Defining imagination: an interdisciplinary approach for educational research

Abstract

Starting from Vygotsky’s research and with the decisive contribution of cultural-historical psychology that followed, the use of the term “imagination” in the educational field has undergone a radical transformation. From a type of irrationalistic, egocentric, and unrealistic thinking, the term has come to indicate a sophisticated form of intelligence, in which the exercise of logic integrates with emotions and cognitive flexibility. However, the definitions of the concept, as they are still used today in pedagogical and didactic contexts, still have limitations in terms of semantic vagueness and explanatory effectiveness. This article aims to demonstrate how an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the resources of neurobiology, cognitive sciences, and philosophy of mind, can help clarify the pedagogical use of the concept of imagination. It also seeks to critically reflect, in more general terms, on the contributions of these disciplines to support practice and research in the educational field.