Imagination,
Mental Imagery,
Consciousness, and Cognition:
Scientific, Philosophical and Historical Approaches.

A resource for the study of imagination and mental images and their relevance to the understanding of consciousness and cognition, as approached primarily through the methods of analytical philosophy, experimental psychology, cognitive science, and the history of ideas/intellectual history.

Site created & maintained by
Nigel J.T. Thomas Ph.D.

I am a philosopher, cognitive scientist, and historian of science and psychology. I teach part-time as an adjunct professor, at California State University, Los Angeles, and, on-and-off, at other colleges in the Los Angeles area. Click here for my Curriculum Vitae. I have a particular research interest in what I believe to be the closely related topics of imagination, mental imagery, consciousness, conscious thought, and intentionality. This page provides access to some of my writings (published and unpublished) on these topics (and on the history of science). I also provide several lists of commented links to other online resources that may be useful to students of these topics. Since consciousness and cognition are already so well served, this site will concentrate mainly on linking to material on imagination and mental images. (And if anyone wants to offer me a job...

Email me!

My Writings

Each of the links listed below leads to an article of mine, or sometimes to an abstract linked to the article itself. Items that have already been formally published in refereed journals, books, etc., or are accepted for publication and currently in press, are marked with an asterisk (*). Most of the other items were presentations at academic conferences.
Nigel J.T. Thomas Ph.D.

Mental imagery, imagination, and conscious thought:

• Encyclopedia and Dictionary entries (relatively introductory):

  • An Introduction to the Science and Philosophy of Mental Imagery.*
    This is now published in the Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science (Macmillan/Nature Publishing, 2003) under the title "Mental Imagery, Philosophical Issues About". However, it provides a brief but comprehensive guide to imagery theories in Cognitive Science generally, and not just in philosophy, so it seems appropriate to give it a more meaningful title here. It provides a concise version, or abstract, of much of the material covered in more depth and detail in my Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry (below). As well as providing and defending a definition of "mental imagery", I cover the history of ideas about the topic in philosophy, experimental psychology, and cognitive science, and outline the latest theories. I also consider the relevance of imagery theory to philosophical issues such as the nature of intentionality, mental representation, and consciousness. There is a glossary of key terms, references, and a brief "further reading" list.

  • Entry on Mental Imagery from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.*^{(Last updated September 4, 2007)}
    This is now very much revised and expanded, and now includes new sections covering: imagery in ancient times and in other cultures; imagery in Classical and Early Modern philosophy; mental rotation and other evidence that imagery has inherently spatial characteristics; the problem of demand characteristics in imagery experiments; the notorious "imagery debate" (a.k.a. the "analog-propositional" debate) of the 1970s; Kosslyn's quasi-pictorial theory; and more recent theoretical and empirical developments, including enactive theory, the work on the neurological syndrome of representational neglect, and recent attempts to revive something very like the traditional image theory of cognition. Of course, the previously available material (somewhat restructured and revised) is still there as well. This covers: the definition of "mental imagery"; the subtle but significant terminological problems that have bedeviled discussions in the field; other quasi-perceptual phenomena; the history of imagery research in scientific psychology before the advent of cognitive science (i.e., the work of Wundt; James; Külpe and the Würzburg school; Titchener; Perky; the imageless thought controversy; Jaensch's Nazi eidetics; Freud's attitude to imagery; gestalt psychology; motor theories of imagery; and the behaviorist rejection of imagery); imagery in 20th century philosophy, imagery in the cognitive revolution; the mnemonic effects of imagery; and Paivio's dual coding theory and the conceptual issues it raises. The already large annotated bibliography (with work from psychology and AI as well as philosophy) has also been greatly expanded and updated.
    Please email me with any comments or suggestions concerning the Stanford Encyclopedia entry. It can always be revised.

  • Entry on Imagination in the online Dictionary of Philosophy of Mind.*
    This consists of a concise definition, an extended discussion section, and a brief bibliography.

• Articles, Conference Papers, etc.:

  • Psychological Theories of Perception, Imagination and Mental Representation, and Twentieth Century Philosophies of Science
    This is my doctoral thesis (dissertation) from 1987, made freely available here for the first time. Despite its age, I believe that most of its arguments and claims still hold water. Although some of the material has since been covered or superseded by more recent publications of mine (below), there is much that has not, and can only be found here. There is not much overt philosophy of science in it, however. It is mostly about the cognitive science of mental imagery.

  • Imagining Minds.*
    A report on a conference held in Claremont, California, February 6-8, 2003. It was supposed to be about imagination, but were the different presenters all talking about the same thing (or even significantly related things). Were any of them actually talking about imagination?

  • The False Dichotomy of Imagery.*
    A Behavioral and Brain Sciences commentary on the latest move in the notorious "analog/propositional debate" (an incisive new critique of the "analog" or (quasi-)pictorial theory of imagery, by Z.W. Pylyshyn). Perceptual Activity Theory provides a real, empirically and conceptually viable alternative to both "analog" (picture) and "propositional" (description) theories of imagery.

  • A Non-Symbolic Theory of Conscious Content: Imagery and Activity.
    This introduces the Perceptual Activity Theory of imagery (expounded more fully, and defended on different grounds in the following article), relating it to dynamical systems theory, non-representational robotics, the history of AI, and the debate over the necessity for and nature of representations in cognitive theory.

  • Are Theories of Imagery Theories of Imagination? An Active Perception Approach to Conscious Mental Content.*
    The Perceptual Activity Theory of mental imagery - a radical alternative to both 'quasi-pictorial' (or 'analog') and 'description' (or 'propositional') theories - is described and defended. I consider this my major position statement and my principal contribution to date to both philosophy and cognitive science. It deals with consciousness, intentionality, and creativity in both the arts and the sciences, as well as imagination and imagery.

  • New Support for the Perceptual Activity Theory of Mental Imagery
    A bibliographic essay detailing empirical and theoretical work (mostly very recently published) that provides further support for the Perceptual Activity Theory of mental imagery (beyond the evidence and arguments presented in "Are Theories of Imagery Theories of Imagination?"). Expect updates and additions to this page.

  • A Note on "Schema" and "Image Schema".
    A brief note clarifying the intended meaning and the provenance of one of the key concepts of Perceptual Activity Theory of imagery, as presented above. I distinguish it from the concept of "image schema" as found in Lakoff & Johnson's theory of metaphorical thought, and speculate on how the two theories might be reconciled.
  • Imagery and the Coherence of Imagination: A critique of White.*
    Recent philosophical orthodoxy notwithstanding, a unified understanding of imagination and imagery is attainable.

  • A Stimulus to the Imagination. [Essay review of Questioning Consciousness by Ralph D. Ellis.]*
    Why imagery based theories of cognition went out of fashion - and why they might be ready for a comeback.

  • Review of Michael Tye's: The Imagery Debate.*
    The book is excellent on the 'analog' vs. 'propositional' ('picture' vs. 'description') debate, but not so good on imagery per se.

  • Experience and Theory as Determinants of Attitudes toward Mental Representation: The Case of Knight Dunlap and the Vanishing Images of J.B. Watson.*
    Iconophobia, introspection, the origins of Behaviorism, and the long banishment of the mental image from psychological discourse. How reliable are verbal reports of imagery (or the lack of imagery)? Also, an early precursor of the Perceptual Activity Theory of imagery is described.

  • Imagination, Eliminativism, and the Pre-History of Consciousness.
    Eliminative materialists notwithstanding, consciousness is not a modern invention: imagination once did much of the conceptual work that consciousness does now. Understanding imagination may thus be the key to understanding consciousness.

  • Are There People Who Do Not Experience Imagery? (And why does it matter?)^{(New material added, May 6, 2008)}
    Rescued from the wreck of Psyche-D. Updated with some minor clarifications and an addendum (2007) discussing recent developments.

  • Attitude and Image, or, What Will Simulation Let Us Eliminate?
    Robert Gordon's "radical simulation" theory of folk psychology is considered in relation to the eliminative materialism of the Churchlands and the Perceptual Activity Theory of imagery and imagination. Could this be a recipe for a new slant on the mind-body problem?

  • Coding Dualism: Conscious Thought without Cartesianism or Computationalism.
    Draft of an imagery and natural language based theory of deliberative thought and reflective consciousness. Based on Paivio's Dual Coding theory of memory.

• Presentations available only as abstracts:

  • Experience (and Mental Representation) Outside the Brain.
    Reconciling the representationalist theory of consciousness with the sensori-motor theory and an externalist view of mental representation.

  • The Study of Imagination as an Approach to Consciousness.
    Imagination as the bridge between body and mind.

  • Imagery and Knowledge: A Historical Analysis.
    The Romantic concept of imagination as the source of knowledge - linked to Aristotelian phantasia and cognitive imagery theory.

  • Gestalt Psychology as a Theory of Imagination.
    The neurophysiological field theory of Gestalt psychology was a pioneering attempt to provide a physicalist theory of imagination.

Other issues in the theory of mind and consciousness:

• Color Realism: Toward a Solution to the "Hard Problem".*
  A new (I think) perspective on how to outfit an expedition across the explanatory gap in order to bring qualitative, phenomenal consciousness within the purview of science. Qualities, not qualia! (See the next two items for more on this issue.)

• Avoiding the Porsche-Driving Zombie.
  The coming (I hope) revolution in perceptual theory, and a sketch of a physicalistic account of qualitative experience.

• Review of Michael Tye's Consciousness, Color, and Content.*
  A brilliant, though difficult and, in parts, tedious book. Tye's representationalist answer to the "hard problem" seems, in many respects, like a more fully articulated version of the view I sketch in the two brief articles listed above. However, Tye's theory as it stands is implausible; I believe because it relies on an untenable understanding of mental representation in general, and imagery in particular.

• Perceptual Systems: Five+, One, or Many?*
  How many senses do we really have? Direct perception and the redundancy of specification. A Behavioral and Brain Sciences commentary.

• Zombie Killer.*
  Consciousness, functionalism and intentionality. Physicalism vindicated. Zombies proven to be conceptually impossible!

• Mary Doesn't Know Science: On misconceiving a science of consciousness.
  The real problem with the "knowledge argument" against physicalism: philosophers misconceive science. A science of consciousness may be posible after all.

• Review of John Taylor's The Race for Consciousness.*
  Is identifying qualia with brain states really the only way to be a good scientific materialist? No. Read the review, not the book!

• What Does Implicit Cognition Tell Us About Consciousness?*
  A report and reflections (which still seem relevant) on the first conference of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness in 1997. I don't know why it took me so long to get it on to the site. This conference was the last occasion when I got to meet and talk to my good friend and mentor Ullin Place, before his untimely death in 2000. He is much missed, by me and by all serious students of consciousness.

Some material on the History of Biochemistry:

• The Life and Scientific Work of Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins.*
  Pioneer of the discipline of Biochemistry, and discoverer of vitamins and essential amino acids.

• The Life and Scientific Work of Marshall W. Nirenberg.*
  The man who cracked the genetic code.

Notice.

I would like to put in links to more sites dealing with related topics, particularly imagination and mental imagery approached from serious scientific, philosophical or historical perspectives (there is plenty of consciousness and cognition on the web already). If you have, or know of, any such sites, or if you have work that you think might be appropriate to have made available here, please email me.

Also please email me with any comments or questions you might have about this site or my work. The discussion board provides a forum allowing for feedback from others (who may be better qualified to answer some queries), as well as from me. I will try to reply to most polite and relevant queries and comments posted on the board, and if you want to post your email address with your message then I can also send you a direct email reply. Please note, however, that I am neither qualified nor willing to give medical or psychiatric advice. I am not going to do your homework or class assignments for you either!

Email me!

Imagination Links.

Miscellaneous web sites that discuss the nature of imagination (and related concepts), or are otherwise relevant to understanding it.

Mental Imagery - Theories and Experiments.

An extensive listing of web sites dealing with the psychology, cognitive science and philosophy of mental imagery.

Applied Mental Imagery.

Imagery based techniques have been used quite extensively in clinical psychology and psychotherapy, psychological and even spiritual "self-help," sports training, pain control, etc. (Material on mnemonic applications of imagery, which may overlap with educational ones, can be found on the Mental Imagery - Theories and Experiments page.) Although my views on cognition are probably consistent with the possibility of visualization being an effective psychological tool, I have no real expertise in this area. I am not recommending or endorsing any of the techniques or services described on these sites.

Journals.

Web sites of peer review journals that cover imagery, imagination, consciousness etc.

Links on Dreaming.

Dreams are widely and plausibly believed to be products of the imagination, and to consist largely or entirely of imagery.

Sites Dealing with the Relevance of Cognitive Science Concepts to the Arts and Humanities.

But with no explicit focus on imagination.

Links on Consciousness, Cognition, and the Philosophy of Mind.

Here are some recommended sites for anyone who came looking for general material on consciousness, the philosophy of mind, and/or cognition, rather than specifically on mental imagery or imagination