Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Surveying the Imagination Landscape
- Part I Theoretical Perspectives on the Imagination
- Part II Imagery-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part III Intentionality-Based Forms of the Imagination
- 19 Continuities and Discontinuities Between Imagination and Memory: The View from Philosophy
- 20 Imagining and Experiencing the Self on Cognitive Maps
- 21 The Neuroscience of Imaginative Thought: An Integrative Framework
- 22 Imagination and Self-Referential Thinking
- 23 Imaginary Friends: How Imaginary Minds Mimic Real Life
- 24 Imagination and Moral Cognition
- 25 Moral Reasoning: A Network Neuroscience Perspective
- 26 The Future-Directed Functions of the Imagination: From Prediction to Metaforesight
- Part IV Novel Combinatorial Forms of the Imagination
- Part V Phenomenology-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part VI Altered States of the Imagination
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- References
26 - The Future-Directed Functions of the Imagination: From Prediction to Metaforesight
from Part III - Intentionality-Based Forms of the Imagination
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 May 2020
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Surveying the Imagination Landscape
- Part I Theoretical Perspectives on the Imagination
- Part II Imagery-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part III Intentionality-Based Forms of the Imagination
- 19 Continuities and Discontinuities Between Imagination and Memory: The View from Philosophy
- 20 Imagining and Experiencing the Self on Cognitive Maps
- 21 The Neuroscience of Imaginative Thought: An Integrative Framework
- 22 Imagination and Self-Referential Thinking
- 23 Imaginary Friends: How Imaginary Minds Mimic Real Life
- 24 Imagination and Moral Cognition
- 25 Moral Reasoning: A Network Neuroscience Perspective
- 26 The Future-Directed Functions of the Imagination: From Prediction to Metaforesight
- Part IV Novel Combinatorial Forms of the Imagination
- Part V Phenomenology-Based Forms of the Imagination
- Part VI Altered States of the Imagination
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
One of the fundamental roles of human imagination is to enable the representation of possible future events. Here, we survey some of the most critical abilities that this foresight supports: anticipating future emotions, setting and pursuing goals, preparing for threats, deliberately acquiring skills and knowledge, and intentionally shaping the future environment. Furthermore, we outline how metacognition bolsters human capacities even further by enabling people to reflect on and compensate for the natural limits of their foresight. For example, humans make contingency plans because they appreciate that their initial predictions may turn out to be wrong. We suggest that the processes involved in monitoring, controlling, and ultimately augmenting future-oriented imagination represent an important and understudied parallel of “metamemory” that should be called “metaforesight.”
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- The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination , pp. 425 - 444Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
References
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