Quelques considérations sur l’imaginaire dans les sciences

Abstract

Our study analyzes the relationship between the imaginary / imagination and scientific rationalism while mirroring seemingly contrasting aspects. Just as the imaginary has its own reasoning (structures, archetypes, the capacity to produce meaning – analyzed by Gilbert Durand, Gaston Bachelard and Northrop Frye), rationalism is subject to its own logic (cause- effect, arguments, deduction/ induction, etc.) which may surface in the realm of the imaginary. We further analyze the cognitive function of the imaginary, which is at the core of analogy-based knowledge and manifests itself through the metaphorical side of language. Thus a subtle, yet rigorous game emerges between clarity (characteristic to science) and ambiguity (a feature of the imaginary), between visible and invisible, further leading towards an understanding of reality beyond abstract rationalism which, in its turn, may lead to fiction while exploring possible worlds.

Keywords

• imaginary
• real
• reason
• cognitive
• fiction
• possible worlds/mundus imaginalis