The Architecture of the Imagination: New Essays on Pretence, Possibility, and Fiction / Edition 1

by Shaun Nichols

Overview

This volume brings together specially written essays by leading researchers on the propositional imagination. This is the mental capacity we exploit when we imagine that Holmes has a bad habit or that there are zombies. It plays an essential role in philosophical theorizing, engaging with fiction, and indeed in everyday life. The Architecture of the Imagination capitalizes on recent attempts to give a cognitive account of this capacity, extending the theoretical picture and exploring the philosophical implications.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199275731
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	11/09/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Shaun Nichols is Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at the University of Arizona. He is the author of Sentimental Rules (OUP, 2004), and co-author, with Stephen Stich, of Mindreading (OUP, 2003).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Shaun Nichols

Editorial Reviews

"While the simulation theory/theory-theory debate over mindreading informs several of the chapters, The Architecture of the Imagination expands the discussion of imagination beyond the confines of this debate. It is the only collection on anyone interested in the topic. The essays provide a valuable overview of current work on the propositional imagination and insight into its potential philosophical significance. They also indicate the ways in which philosophical, psycho9logical, and neuroscientific considerations can illuminate each other. "This collection demonstrates the way in which essays that are both empirically informed and philosophically sophisticated can greatly improve our understanding of the imagination."

From the Publisher