Reductive Explanations of Imagination

This workshop aims to bring together scholars working on imagination to discuss the nature, scope and feasibility of reductive approaches to imagination with a special focus on the work of Peter Langland-Hassan.

In his recent book Explaining Imagination Peter Langland-Hassan argues against current orthodoxy for the view that imagination can be fully explained by appeal to other familiar mental states such as beliefs, desires, judgements, decisions and intentions. Any reductive account of imagination is likely to have substantial implications for our understanding of

·      hypothetical and counterfactual reasoning

·      problem-solving by means of imagination

·      the nature of memory

·      engaging in pretense

·      appreciating fictions

·      generating creative works