Imagination in General Psychology: Thinking with Luca Tateo's "A Theory of Imagining, Knowing, and Understanding"

How should we understand imagination within the broader framework of general psychology? Turning to Luca Tateo's (2020) recent book, A theory of imagining, knowing, and understanding, I begin with asking what imagination is. The question leads to seeing the interplay between imagination, perception, and conceptual organization. Identifying the affective dimension of imagination and how imagination operates within a discursive reality, I explore the links between imagination and general psychology, with reference to Activity Theory, fundamental psychological categories, and normativity. Drawing on themes from general psychology can extend the study of imagination, while the study of imagination can in turn inform general psychology. Finally, I address some of the implications of this study for epistemology, education, and critical thinking.