
Imagination and Truth
Creative Discovery in the Platonic Tradition
John V. Garner(Author)
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 10. December 2026
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-350-54306-5 (ISBN)
Description
In dialogue with contemporary continental and Anglo-American philosophers, John V. Garner explores the ancient idea that imagination plays a role in disclosing reality.
Inspired in particular by Plato, Aristotle, Proclus, and Islamic Neoplatonism, this book argues that, far from merely a personal projection by the psyche, the act of imagining can also be a mode of creative discovery.
Examining the basic principles of this ancient understanding of imagination in the first chapter on Proclus, Garner then proceeds to test and redevelop the concept through engagements with seminal thinkers including Susanne K. Langer, Paul Ricoeur, Cornelius Castoriadis, Henry Corbin, Amy Kind, and others. Building a more nuanced picture of disclosive imagination, he analyses such views as Langer's, on imagination's role in uncovering structures of everyday experience that transcend language, as well as significant debates surrounding poetic or scientific imagination in the works of Ricoeur, Castoriadis, and Corbin.
But what does this mean for creativity today? Far beyond a history of imagination, Imagination and Truth suggests several significant practical consequences. For one, it allows for a fresh understanding of global traditions, cultures, and the arts as creating and disclosing truths we can learn from. Furthermore, it concludes with an urgent call for genuine public spaces - from public deliberative zones to educational spaces - which are crucial for enabling society to collectively discern and engage with the truths that imagination discloses.
Inspired in particular by Plato, Aristotle, Proclus, and Islamic Neoplatonism, this book argues that, far from merely a personal projection by the psyche, the act of imagining can also be a mode of creative discovery.
Examining the basic principles of this ancient understanding of imagination in the first chapter on Proclus, Garner then proceeds to test and redevelop the concept through engagements with seminal thinkers including Susanne K. Langer, Paul Ricoeur, Cornelius Castoriadis, Henry Corbin, Amy Kind, and others. Building a more nuanced picture of disclosive imagination, he analyses such views as Langer's, on imagination's role in uncovering structures of everyday experience that transcend language, as well as significant debates surrounding poetic or scientific imagination in the works of Ricoeur, Castoriadis, and Corbin.
But what does this mean for creativity today? Far beyond a history of imagination, Imagination and Truth suggests several significant practical consequences. For one, it allows for a fresh understanding of global traditions, cultures, and the arts as creating and disclosing truths we can learn from. Furthermore, it concludes with an urgent call for genuine public spaces - from public deliberative zones to educational spaces - which are crucial for enabling society to collectively discern and engage with the truths that imagination discloses.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
503 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-54306-5 (9781350543065)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John V. Garner is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of West Georgia, USA. His recent publications include The Emerging Good in Plato's Philebus (2017).
Content
Preface
Introduction
Part I - Disclosive Imagination
1. Disclosive Imagination in Proclus
Part II - Dialogues
2. Langer and the Elements of Imaginative Presentation
3. Castoriadis on Imagination, Autonomy, and Truth
4. Imaginal Reality and Immanent Transformation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Part I - Disclosive Imagination
1. Disclosive Imagination in Proclus
Part II - Dialogues
2. Langer and the Elements of Imaginative Presentation
3. Castoriadis on Imagination, Autonomy, and Truth
4. Imaginal Reality and Immanent Transformation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index