A Causal Relationship Between Imagination and Knowledge Essay

A Causal Relationship Between Imagination and Knowledge - Essay Example The power of imagination involves a number of aspects which include reasoning, reflection and thinking. It has often been said that what makes the difference between humans and other animals is the ability to imagine through reasoning. The reasoning is a process by which beings draw conclusions or reach decisions based on the strength of imagining. The imagination may be beliefs or observations. Being rational is understanding that forms facts or beliefs that make others follow, and using understanding to make decisions and judgments. Another ability that evidently belongs only to human animals is the ability to reflect. Reflecting is part of imagination which means giving deep, serious and total concentration when doing something. For example, when someone is thinking reflectively, she does not just make up her mind on impulse, but considers alternatives, thinks about consequences, weighs up available evidence, and so on (Ernst & Maureen, 103). Another aspect of reflective imaginati on is critical thinking and problem-solving. One very valuable form of imagination can be described as ‘thinking about thinking’ the reflective thinker does not just think about the problem to be solved, the decision to be made, or the argument to be won, but also the reasoning processes that go into those activities. Reflecting in the way we think allows us to evaluate how effective our thinking is, what its strength is, where it sometimes goes wrong and most important of all, how it might be improved.