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:
“If Germany, thanks to Hitler and his successors, were to enslave the European nations and destroy most of the treasures of their past, future historians would certainly pronounce that she had civilized Europe.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“The tradition I cherish is the ideal this country was built upon, the concept of religious pluralism, of a plethora of opinions, of tolerance and not the jihad. Religious war, pooh. The war is between those who trust us to think and those who believe we must merely be led.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)