What imagination teaches
Name
971250136-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
6.6 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
2939a83b9cea4f46f5883b28a0af6bfc
Author(s)
Ortiz-Hinojosa, Sofia
Advisor(s)
Alex Byrne.
Date Issued
2016
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
An investigation of the imagination, as both a mental process and a capacity to acquire knowledge about the world and other minds. It is argued that imagination is a unique mental process, whose primary feature is the capacity to construct and manipulate sets of mental representations. This feature unifies the diverse activities we call imaginings into a single class. In addition, use of this capacity in a rule-based way, under the constraint of prior beliefs, can help us acquire knowledge of everyday facts. An examination is then made into the limitations of such a capacity. It is argued that imagination can aid in rational decision-making, even in cases which may involve substantial transformation of the agent. Finally, a case is made that we can improve our capacity to gain knowledge of the mental states of others by careful application of imagination.
Description
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects
Linguistics and Philosophy.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
Terms of Use
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.
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