В статье рассматривается учение М. И. Владиславлева о роли воображения в жизни человека. По М. И. Владиславлеву, воображение играет одну из ведущих ролей не только в искусстве, но и в умственной деятельности вообще. Её деятельность свободная, в каком-то смысле иррациональная, но при этом она всё равно не может избегать логических законов. Сама её деятельность начинается волей, так как именно ей по М. И. Владиславлеву и руководится душа. В основе воображения лежит два влечения, из которых создаётся два мира: комический и идеальный. Таким образом, все идеалы и искусство в целом исходит от воображения. Идеалы же содержат в себе как субъективные, так и объективные стороны. Кроме того, оригинальность ума зависит именно от воображения, а не рефлексии. В конце М. И. Владиславлев приходит к выводу, что если воображение и рефлексия так сильно связаны, то они представляют собой единую деятельность, и именно из-за этого наука не может избегать идеалов.
Ключевые слова: воображение, воля, разум, творчество, познавательная способность, идеал.
In the Russian intellectual tradition, the problem of imagination is more often associated with pedagogy than with philosophy and psychology. In philosophy, it is considered in connection with reason. Sometimes it is even opposed to reason, in which case it is viewed as something irrational. On the other hand, sometimes the reason is reduced to a simple calculator, while the imagination is given the role of the actual creator of various theories. Researchers of imagination themselves note insufficient attention to this important ability [1, p. 95–102].
Studies that do not reduce the activity of the imagination to fantasizing highlight the following features in it: imagination is considered a creative ability, in which there is no strict determination; usually, the main activity of the imagination is considered to be the correlation of general knowledge with a single fact, the construction first of a whole image, and then of images of individual details; grasping the essence of an object before developing a clear concept of it [4, p. 108–110].
To deepen understanding of this unique ability it seems important to turn to the representative of the Russian philosophy and psychology of the XIX century, M. I. Vladislavlev. A distinctive feature of Russian psychology of this time is its use of concepts more commonly associated with philosophy along with advances in the natural sciences. This combination, in turn, provides a fruitful research method that allows for a comprehensive approach to the subject matter.
In his two-volume Psychology, the scientist devotes a whole separate chapter to imagination, in which he examines its activities in detail, while noting and criticizing other views on this ability. One of M. I. Vladislavlev's students, A. I. Vvedensky, even highlights this moment. He writes: «Mikhail Ivanovich was the first, or at least one of the first, to abandon the old views on this ability (which, by the way, are still very common among our teachers: many of them are ready to suppress imagination in every possible way), appreciated the important role of imagination in scientific and mental activity in general» [3, p. 28].
Vladislavlev himself notes that this ability «has always seemed like an unsolvable mystery to psychologists» [2, p. 366]. Vladislavlev sought the answer to this mystery in the close connection between imagination and reason. The main difference between imagination and reason lies in its freedom. Reason forces itself into the framework of laws of thought, relies only on the obvious sides of the subject under study. Imagination, on the other hand, does not limit itself to laws, but it does not completely ignore them. It’s activity, unlike reason, penetrates into the depths of the subject under study, and therefore it can reveal similarities in subjects, even if only differences are visible for reason in them.
Imagination is described by Vladislavlev as something free, fleeting, it does not convince, but fascinates and captivates. Despite the fact that Mikhail Ivanovich was a strict logician, it seems from his words that he prefers imagination rather than reason: «the highest activity of imagination is the peak of our intellect: the highest tension of the entire human mind is reflected in brilliant ideal creations» [2, p. 223]. This preference is also noticeable in the following moment. Vladislavlev argues that it is primarily through imagination, not reason, that a scientist or philosopher reaches an outstanding theory. No matter how brilliant the mind is, without imagination it will work only with the obvious sides of the subject, creating mediocre works. But this, of course, does not mean that imagination creates only correct theories. Agreeing with the criticism of imagination from other researchers, Vladislavlev mentions its excessive activity, which leads to mistakes and fantasies. Imagination plays an important role in ordinary, non-scientific knowledge. Without it, we would not be able to imagine abstract concepts at all. For example, we cannot think of a color by itself, we necessarily imagine a specific color in space with the help of imagination.
This shows that Vladislavlev, despite his obvious preference, still does not consider imagination as a completely free and error-free activity, he notes both its possible errors and its limits. Imagination is limited by our human experience, so it’s activity cannot be absolutely free. Because of this, it also cannot create something truly new: «Imagination is a kind of architect, it builds new buildings, but from materials that it does not create itself, but takes ready-made ones, moreover, in the very style and nature of its buildings depends on the buildings it observes» [2, p. 383–384]. Despite the fact that imagination does not inherently create a something truly new, it does not, however, engage in empty copying of the material given by observation. Vladislavlev specifically emphasizes the freedom of activity not only of the imagination, but also of the human activity as a whole. The imagination freely uses the material to create a harmonious whole, not for practical purposes, but to «comprehensively express the greatest beauty of nature and the eternal enduring interests of human society» [2, p. 397]. At the same time, Mikhail Ivanovich emphasizes the value of art: «The images of society created by the imagination serve social self-knowledge a thousand times more than any journalistic reasoning» [2, p. 389].
It is important to clarify that for Vladislavlev, will is represented as the main engine of the soul. Some of its aspirations and desires are the basis for the activity of the imagination. In particular, Vladislavlev highlights the desire to rest on small impressions (source of humor) and the attraction to valuable existence, where «the soul hungers and thirsts for truth» [2, p. 387]. On the basis of these two desires of imagination, the soul forms a world of effortless images and a world of ideals, and «imagination is strengthened to look further into reality itself than reason would have the right to do» [2, p. 388]. Imagination also «creates an aesthetic world that is so significant in our existence, a world of ideals that guide us in life and which we use to decorate it» [2, p. 386–387]. Оn the one hand, imagination cannot completely get rid of unseriousness, because the images of imagination, no matter how serious they are, we cannot perceive as such because of their unreality. On the other hand, «imagination is the servant of truth, beauty, and goodness» [2, p. 389]. It is with its help that we receive ideals, ideas of goodness and morality. Interestingly, the ideals of not only art, but also religious ones also come from the imagination. All the positive qualities that a person observes in others are idealized by imagination (due to the desire for a higher existence), and thus to the combination of these ideal qualities in the idea of God. Accordingly, attraction to the higher presupposes aversion to the lower being.
Vladislavlev also researches the source of ideals. The ideals themselves are created due to the dissatisfaction of our aspirations and drives with reality, thus a person strives to transform the world around him. Therefore, the main impulse belongs to our will. Reason also plays a role here — it gives us the knowledge of opposites of this unsatisfactory reality, and also applies various laws to ideals so that they are logically consistent. Due to the desire to correct the shortcomings of reality, every ideal contains an aesthetic and moral element.
Vladislavlev examines ideals among different people at different time periods: «the moral nature of man has always been the same» [2, p. 409]. the only difference is how this nature is expressed, which depends on peoples' reactions to the world around them and the level of development of their mind. Moral ideals are essentially objective, but their specific manifestations are relative. Aesthetic and social ideals are only relative, as long as they are not related to moral ideals.
In the end of his research, Vladislavlev notes that imagination and reason are the same activity of the mind, the main difference are their goals. If the mind strives to get closer to actual existence, then it will work as logical thinking and reason; if it is interested in valuable existence, then as imagination. These two sides of the same activity cannot work without each other. It is due to this unity that «no science and no scientific activity can escape the pull of ideals on themselves: for they do not come from another faculty, but from the same mind» [2, p. 437].
Thus, we see the main motives not only for Vladislavlev's consideration of imagination, but also for his psychological philosophy as a whole. The will plays the role of initiator in activity, in this case in imagination. The result of imagination also depends on willpower. In imagination, Vladislavlev highlights freedom most of all, which is not surprising, since he puts free will at the basis of psychological life. Art and mental activity in general cannot be based on reason alone: «the mind itself can only be a more or less perfect logical machine» [2, p. 221]. Attention is focused on the free and at the same time ethical and aesthetic activity of the mind, rather than its purely logical side. At the same time, Vladislavlev’s work provides an opportunity to fill in the gaps in the history of the studies of imagination. He notes the important role of imagination, and at the same time does not devalue the role of reason. Imagination sometimes seems irrational (since Vladislavlev calls it a «blind» ability which needs to be directed by reason), but at the same time Vladislavlev notes a certain mechanism of imagination, with its own laws and boundaries. This allows to examine imagination from a scientific point of view. With such holistic approach, imagination is not reduced to empty fantasies, nor to a purely creative field (in the sense that it is associated only with artists, poets, etc.), but along with these points, its role in more practical life, in the construction of philosophical, scientific, ethical systems, is also discussed.
References:
- Braginskaya N. V. Imaginaciya — intuiciya — inspiraciya: Ya.E`. Golosovker i gnoseologiya voobrazheniya // Yakov E`mmanuilovich Golosovker / pod red. E. B. Rashkovskogo; sost. E. B. Rashkovskij, N. V. Braginskaya. — M.: Politicheskaya e`nciklopediya, 2017. — pp. 57–112.
- Vladislavlev M. I. Psixologiya: issledovaniya osnovny`x yavlenij dushevnoj zhizni: v 2 t. T. 1. — SPb.: Tip. V. Bezobrazova, 1881. — XI, 610, [5] P.
- Vvedenskij A. I. Nauchnaya deyatel`nost` M. I. Vladislavleva // ZhMNP. Chast` CCLXIX. — 1890. — pp. 181–211.
- Kiselyova S. L. Voobrazhenie kak universal`naya sposobnost` cheloveka // Vestnik PSTGU. Vy`p. 4(39). — 2015. — pp. 108–117.
