Thanks to all your thoughts. Have a great day!
2007-10-29 00:27:48 · 21 answers · asked by Third P 6 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Fantastic question...... absolutely superb!!
At first sight, imagination seems to be highly valuable as a means of creativity.
That however does not mean it can not be an enemy to intellect, and if it is then it must be the greatest enemy because it is so hugely powerful and almost boundary-less in character.
So, is imagination an enemy to intellect? Thinking through this, I strangely find it to be so... let me explain. The function and purpose of intellect is to analyze facts and events to churn out knowledge therefrom. Imagination would invariably cross with this process, since it implies thoughts moving into the realms of the imaginary which is not real, which is neither a fact nor an event. A highly imaginative person would be so intertwined between facts and myths that the intellect would find it next to impossible to cull out 'knowledge' therefrom. I therefore come to the conclusion that imagination can be the greatest hurdle for the intellect to perform its duty of finding and accumulating knowledge..... in fact imagination can even discolor already accumulated knowledge creating a haze of truth and myth intertwined inseparably.
Thanks for asking this great question which I really enjoyed thinking through and indeed it has brought some new revelations to my mind.
2007-10-29 00:58:54 · answer #1 · answered by small 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
No, I think intellect is the greatest enemy of a vivid imagination.
2007-10-31 23:15:04 · answer #2 · answered by gone 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Our imagination is the whiteboard of our mind - the intellect writes all sorts of crud on it as it tries to sort out the world.
More imaginative people actually tend to be smarter because they can conceptualize a larger array of "connections" (and when it comes to the _really_ smart ones, you'd be surprised. Why? Because the _really_ smart ones know better than to let on that they're smart. ;-) (That counts me out, I guess...)
Imagination is not the enemy of the intellect, I think what you're trying to refer to would probably be more properly called "dogma" - though imagination is involved in creating that, but an active imagination never stagnates or ferments into such ludicrosity.
Dogma is essentially the intellect taking snapshots of the whiteboard and presenting them to the real world as absolute truth, ignoring the fact that the contents of the whiteboard are constantly shifting and changing.
2007-10-29 00:43:10 · answer #3 · answered by uncleclover 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, believe the greatest enemy of the intellect is organized religion.
Talk about quashing imaginative thought!
2007-10-29 00:51:21 · answer #4 · answered by Bryce 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
NO I do not think so. Perhaps though, logic, reason, justification, etc. could be on opposite sides of the fence though. I never thought about it I guess. I have a huge amount of imagination and intellect so I can't imagine that those two things being at odds with each other. Perhaps trying to reason with reality could interfere, or trying to be logical with imaginations adventures might be a problem. Interesting question though, one that has not once crossed my mind. Love questions that pull on the brain muscle, this question certainly did that!
2007-10-29 00:38:44 · answer #5 · answered by Cathykaiser 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I disagree. I think the greatest enemy of intellect is EMOTION. Imagination is a gift of the intellectual. It enables 'out of the box thinking'. This is necessary to broaden the intellectual thinker's scope of reality. There is so much more than what we can see!
2007-10-30 14:54:56 · answer #6 · answered by I don't know 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They are one in the same.
Let me illustrate.... What is intellect without any imagination?
Note that I would not have been capable of forming an answer without some measure of imagination.
2007-10-31 23:30:18 · answer #7 · answered by Icy Gazpacho 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
On the contrary, imagination is the best ally of the intellect. With imagination we can create facts...from dreams to realities. We build our plans..we create theories..these started from imaginations.
2007-10-30 01:18:51 · answer #8 · answered by maconsolviaa 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Au contraire...
Imagination is NOT a downfall of intellect. In fact, what use is intellect without a bit of imagination? It is because of imagination that we are separate from computers, which some people may say are "smart." Without imagination, I think it would be impossible for humans to THINK, and thus removing all intellect from us.
2007-10-29 00:58:54 · answer #9 · answered by The 35th of the Order 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
No. In fact I would say that the opposite is true. Without imagination, there is no intellect. One can not test a theory without first imagining it. One can not negotiate without first imagining the other's point of view. One can not solve problems without first imagining the outcome of various solutions. A child can not learn and grow without pretending.
2007-10-29 00:59:18 · answer #10 · answered by jehen 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋