Active and passive imagination according to Voltaire. Imagination as a mental process. About the phenomenon of imagination

Passive imagination- a kind of imagination, in which the goal of using its results is not set and it itself can arise regardless of the desire of the subject.

A person's passive imagination is represented by two subspecies, depending on the presence or absence of awareness of its occurrence.

1. Passive deliberate imagination(or dreams) represent the creation of images of the imagination, which are initially perceived by a person as unreal, unrealizable, ghostly, dreamlike. However, passive intentional imagination is recognized by a person as his own and is formed under his conscious influence. Dreams usually occur in a person with a weakened control of consciousness, more often in a half-asleep state. At the same time, control is manifested in the selection of fantastic pictures, and only those that would arouse the desired feelings in a person, were accompanied by peculiar emotional states, figuratively called "sweet sadness". These are pictures of the pleasant, but obviously unrealizable.

2. Passive unintentional imagination creates images in special states of a person or his organism, when a person does not control the process of creating these images. Dreams and hallucinations are varieties of passive unintended imagination.... Under dreaming Many scientists understand imaginative images that arise in humans during REM sleep, and represent the creation of new images as a result of a combination of images extracted from long-term memory and perception images obtained during the previous day. Hallucinations it is a psychological phenomenon in which a seeming image appears in the absence of a real external stimulus outside the clouding of consciousness. This image is assessed by a person without criticism, as a truly truly existing object. The hallucinating subject is unable to abandon the inner conviction that he has sensory sensations at a given moment, that the object he feels really exists, although this object does not act on him. In this, hallucination differs from illusion, which distorts the image of the object actually acting on the senses. The causes of hallucinations can be organic in nature (exposure to drugs, alcohol, poisonous substances, temperature of lack of oxygen, etc.) and psychogenic in nature (a state of passion).

Active imagination A feature of active imagination is the fact that, at its core, it is conscious, proceeding with the vigorous activity of thinking. It also has two subtypes: recreational imagination and creative imagination.

1. Recreational imagination this kind of imagination, in the course of which new images arise based on the perception of descriptions, diagrams, drawings, musical notations, etc. His images are relatively new and usually the goal of this type of imagination is to create an image as close as possible to the real one. This type of imagination plays a leading role in learning, allowing the student to understand the essence of the phenomenon through the images of the studied phenomenon.

2. Creative imagination is a kind of imagination, during which a person independently creates new images that have personal or social value.

Dream- this is the activity of the imagination, manifested in the creation of optimistic plans, the implementation of which a person expects in the future. Of all the manifestations of active, voluntary imagination, the dream is especially strongly woven into human life. From early childhood to ripe old age, a person constantly hopes for something, waits for something. The dream is a great motivating force that makes us work hard to achieve the results we want.

The images with which a person operates include not only previously perceived objects and phenomena. The content of images can also become what he never perceived directly: pictures of the distant past or future; a place where he has never been and never will be; creatures that do not exist, not only on Earth, but in general in the Universe. Images allow a person to go beyond the real world in time and space. It is these images, transforming, modifying human experience, that are the main characteristic of imagination.

Usually, imagination or fantasy does not mean exactly what is meant by these words in science. In everyday life, imagination or fantasy is called all that is unreal, does not correspond to reality and that thus has no practical meaning. In fact, imagination, as the basis of all creative activity, is equally manifested resolutely in all aspects of cultural life, making artistic, scientific and technical creativity possible.

Through sensations, perception and thinking, a person reflects the real properties of objects of the surrounding reality and acts in accordance with them in a specific situation. Through memory, he uses his past experiences. But human behavior can be determined not only by the current or past properties of the situation, but also by those that may be inherent in it in the future. Thanks to this ability, images of objects appear in human consciousness that do not exist at the moment, but can subsequently be embodied in specific objects. Ability to reflect the future and act as expected, i.e. imaginary, the situation is characteristic only of a person.

Imagination- the cognitive process of reflecting the future by creating new images based on the processing of images of perception, thinking and ideas obtained in previous experience.

Through imagination, images are created that have never been generally accepted by man in reality. The essence of imagination is to transform the world. This determines the most important role of imagination in the development of man as an acting subject.

Imagination and thinking are processes that are similar in structure and function. LS Vygotsky called them “extremely related”, noting the commonality of their origin and structure as psychological systems. He considered imagination as a necessary, integral moment of thinking, especially creative, since the processes of forecasting and anticipation are always included in thinking. In problem situations, a person uses thinking and imagination. The idea of ​​a possible solution formed in the imagination strengthens the motivation of the search, and determines its direction. The more uncertain the problem situation is, the more unknown it is, the more significant the role of imagination becomes. It can be carried out with incomplete initial data, since it supplements them with products of its own creativity.

There is also a deep relationship between imagination and emotional-volitional processes. One of its manifestations is that when an imaginary image appears in a person's mind, he experiences true, real, and not imaginary emotions, which allows him to avoid unwanted influences and bring the desired images to life. L. S. Vygotsky called it the law of "emotional reality of imagination"

For example, a person needs to cross a stormy river by boat. In imagining that the boat might capsize, he experiences not imaginary, but real fear. This prompts him to choose a safer way of crossing.

Imagination can influence the strength of emotions and feelings experienced by a person. For example, people often experience a feeling of anxiety, anxiety about only imaginary, not real events. Changing the image of the imagination can reduce the level of anxiety, relieve tension. Representing the experiences of another person helps the formation and manifestation of a sense of empathy and empathy towards him. In volitional actions, the representation in the imagination of the final result of the activity encourages its implementation. The brighter the image of the imagination, the greater the motivating force, but at the same time the realism of the image also matters.

Imagination is a significant factor in personality development. Ideals as an imaginary image that a person wants to imitate or to which he strives, serve as models for the organization of his life, personal and moral development.

Types of imagination

There are different kinds of imagination. By the degree of activity imagination can be passive and active. Passive imagination does not stimulate a person to take action. He is satisfied with the created images and does not seek to realize them in reality, or draws images that, in principle, cannot be realized. In life, such people are called utopians, fruitless dreamers. NV Gogol, creating the image of Manilov, made his name a household name for this type of people. Active imagination is the creation of images that are subsequently realized in practical actions and products of activity. Sometimes this requires a lot of effort from a person and a significant investment of time. Active imagination enhances creative content and efficiency in other activities.

Productive

Imagination is called productive, in the images of which there is a lot of new (elements of fantasy). The products of such imagination are usually not like anything or very little like what is already known.

Reproductive

Reproductive is imagination, in the products of which there is a lot of what is already known, although there are also some elements of the new. Such, for example, is the imagination of a novice poet, writer, engineer, artist, who at first create their creations according to well-known models, thereby learning professional skills.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are called products of the imagination, born of an altered (not normal) state of human consciousness. These conditions can arise for various reasons: illness, hypnosis, exposure to psychotropic substances such as drugs, alcohol, etc.

Dreams

Dreams are products of the imagination aimed at the desired future. Dreams contain more or less real and, in principle, realizable plans of a person. Dreams as a form of imagination are especially characteristic of young people, who still have a large part of their lives ahead of them.

Daydreaming

Dreams are called peculiar dreams, which, as a rule, are divorced from reality and, in principle, are not realizable. Dreams occupy an intermediate position between dreams and hallucinations, but their difference from hallucinations is that dreams are products of the activity of a normal person.

Dreaming

Dreams have always been and still are of particular interest. Currently, they are inclined to believe that the processes of information processing by the human brain can be reflected in dreams, and the content of dreams is not only functionally connected with these processes, but can include new valuable ideas and even discoveries.

Arbitrary and involuntary imagination

Imagination is connected in various ways with the will of a person, on the basis of which voluntary and involuntary imagination is distinguished. If images are created with weakened activity of consciousness, imagination is called involuntary... It takes place in a half-asleep state or in a dream, as well as in some disorders of consciousness. Arbitrary imagination is a deliberate, directed activity, performing which, a person is aware of its goals and motives. It is characterized by the deliberate creation of images. The activity and the arbitrary nature of the imagination can be combined in various ways. An example of an arbitrary passive imagination is dreams, when a person deliberately indulges in thoughts that it is unlikely to ever come true. Arbitrary active imagination is manifested in a long, purposeful search for the desired image, which is typical, in particular, for the activities of writers, inventors, and artists.

Recreational and creative imagination

In connection with past experience, two types of imagination are distinguished: recreational and creative. Re-creating imagination is the creation of images of objects that were not previously perceived by a person in a finished form, although he is familiar with such objects or with their individual elements. Images are formed according to a verbal description, a schematic image - a drawing, a picture, a geographic map. At the same time, the knowledge available with respect to these objects is used, which determines the predominantly reproductive nature of the created images. At the same time, they differ from memory representations in a great variety, flexibility, and dynamism of image elements. Creative imagination is the independent creation of new images that are embodied in original products of various types of activity with minimal indirect reliance on past experience.

Realistic imagination

Drawing various images in their imagination, people always assess the possibility of their implementation in reality. Realistic imagination takes place if a person believes in reality and the possibility of embodying the created images. If he does not see such an opportunity, fantastic imagination takes place. There is no hard line between realistic and fantastic imagination. There are many cases when an image, born of a person's fantasy as a completely unrealistic one (for example, a hyperboloid invented by A.N. Tolstoy), later became a reality. Fantastic imagination is present in the role-playing games of children. It formed the basis of literary works of a certain genre - fairy tales, science fiction, “fantasy”.

With all the variety of types of imagination, they are characterized by a common function that determines their main importance in human life - anticipation of the future, an ideal representation of the result of an activity before it is achieved. Associated with it are other functions of the imagination - stimulating and planning. The images created in the imagination induce, stimulate a person to realize them in concrete actions. The transformative influence of imagination extends not only to the future activity of a person, but also to his past experience. Imagination promotes selectivity in its structuring and reproduction in accordance with the goals of the present and the future. The creation of images of imagination is carried out through complex processes of processing of actual perceived information and memory representations. Just as in thinking, the main processes or operations of the imagination are analysis and synthesis. Through analysis, objects or ideas about them are divided into their component parts, and with the help of synthesis, an integral image of the object is rebuilt. But unlike thinking in imagination, a person more freely handles the elements of objects, recreating new holistic images.

This is achieved using a set of processes specific to the imagination. The main ones are exaggeration(exaggeration) and understatement of real-life objects or their parts (for example, creating images of a giant, genie or Thumbelina); accentuation- emphasizing or exaggerating real-life objects or their parts (for example, Buratino's long nose, Malvina's blue hair); agglutination- the combination of various, real-life parts and properties of objects in unusual combinations (for example, the creation of fictional images of a centaur, a mermaid). The specificity of the imagination process is that they do not reproduce certain impressions in the same combinations and forms in which they were perceived and preserved in the form of past experience, but build new combinations and forms from them. This reveals a deep inner connection between imagination and creativity, which is always aimed at creating something new - material values, scientific ideas, or.

The relationship of imagination and creativity

There are different types of creativity: scientific, technical, literary, artistic and others. None of these types is possible without the participation of imagination. In its main function - anticipation of what does not yet exist, it conditions the emergence of intuition, guesswork, insight as the central link in the creative process. For the scientist, imagination helps to see the studied phenomenon in a new light. In the history of science there are many examples of the emergence of images of the imagination, later realized into new ideas, great discoveries and inventions.

The English physicist M. Faraday, studying the interaction of conductors with current at a distance, imagined that they were surrounded by invisible lines like tentacles. This led him to the discovery of lines of force and the phenomena of electromagnetic induction. The German engineer O. Lilienthal observed and analyzed the soaring flight of birds for a long time. The image of an artificial bird that appeared in his imagination served as the basis for the invention of the glider and the first flight on it.

Creating literary works, the writer realizes in the word the images of his aesthetic imagination. Their brightness, breadth and depth of the phenomena of reality covered by them are subsequently felt by the readers, and they evoke feelings of co-creation in them. LN Tolstoy wrote in his diaries that "when perceiving truly artistic works, the illusion arises that a person does not perceive, but creates, it seems to him that he has produced such a wonderful thing."

The role of imagination is also great in pedagogical creativity. Its specificity lies in the fact that the results of pedagogical activity do not appear immediately, but after some, sometimes a long time. Their representation in the form of a model of the child's personality being formed, the way of his behavior and thinking in the future determines the choice of teaching and upbringing methods, pedagogical requirements and influences.

All people have different creative abilities. Their formation is determined by a large number of different kinds of aspects. These include innate inclinations, human activities, environmental characteristics, conditions of education and upbringing that affect the development of a person's mental processes and personality traits that contribute to creative achievements.

Imagination is the mental process of creating an image of an object, a situation by restructuring existing ideas. The images of the imagination do not always correspond to reality; they have elements of fantasy, fiction. If imagination draws pictures to consciousness, to which nothing or little corresponds in reality, then it is called fantasy. If the imagination is directed towards the future, it is called a dream. The process of imagination always proceeds in inseparable connection with two other mental processes - memory and thinking.

Types of imagination

• Active imagination - using it, a person by an effort of will, of his own free will, evokes the corresponding images in himself.
• Passive imagination - its images arise spontaneously, apart from the will and desire of a person.
• Productive imagination - in it, reality is consciously constructed by a person, and not just mechanically copied or recreated. But at the same time, in the image, she is still creatively transformed.
• Reproductive imagination - the task is to reproduce reality as it is, and although there is also an element of fantasy, such imagination is more like perception or memory than creativity.

Imagination functions:

1. Figurative representation of reality;
2. Regulation of emotional states;
3. Arbitrary regulation of cognitive processes and human states;
4. Formation of an internal action plan.

Ways to create images of the imagination:

• Agglutination is the creation of images by combining any qualities, properties, parts.
• Accentuation - highlighting any part, details of the whole.
• Typing is the most difficult technique. The artist depicts a specific episode that absorbs a lot of similar ones and thus is, as it were, their representative. In the same way, a literary image is formed, in which the typical features of many people of a given circle, of a certain era are concentrated.

Imagination processes, like memory processes, can differ in the degree of arbitrariness, or intentionality. Dreams are an extreme case of involuntary work of the imagination, in which images are born unintentionally and in the most unexpected and bizarre combinations. Involuntary in its essence is also the activity of the imagination, which unfolds in a half-asleep, drowsy state, for example, before falling asleep.

Among the various types and forms of free imagination, recreational imagination, creative imagination and dream can be distinguished.

Recreational imagination is manifested when a person needs to recreate a representation of an object, as fully as possible corresponding to its description.

Creative imagination characterized by the fact that a person transforms ideas and creates new ones not according to the existing model, but independently outlining the contours of the image being created and choosing the necessary materials for it.

Dream is a special form of imagination - independent creation of new images. The main feature of a dream is that it is aimed at future activities, i.e. a dream is an imagination directed towards a desired future.

If voluntary, or active, imagination is intentional, i.e. associated with the volitional manifestations of a person, then passive imagination can be intentional and unintentional. Intentional passive imagination creates images that are not associated with will. These images are called dreams. In dreams, the connection between the imagination and the needs of the individual is most clearly revealed. The predominance of dreams in the mental life of a person can lead him to a separation from reality, withdrawal into a fictional world, which, in turn, begins to slow down the mental and social development of this person.

Unintentional passive imagination is observed with a weakening of the activity of consciousness, its disorders, in a half-asleep state, in a dream, etc. The most significant manifestation of passive imagination is hallucinations, in which a person perceives non-existent objects. When classifying the types of imagination, there are two main characteristics. This is the degree of manifestation of volitional efforts and the degree of activity, or awareness.

Passive imagination

Characterized by the creation of images, which are not embodied in life; programs that do not run or cannot be executed at all. At the same time, imagination acts as a substitute for activity, its surrogate, due to which a person refuses the need to act. Passive imagination can be:

1 ) deliberate - creates images (dreams) that are not associated with the will, which could contribute to their implementation; the predominance of dreams in the processes of imagination indicates certain defects in the development of personality;

2 ) unintentional - observed with a weakening of the activity of consciousness, with its disorders, in a half-asleep state, in a dream.

Dictionary of the Practical Psychologist. - M .: AST, Harvest... S. Yu. Golovin. 1998.

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Imagination involuntary (passive)- - the appearance of internal images without a conscious intention to evoke them. And gradually he falls into sleep And feelings and thoughts, And before him the imagination His motley pharaoh rushes. Then he sees: on the melted snow, As if sleeping at an overnight stay, Immovable ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

The main feature of a dream is that it is aimed at future activities, that is, a dream is an imagination aimed at a desired future. Moreover, several subtypes of this type of imagination should be distinguished. Most often, a person makes plans for the future and in his dream determines the ways to achieve what he has planned. In this case, the dream is an active, voluntary, conscious process.

But there are people for whom the dream acts as a substitute for activity. Their dreams are only dreams. One of the reasons for this phenomenon, as a rule, lies in the failures in life that they constantly suffer. As a result of a series of failures, a person refuses to fulfill his plans in practice and plunges into a dream. In this case, the dream appears as a conscious, arbitrary process that has no practical end. It should be noted, however, that this type of dream cannot be regarded only as a negative phenomenon. The positive meaning of a dream of this type is to ensure the safety of the mechanisms of regulation of the body's systems. For example, failures in practical activity in most cases contribute to the formation of a negative mental state, which can be expressed in an increased level of anxiety, a feeling of discomfort, or even depressive reactions.

A dream is called a form of special internal activity, which consists in creating an image of what a person would like to accomplish. A dream differs from dreams in that it is somewhat more realistic and is more connected with reality, i.e. in principle feasible.

Dreams take up a fairly large part of a person's time, especially in adolescence, and for most people are pleasant thoughts about the future, although some also have disturbing visions that give rise to feelings of anxiety and aggressiveness. The process of imagination is rarely immediately realized in the practical actions of a person, therefore a dream is an important condition for the implementation of a person's creative powers. The need for a dream is that, being initially a simple reaction to a highly exciting situation, it then often becomes an internal need of the individual. The dream is very important even in primary school age. The younger the dreaming child, the more often his dreaming not so much expresses his direction as creates it. This is the formative function of the dream.

A dream can be close or distant, light or unattainable, large or small, it may not even exist at all, be absent, but the space for it always remains potentially free. The path to a dream begins long before we discovered it. It consists of the events of our life, successes and disappointments, achieved and rejected plans, meetings, experience, knowledge. All these fragments at a certain moment line up into a new integrity, gather into one "magic knot that merges the fractional world together." This is the moment of the appearance of a dream; by its birth, it rebuilds the potential inter-event connections of the chronological past, present and future. We wake up in the morning, and the first thing we do is check ourselves - yes, what seemed like a mirage did not dissipate as an obsession - the dream here shines in all its splendor, attracting to itself with a presentiment of the fullness of life and happiness. As A. France wrote, “There is great wisdom to keep the inclination to dream. Dreams give the world interest and meaning. "

Questions to the audience:

1. Define active imagination?

2. What types of active imagination do you know?

3. When do we use the recreational imagination?

4. What is the characteristic of creative imagination?

5. How is a dream different from creative imagination?

Passive imagination.

Passive imagination is devoid of efficiency, it is characterized by the creation of images and plans that are not embodied in life. In this case, imagination acts as a surrogate for activity, with the help of which a person avoids the need to act.

Passive imagination can be intentional and unintentional. (Fig. 2.)

Fig. 2. Types of imagination.

Hallucinations.

The most significant manifestation of passive imagination is hallucinations, in which a person perceives non-existent objects. As a rule, hallucinations are observed in some mental disorders. Hallucinations are called fantastic visions that apparently have almost no connection with the surrounding reality.

Usually, they, as a result of certain disorders of the psyche or the work of the body, accompany many painful conditions.

Hallucination (from Lat. Hallucination - delirium, vision) - imaginary images of objects and situations, perceived as real, but absent in reality, arising spontaneously, without sensory stimulation. Caused by internal mental factors (as opposed to illusion, which is a distorted perception of external stimuli). Back in the 7th century. Indian philosopher Kumarilla Bhatta expressed conjectures in tune with modern conjectures about deceptions of human perception. The illusory nature of the image, he argued, is determined by the perversion of the relationship between an external object and an organ. The causes can be defects in the sense organs, as well as such disorders when memory images are projected into the outside world and become hallucinations.

Some hallucinations can have a bright sensory color, persuasiveness and be projected outside and be indistinguishable from real perceptions. Such hallucinations are called true. Others are perceived by inner hearing or vision, localized in the inner field of consciousness and felt as a result of the influence of some external force causing visions, voices, etc. This phenomenon, described at the end of the 19th century. Russian psychiatrist V.Kh. Kandinsky is called pseudo-hallucinations.

A hallucinating patient, simultaneously with false images, can adequately perceive reality. At the same time, his attention is distributed unevenly, often shifting towards deceptions of perception. Understanding of the painfulness of hallucinations is mostly absent, the patient behaves in the same way as if what seemed to him was actually happening. Often, hallucinations, no matter how irrational their content may be, are more relevant for the patient than reality, and patients treat them as well as the corresponding real phenomena. Patients are intently staring at something, turning away, closing their eyes, looking around, brushing off, defending themselves, trying to touch or grab something with their hand, listen, plug their ears, sniff, throw something off their body, etc. Under the influence of hallucinations, various actions are performed that reflect the content of perceptual deceptions: patients hide, look for something, catch, attack others, sometimes try to kill themselves, destroy objects, defend themselves, flee, complain, etc. With auditory hallucinations, one speaks aloud with "voices." As a rule, patients believe that others perceive the same as they do in their hallucinations - they hear the same voices, experience the same visions, smell. Emotional reactions are clearly expressed, the nature of which reflects the content of perception deceptions: fear, rage, disgust, enthusiasm.