Ever spend an inordinate amount of time daydreaming about something you know will never happen? If you think your imagination is a dick, then you'll definitely like Blaise Pascal - today's philosopher.
Pascal was not your typical philosopher - he's probably more known for inventing the first ever digital calculator than any philosophical prose. The bulk of his work was centered around mathematics and Christian theology, and his most well-known piece, Pensees, was merely a collection of notes. Yet, despite the latter, Pascal's theories were really quite advanced.
The Frenchman was one of the first to challenge the usefulness of imagination. Pascal believed that imagination was one of, if not the most powerful factor in human decision making - and therefore could be of great detriment to our species. It causes us to create false expectations, believe people without prior knowledge, and become disdained with our current situations.
According to Pascal, the human imagination often overrides reason, and though this could lead us to truths and treasures, it could also very easily lead us astray - for this reason he viewed it as being very dangerous.
Pascal's opinions on imagination may be a little harsh - he does acknowledge the beauty and joy that it may bring us, however he argues these aspects are often founded on falsities rather than facts. As true as that might be, we owe a lot to imagination - many inventions, works of art, almost every achievement of mankind couldn't have been done without a little imagination involved.
The real danger with imagination comes when we don't balance it with reason. If anything, Pascal has highlighted just how much of an influence this phenomenon of human development can be - its up to us to control it, to recognize that our perceptions are often lead by it, and therefore question our thoughts with solid, reasonable reflection.
So the next time you decide your spouse is cheating on you, your dog knows that you hid it's food, or that the entire world is secretly out to get you - just remember that your imagination can be a sneaky bastard. Stop, question, respond.
Thank you for reading! I hope you've learnt as much as I have. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Pascal's theory of imagination in the comments section - so feel free to start a conversation, it's open to the imagination...
Till next time... stay woke!
