The Ambivalent Power of Imagination: Historical and Contemporary Debates

International Conference, June 10–12, 2026

Imagination (Greek φαντασία; Latin phantasia, imaginatio) has long been considered an ambivalent phenomenon in the philosophical tradition. In De anima, Aristotle discusses it between his elucidation of human perception and capacity for thought. φαντασία originates in sensory perception, but it is not contingent on the simultaneous perception of an object. It can visualize images from memory or—by liberally combining elements of perception—invent imaginary visuals. Even though the conception of imagination has undergone considerable transformations since these discussions in antiquity, its position between perception and thought has remained central in the history of theory—especially its freer engagement with images detached from perception has drawn attention.

The 18th century saw a reevaluation of the power of “Einbildungskraft” (imagination). In his Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant made a seminal distinction between “reproductive imagination,” which relies on empirical material and follows empirical-psychological laws, and “productive imagination,” which he conceived as an a priori faculty (KrV B 152). Even within Kant’s epistemological framework, the decisive question remains whether imagination belongs to the faculty of sensibility or that of understanding, or whether it even constitutes a “third” that mediates between them. Kant’s elevation of the productive-creative imagination was highly influential. Yet, his Anthropology likewise betrays a certain skepticism, which can be traced back to Plato: “We often and gladly play with imagination; but imagination (as fantasy) just as often—and sometimes very inconveniently—plays with us.” (trans. from Akad.-Ausgabe 7, 175; cf. ibid. 181).

It is precisely this shift toward a conception of imagination as a productive force—newly discovered yet simultaneously problematized—that the lecture series in the summer semester of 2026 and the concluding international conference aim to address. The focus will be on historical developments, with particular attention to European debates during the so-called Sattelzeit (around 1800)—especially in the Jena-Weimar region—while also being open to the present day. It will be guided by the question which contemporary problem areas can be revealed against this backdrop of the transformations of imagination around 1800.

This reconfiguration of imagination is systemically significant in multiple areas: alongside epistemology, aesthetics, and the arts, we are especially interested in the psychosocial functions of the newly conceptualized imaginative capacity. Already in the 18th century, imagination was recognized as significant both for the experience of autonomous subjectivity and for understanding others, as well as for the very capacity to conceive possibilities in the first place.

Such engagements with imagination in its capacity to conceive of the self and the other are not only relevant in the field of psychoanalysis but also for current theoretical developments—from Martha Nussbaum to Slavoj Žižek to Andreas Reckwitz. Thus, the lecture series and conference aim to both elucidate historical reformulations of imagination through precise analysis and to relate them to the present. Thereby, we can ask, for example, how imagination contributes to the success or failure of identity formation in today’s social and media environment, as well as to communication or the relationalities of social environments.

Even at the heights of its affirmation, imagination remained contested. Around 1800, the Romantic enthusiasm for imagination’s powers was offset by pointed reflections on the dangers of its unboundedness, its excesses, and its pathologies. The arts became tasked with diagnosing these, while at the same time being ascribed a pivotal role in grasping transcendence and the world. The titular “ambivalent power of imagination” reveals itself in contrasting assessments of its nature: as the ultimate instrument of knowledge or as a source of illusion, as a catalyst for action or as dreamy compensation. We aim to discuss this tension also in contemporary contexts. How do conceptions of imagination guide the production and reception of art today? Can definitions of imagination and creativity help us demarcate human faculties from artificial intelligence? What role does imagination play in pedagogy under conditions of digitalization? Does the decades-long boom of the fantastic in popular culture mark a new flowering of imagination? And what role does it play in scientific research?

To discuss all these and further questions, the lecture series and conference aim to bring into conversation philology and art history, pedagogy and psychology, history of science and media studies, philosophy and theology.