Human Imagination

An eagle may have much keener eyes then ours but it cannot "see" the things that we can!"


Mankind's "Special Sense"

Most people think to imagine means to fantasize or daydream but this powerful mental ability means much more then that. 'Human Imagination' is the ability to mentally visualize abstract ideas and concepts and to associate this mental power with vocal sounds and writing. Any mental activity that requires a visualization within the mind is a form of imagination. All humans possess this amazing power in various strengths.

The following are some of areas of imagination: to create, to reason, to speculate, inspiration, to associate, to perceive, to comprehend, to think, to philosophize, to understand, to learn, to ponder, to memorize, to analyze, an idea, a concept, etc..

Human Imagination is made up of a "Learning" imagination and a "Creative" imagination. The "Learning" imagination is the ability of humans to learn to associate sounds and symbols with abstract ideas in their mind and to communicate these abstract ideas with other minds. "Creative" imagination is the ability to create new concepts, innovations, art, etc.

Just as our vital animal senses; sight, hearing, touch, smell, balance. etc., makes it possible to know what is going on around us so the we, like the other animals, can survive on this planet. Human Imagination is an additional "Special Sense" that allows the humans to reach much deeper into the mysteries of reality and become aware of the many wonders of nature. It allowed mankind to begin to control its own destiny.

Somewhere in the distant past a revolutionary, entirely new phenomena was taking place on this tiny insignificant planet in the vast cosmos. 'Human Imagination' was being introduced to life on Earth, a quantum leap in the evolution of life. The power of the human brain had increased tremendously. Human Imagination had given its hosts a new "Special Sense" that would allow them to comprehend the world about them as no other animal on earth has ever experienced. A new chapter was opening in the Homo Sapiens story that would eventually evolve into our present civilizations

This "Special Sense", Human Imagination, has allowed Mankind to discover secret worlds of nature that had never been seen before by any creature on our planet . It has allowed humans to speculate about their own creation and to begin to control their own destiny. The "Homo Sapiens" species had been 'transformed' into the "Homo Imaginative Sapiens".

Human Imagination gives humans the ability to visualize images and ideas in their own mind. To be creative!, to invent new technology, to create complex languages that can convey abstract ideas, to explain everything they encountered (even though most of the time it was incorrect). To create stories, myths, religions, laws, everything it takes to run a civilization. This creative imagination, an incredible new power, gave people the power to progress from a primative form of living to the highly complex technological civilization we have today. It gave us the power to become aware of the wonders of the Universe!

Here on Earth, archaeological evidence indicates it was introduced about 40 to 50 thousand years ago. It was an entirely new life phenomena, a quantum leap in the evolution of life. A new chapter was opening in the Homo Sapiens story that would eventually evolve into our present civilizations. It allows mankind to have greater control over its own destiny then any other life form on the planet. Human imagination created the “Homo Imaginative Sapiens” species. Thats what we are! We are imaginative animals. Take away our imagination and what do you have? - “An eagle may have much keener eyes then ours but it cannot "see" the things that we can!".

  • The "creative" part of Mankind's "Special Sense" is exclusively human. Without Creative Imagination all human progress would cease. Modern Man's "Creative Imagination" has allowed mankind to 'see' the world in an entirely new light. Around forty thousand years ago a strange new life form began to leave an indelible mark on our archaeological history. New tools and artifacts designed with aesthetic beauty began to appear. Later, beautiful art was painted on cave walls and probably a lot of other places that did not survive the ages. This is hard evidence that a radical new form of life was beginning to make its presence known on Earth.

    This "Special Sense" is exclusively human, vital for carrying on human activity. Without this "Special Sense" all human progress would cease. 'Human Imagination' has allowed mankind to discover some of the mysteries of nature - to behold the wonders of the Universe. It was a totally new dimension for life on Earth! It created the "MIND" of Mankind - the vast network of human minds that can communicate across time and distance.

  • Mankind came into existence when the evolution of millions of new cells in the human brain created the potential of millions of new pathways to become possible. These new pathways created a powerful new brain that allowed human beings to become aware of the wonders that surrounded them. We had become 'imaginative beings'. This special sense "Human Imagination", has opened a whole new world for mankind to enjoy. It has allowed mankind to reach out beyond the very narrow animal world into a vast new universe of amazing secret worlds of nature that no other species has ever seen.

  • We share our other senses; sight, smell, hearing, feeling, taste and balance, with the other animals. These are the senses that are vital for animal survival. They are the vital contacts between the physical body and the environment that surrounds it. They tell us what is happening to our body and our immediate surroundings.

  • They tell us whether we are in danger, our spatial orientation, whether we are hot or cold, if the food is good or bad, sweet or sour. They help us hunt for food (see, smell, listen). They warn of danger around us. All these senses are extemely vital for our well being and survival. We could not survive without them. We share these vital senses with the other animals. They are our “animal senses”.

  • Humans have all these animal senses, although they may not be as keen as some of the other animals. We may not be able to see as good as an eagle nor is our nose as sensitive as a bloodhound, but our animal senses are sufficient for our survival. Human's, as well as all the other animals have the vital senses, necessary to carry on their style of life. The other animals also have a limited "learning" imagination, enough so that they may learn from their parents or experience to survive and prosper, but thats about all. They do not have a creative imagination that would allow them to progress through the centuries.

  • Human Imagination' is our "Special Sense", it is our seventh sense. It is not a vital sense, the Hominids survived remarkably well for million of years without human Imagination The Neanderthals may have had a powerful brain but they seem to have lacked the creative power of 'Human Imagination' that the modern humans possess. This new power allowed an animal, such as we are, to peer beyond the veil and to discover the secret worlds of nature never before seen by any animal on the planet.

  • 'Human Imagination' has allowed mankind to climb from the valley of the ordinary to the peak of the mountain, where all of nature’s wonders lie before it. It allows us to mentally venture deep into the secrets of nature, to think abstract thoughts, to associate marks on a paper with objects and profound ideas of other human beings, to communicate verbally with other people, to create and appreciate beautiful music.

  • We can look at a collection of colors dabbed on a canvas and preceive it as a beautiful painting, a work of art. We can peer at the marks (writing) on a page of a book and enter into limitless new worlds (stories) that we associate these marks with. Human imagination allows us to 'see' into the past or project into the future. It allows us to perceive the beauty of nature's creativity.

  • It has allowed modern humans to communicate with each other across time and place over the ages. It allows humans to 'see' things that no other animal can. No other animal has this imaginative power it is strictly a special human sense. Its sensors are the billions of pathways located in the cortex of our enlarged brain. This "Special Sense" - Human Imagination - has created the "MIND" of Mankind!

    Donald L. Hamilton © 2002

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    Reference - "The MIND of Mankind: Human Imagination, the source of Mankind's amazing power!"

    Click here to find out about the "Mind" of Mankind

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