Image Credit: Allison Gould
As we return from our winter hiatus with our first posts of the decade, this week The Junkyard gets into the retrospective spirit. We asked five friends of the blog – Peter Langland-Hassan, Margherita Arcangeli, Shen-yi Liao, Aaron Meskin, and Bence Nanay – to reflect on the previous decade and give us a “Top Five” list relating to imagination. There were no other requirements – we thought we’d give them free rein to come up with whatever they wanted, and we hope you’ll agree that it’s an interesting set of ruminations. We’ll be running one of these lists each day this week. Next week, we’ll resume our regular weekly postings.
A post by Aaron Meskin.
Top use of the (constructive) imagination: N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season
World-building at its finest.
Top (imagination) cocktail. “100 Miles to Filey”
I’ve discussed this in The Junkyard before. The cocktail functions by directing you to imagine a walk on the North Yorkshire coast. And it is stunning. Go to Below Stairs in Leeds, UK and ask for it.
Top (imagination) debate: fiction and imagination
What is the connection between fiction and imagination? Many philosophers think there is a close connection between the two. But there was vigorous defense of the ‘no special connection’ thesis this past decade.
Top (imagination-related) paper: Fiona McPherson “Cognitive Penetration of Colour Experience: Rethinking the Issue in Light of an Indirect Mechanism”
I’m not the only one who found this paper incredibly useful.
Top (imagination) trend: X-phi meets the imagination.
Is imaginative resistance a robust phenomenon? Some philosophers have said no. But research by experimental philosophers suggest it is robust. And their experiments are beginning to provide some real insight into what underlies it.
Bonus pick: Top (imagination) blog: The Junkyard
A model of what an academic blog can be. I’m also a huge fan of The Routledge Handbook of Imagination (top imagination resource of the decade!), but I don’t want Amy to get a big head.
Aaron Meskin is Head of Philosophy at the University of Georgia. His research interests include experimental aesthetics, the philosophy of food, and the philosophical issues raised by various underexplored art forms and genres.