History of Psychology: Conceptions of Imagination

This course explores the nature of imagination from a History of Psychology viewpoint. The topic is framed in an evolutionary context; then relevant concepts are traced from preliterate societies to the present. Imagination is examined: as an archaic way of knowing; in relation to historical notions of body, mind, soul and spirit; as cognitive faculty or process; with respect to beliefs about health and illness; and as studied qualitatively and quantitatively in Modern Psychology.