The evolution of imagination

338 Pages·2017·2.926 MB·English

by  Asma, Stephen T

T H E
E VO L U T I O N
O F
I M AG I NAT I O N

T H E
E VO L U T I O N
O F
I M AG I NAT I O N
STEPHEN T. ASMA
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO & LONDON
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2017 by Stephen T. Asma
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in
the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. For more
information, contact the University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th
St., Chicago, IL 60637.
Published 2017
Printed in the United States of America
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17  1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 22516- 6 (cloth)
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 22533- 3 (e- book)
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226225333.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Asma, Stephen T., author.
Title: The evolution of imagination / Stephen T. Asma.
Description: Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press,
2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016056665| ISBN 9780226225166 (cloth:
alk. paper) | ISBN 9780226225333 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Creative ability. | Imagination.
Classification: LCC BF408 .A83 2017 | DDC 153.3—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016056665
♾ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992
(Permanence of Paper).
For Julian

: CONTENTS :
INTRODUCTION 1
ONE : THE SECOND UNIVERSE 15
Counting Off 15
Some Crucial Ingredients 17
The Captain or the Muse? 26
Metaphysical Imagination 28
A Second Universe 39
Philosophical Missteps 45
You Are an Expert Improviser 47
TWO : THE CREATIVE BODY 55
Give the Drummer Some 55
Thinking with Your Body 56
The Simulation System 63
Hot Cognition and Heuristics 69
I Feel, Therefore I Improvise 73
The Most Playful Ape 82
The Caveman Thespian 84
Emotional Intelligence and Improvisation 86
THREE : DRAWING, DREAMING, AND VISUAL IMPROVISATION 91
The Roots and the Walking Bass 91
Caveman Picassos 93
Images, Dreams, and Proto- Consciousness 103
Pictorial Mind and Creative Thinking 111
Voluntary Imagination 117
FOUR : SPINNING THE YARN: CREATING WITH LANGUAGE 131
Playing the Head 131
How Did Language Evolve? 134
Storytelling Apes 147
Take It to the Bridge! Improvisation as
Helpful Deviance 155
Tuning a Theory 160
FIVE : BLOWING AWAY THE SELF: CREATIVITY AND CONTROL 177
Solo Time 177
Evolution of the First- Person Perspective 180
Where Is the Self? 187
Zen, Flow, and Brain Systems 197
Finding Your Way Back 211
SIX : THE POLITICS OF IMAGINATION: TRADING FOURS 229
The Cultures of Creating and Copying 231
Ethics and the Moral Imagination 244
Improvisation, Dogmatism, and the Future of Freedom 261
Acknowledgments 273
Notes 277
Index 307