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Imagination in the Western Psyche: From Ancient Greece to Modern Neuroscience offers a comprehensive treatment of the human imagination by integrating the rich discourse on imagination in the humanities with modern neuroscientific research. This book is the first to offer an integrated understanding of imagination from both a humanistic (i.e., historical, philosophical, cultural, depth psychological) and scientific perspective.
The book presents neurobiological accounts that align with prominent theories in Jungian and archetypal psychology and offers a window into the many ways imagination can be understood. It elaborates on the discourse on imagination in Western civilization that goes back thousands of years. Chapters analyze how imagination has been considered throughout history and contrasts a modern neuroscientific approach that looks at imagination by studying its component parts without addressing the phenomenon in all its experiential richness and complexity. By bringing these two approaches together an account of the human imagination emerges that is grounded in scientific rigor without diminishing the fullness of human experience.
This book will appeal to academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of analytical psychology, depth psychology, Jungian studies, and psychotherapy
List of contents
PART 1. INTRODUCTION. 1. CHASING IMAGINATION. 2. MEASURING THE IMAGINAL. PART 2. IMAGINATION AS PHENOMENON 3. A BRIEF HISTORY OF IMAGINATION FROM PREHISTORY TO THE RENAISSANCE. 4. IMAGINATION IN MODERNITY. 5. IMAGINAL PSYCHOLOGY. PART 3. THE NEUROSCIENCE OF IMAGINATION. 6. SENSE AND IMAGE 7. TIME AND STORY. 8. CREATIVITY AND DREAM. PART 4. THE IMAGINATION OF NEUROSCIENCE. 9. IMAGINATION IN SCIENCE. 10. NEUROSCIENCE AS STORY AND MYTH. 11. CONCLUSION
About the author
Jonathan Erickson, a writer and educator, holds a BA in English literature from UC Berkeley and a PhD in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, California, USA
Summary
Imagination in the Western Psyche: From Ancient Greece to Modern Neuroscience offers a comprehensive treatment of the human imagination by integrating the rich discourse on imagination in the humanities with modern neuroscientific research. This book is the first to offer an integrated understanding of imagination from both a humanistic (i.e., historical, philosophical, cultural, depth psychological) and scientific perspective.
The book presents neurobiological accounts that align with prominent theories in Jungian and archetypal psychology and offers a window into the many ways imagination can be understood. It elaborates on the discourse on imagination in Western civilization that goes back thousands of years. Chapters analyze how imagination has been considered throughout history and contrasts a modern neuroscientific approach that looks at imagination by studying its component parts without addressing the phenomenon in all its experiential richness and complexity. By bringing these two approaches together an account of the human imagination emerges that is grounded in scientific rigor without diminishing the fullness of human experience.
This book will appeal to academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of analytical psychology, depth psychology, Jungian studies, and psychotherapy
