European Tradition
The theosophy of post-Renaissance Europe embraced imaginal cognition. From Jakob Böhme to Swedenborg, active imagination played a large role in theosophical works. In this tradition, the active imagination serves as an "organ of the soul, thanks to which humanity can establish a cognitive and visionary relationship with an intermediate world"
Coleridge distinguished imagination, expresses realities of an imaginal realm transcending any personal existence, and "fancy", or fantasy, which expresses the creativity of the artistic soul. For him, "imagination is the condition for cognitive participation in a sacramental universe".
C.S. Lewis considered that "reason is the organ of truth, but imagination is the organ of meaning."
Read more about this topic: Active Imagination
Famous quotes containing the words european and/or tradition:
“European society has always been divided into classes in a way that American society never has been. A European writer considers himself to be part of an old and honorable tradition—of intellectual activity, of letters—and his choice of a vocation does not cause him any uneasy wonder as to whether or not it will cost him all his friends. But this tradition does not exist in America.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
““Where do architects and designers get their ideas?” The answer, of course, is mainly from other architects and designers, so is it mere casuistry to distinguish between tradition and plagiarism?”
—Stephen Bayley (b. 1951)