Research Group
in Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

Just like juggling or ballroom dancing, imagining is a skill.  And just as some people are better than juggling than others and some people are better at ballroom dancing than others, so too are some people better at imagining than others.  But for those people that are less skilled at juggling or ballroom dancing, there are obvious things they can do to improve their abilities.  What can someone who is less skilled at imagining do to improve their imagination?  This paper takes up this question and argues that engagement with fiction can play a key role in the development of one’s imaginative skills.

Central to the argument is a discussion of imaginative practice.  In general, one improves one’s skill by practice, and imagination is no different. Engagement with fiction is one key way in which an individual can practice imagining.  Moreover, the kind of imaginative practice provided by engagement with fiction is rich and multi-faceted.  That fiction can help cultivate the skill of empathic imagination has been recognized by philosophers such as Martha Nussbaum (1997).  This paper extends her argument by discussing other ways that fiction can help to cultivate imaginative skill.