Thinking Through the Imagination: Aesthetics in Human Cognition

272 Pages·2014·2.13 MB·English

by  John J. Kaag

Thinking Through
the Imagination
B

American Philosophy
Douglas R. Anderson and Jude Jones, series editors

Thin king Through
the Im agination
Aesthetics in Human Cognition
B
John Kaag
Fordham University Press New York 2014
Copyright © 2014 Fordham University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kaag, John J., 1979–
Th inking through the imagination : aesthetics in human cognition / John
Kaag. — First edition.
pages cm — (American philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8232-5493-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Imagination (Philosophy) 2. Aesthetics. 3. Cognition. 4. Kant,
Immanuel, 1724–1804. 5. Schiller, Friedrich, 1759–1805. 6. Peirce, Charles S.
(Charles Sanders), 1839–1914. I. Title.
BH301.I53K33 2014
111'.85—dc23
2013006701
Printed in the United States of America
16 15 14 5 4 3 2 1
First edition
Contents
B
Ac know ledg ments ix
1 Th e Cultivation of the Imagination 1
2 Enlightening Th ought: Kant and the Imagination 25
3 C. S. Peirce and the Growth of the Imagination 57
4 Abduction: Inference and Instinct 75
5 Imagining Nature 93
6 Ontology and Imagination: Peirce on Necessity and Agency 120
7 Th e Evolution of the Imagination 139
8 Emergence, Complexity, and Creativity 165
9 Be Imaginative! Suggestion and Imperative 192
Notes 211
Bibliography 235
Index 249

Ac know ledg ments
B
L
ike most people, I became acquainted with the imagination at a
rather early age. In my case, the meeting took place as a child in my
mother’s backyard garden. My mother ensured that my contact with the
imagination would not be a passing acquaintance. She taught her chil-
dren to acknowledge and actualize the possibilities that life aff ords even,
and perhaps especially, when they were not readily apparent. Th is was an
especially useful lesson for a not- so- young child who hoped to go into
the discipline of philosophy, a fi eld that looks a bit barren at fi rst glance.
To the extent that this book is a function of my education as a phi los o-
pher, and to the extent that my mother and brother urged me to acquire
this education, I have them to thank for the writing of this book.
I began this project under the guidance of Douglas Anderson, who, as
my mentor and friend at Penn State, encouraged me to roam freely over
a variety of academic fi elds and to focus carefully when the roaming
became listless. Mark Johnson, Scott Pratt, and John Lysaker helped me
remember that this careful focus on analysis and argumentation could
be the stuff of imagination and meaning. Th is is to say that they were
ideal graduate professors. Much that is correct or beautiful about this
book I owe to their guidance and willingness to converse; the mistakes
and boring bits are, of course, my own. I would like to thank a number of
other peers and colleagues who have helped me give shape to this book:
Frank Oppenheim, Robert Innis, John McDermott, Joseph Margolis,
Erin McKenna, Mat Foust, Kim Garchar, Jeff Downard, Michael Raposa,
Roger Ward, and Rob Main. Dawn Aberg’s help in proofi ng and editing
the fi rst draft of the volume was extremely helpful. I thank Rogers Hol-
lingsworth and Gerald Edelman for encouraging me at a crucial point
in the development of the manuscript, on a spring aft ernoon when I was
{ ix }
x Ac know ledg ments
very much inclined to draw this analysis of the imagination up short.
Much of this research was supported by the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences and the Harvard Humanities Center; I thank Patricia
Meyer Spacks and David Sehat for their invaluable encouragement and
criticism over the course of the research and writing.
Finally, there is a person who does not fall neatly into the category
of peer, or friend, or mentor, or supporter, or critic, or family member.
Carol Hay plays all of these roles— seamlessly, creatively, joyfully. No
other person has done more in helping me think through the imagina-
tion, through its risks and potentialities.