again soon.
Until then,
Mahmoud
Writers in the Dualeh Family 