What do you think about the roles of reason and imagination in different subjects?

Question

obviously both are important, but do you think there are areas where one isnt necessary? how do they work together or against each other?

reason: as in locial thinking
or, a process of reaching conclusions through a process of connected thought.

reason and imagination as different ways of knowing things

Answer 1

You may see reason and imagination as opposed. I would instead say that there are reasonable imaginations and unreasonable imaginations. Which is not to be confused with 'useful' and 'useless' - I think even unreasonable imaginations can be quite useful in pursuit of some subjects.

Consider what imagining does: it is a way of assembling a new experience out of out of pre-existing ones. In that sense it is INVALUABLE in the process of learning. With no imagination, one would be restricted only to learning things he had direct experience in, and prohibited from developing knowledge about things which dwell purely in the mind.

In that latter sense, we owe imagination what is called 'the language of science' - mathematics. Nothing in math is real in the sense of actually existing. You can have three OF something, but there is no 'three' as an object itself. It is merely a concept. An idea. An imagination!

Even the aformentioned irrational imaginations can sometimes lead to rational exploration. In many cases it is the 'what if' questions that lure people to find out what actually is, or how the make the 'impossible' into the commonplace.

Of course, some tasks require no imagination whatsoever. Many of these we try to turn over to computers: sorting, filing, doing operations by rote (all too necessary for a thorough, scientific investigation in most cases). These aren't necessarily 'worse' tasks, but for most people they are immensely boring ones, which says something, I think, about humans as a whole.

That's my take on it all, anyway. Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Reason and imagination go hand in hand and always have. How does one know the difference between reason and imagination?One creates their very own imagination to where they may find more reason and creativity. Imagination is free and to ones desire but reason is nothing more then a thoughts justice.