In the first paragraph of the paper, I aim to show the semantic richness and at the same time the ambiguity of the notion of imagination. I therefore try to show how the notion of imagination tends to be distinguished from that of fantasy. In the second section, I briefly reconstruct the characteristics of Einbildungskraft in Kantian reflection and compare them with the notions of Bildungskraft and Phantasie in the work of Jean Paul Richter. While for Kant, fantasy is mostly disconnected from sensible reality and thus proves to be an unreliable faculty from a gnoseological point of view, for Jean Paul Richter it represents the most fertile and creative cognitive faculty. This romantic conception of the Phantasie is taken up in aesthetic terms by the Schlegel brothers, who recognise in it the essential endowment of genius. The last paragraph of the paper focuses on the social and existential phenomenon of hikikomori. Japanese youths confined in their rooms and addicted to virtual reality seem to be the perfect example of imaginative decadence, yet I try to show how precisely the virtual and digital fields can provide an opportunity for imaginative and creative practice.

Einbildungskraft, Phantasie and hikikomori. Reflections on the Extremes of Imagination

Alberto Giacomelli
2022

Abstract

In the first paragraph of the paper, I aim to show the semantic richness and at the same time the ambiguity of the notion of imagination. I therefore try to show how the notion of imagination tends to be distinguished from that of fantasy. In the second section, I briefly reconstruct the characteristics of Einbildungskraft in Kantian reflection and compare them with the notions of Bildungskraft and Phantasie in the work of Jean Paul Richter. While for Kant, fantasy is mostly disconnected from sensible reality and thus proves to be an unreliable faculty from a gnoseological point of view, for Jean Paul Richter it represents the most fertile and creative cognitive faculty. This romantic conception of the Phantasie is taken up in aesthetic terms by the Schlegel brothers, who recognise in it the essential endowment of genius. The last paragraph of the paper focuses on the social and existential phenomenon of hikikomori. Japanese youths confined in their rooms and addicted to virtual reality seem to be the perfect example of imaginative decadence, yet I try to show how precisely the virtual and digital fields can provide an opportunity for imaginative and creative practice.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Articolo classe A Aesthetica Preprint Einbildungskraft, Phantasie and hikikomori.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Preprint (submitted version)
Licenza: Accesso libero
Dimensione 133.17 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
133.17 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3470378
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
  • OpenAlex ND
social impact