• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.603-646
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• 2009

This paper explores in depth Gaston Bachelard's theory of imagination so as to establish the philosophical bases of creativity. While he had begun his studies on imagination to eliminate unreliable subjectivity hampering objectivity of philosophy of science, he was fascinated to become a philosopher of imagination by its unlimited power. Since his theory of imagination marked a prominent spot in the history of Western idea, this paper will seek its significant implications that will also shed light on the philosophical grounds of creativity. The best way to approach his theory is to differentiate whether imagination is the power of forming images or that of transforming them. If not misguided by surface simplicity of the aforementioned differentiation, it will be revealed that it has accrued strata in the history of Western idea. The power of forming images is related to theory of mimesis or of representation, and to ocularcentric and logo-centric structures. Bachelard strongly opposes to the theory of imagination as power of forming images, since, if it is so, its expansion and development are not possible. He thereby constructs the theory of imagination as power of transforming images. The force of movement lies at the core of his theory. Imagination as an ability to intuit movement is directly related to the problem of change in the history of Western idea. If an entity is incessantly changes itself, it becomes a crucial role of imagination to capture the force perse in the perpetual movement without distortedly and abruptly fixing it at a still point of time and space. Bachelard criticizes such a method that makes movement a controllable entity consisting of partitioned moments of space; instead, he constructs theory of imagination that reveals the true power of indispensable movement. Furthermore, it will be revealed that Bachelard's theory has more affinities with Kantian imagination and reflective judgement of aesthetics than the past researches on Bachelard showed. This paper, by means of the above investigation, will transcend the superficiality of defining what are Bachelard's formal, material, and dynamic imaginations; simultaneously, it will bear philosophical conditions of possibility that makes us experience imagination fully. These conditions also become the philosophical foundations of creativity. It will draw to a provisional close its imaginative journey of everlasting movement by making ontological and ethical dimensions of imagination and creativity.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.4
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• pp.269-284
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• 1998

The purpose of this thesis is to understand Henry Jame's theory of the novel and to clarify the importance of him as a theorist. He developed many literary techniques through his dozens of works. But it is more important that he is a theorist who established the unique theory of novel through his critical essays. I arranged Jame's early theories, focusing on "The Art of Fiction" that was one of his major essays written in 1884. His main idea was that the purpose of novel was to represent life. The "experience" that James emphasized was composed of characters, impression and consciousness. "Psychological Realism", which is Jame's unique realism, reflected his interests in the inner mind of man. James believed in the capacity of human imagination as the source of creative inspiration and its ability to perceive reality in a manner that is more intense and comprehensive and transform it into a more balanced and orderly ideality. Henry James always insisted on the importance of writer's imagination. Another important imagination in Henry Jame's novel is the character's imagination. It is closely related with the consciousness, the heart of the Jame's literary world. James devised the new form of novel as well as the possibility of representation of mind. At this point, it is said that James was the pioneer of literary criticism. He evoked the trend of the early 20th century.

• (The)Korea Educational Review
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.31-53
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• 2017

Drawing upon Vygotsky's theory, this paper explores the possibilities of imaginative education and those implications in relation to emotions. Imagination is an important element of future competencies as well as creativity. But there is a big dilemma in an educational intervention about imagination. If imagination is naturally occurring and therefore considered a mysterious ability that is specific to a child, education should not intervent as much as possible so that it can be expressed and preserved. It is linked to Piaget's influence, which regards imagination as a mental immaturity of childhood. Vygotsky who is a developmental psychologist argues that mind is generated from the socio-cultural origins in opposition to Piaget's spontaneous generation and emphasizes that it is a core characteristic of human to create something through interaction with the world. Vygotsky consider that 'imagination' which synthesizes empirical material and creates a new image is a key factor in human creativity. He reminded us of the possibilities and importance of imaginative education by revealing that imagination is not limited to childhood but constantly develops through cultural experience. Especially Vygotsky's understanding has important implications for future education in relation to emotion. Imagination plays a role of expressing and dealing with human emotions. Unlike the reason-centered society in the past, future society demands a big role of imagination in education for dealing with emotional knowledge and morality.

• Korean Association for Visual Culture
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• v.35
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• pp.5-33
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• 2019

This paper examines the problems of the concept of 'analogon' which occupies an important place in Jean-Paul Sartre's theory of imagination and his 'aesthetic of the unreal', focusing on Michel Dufrenne's objection to the concept. In the Imaginary (1940), Sartre offers a phenomenological account of the imaginative experience and his theory of imagination provides the basis for his account of experience of art. Sartre distinguishes the imagining consciousness from the realizing consciousness of perception. The work of art, for Sartre, is transformed into an irreal thing ("The work of art is irreality."), i.e. it appears only as aesthetic object, and only under the condition that the spectator's consciousness changes into an imagining consciousness. Some claim that Sartre underemphasizes the function of materiality in artworks. Mikel Dufrenne, in his The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Experience (1953), criticizes Sartre's thesis of irreality. Dufrenne argues that the aesthetic object is the work of art accomplished by aesthetic perception, the meaning of the aesthetic object is given as a whole in the sensuous and does not refer to something that lies outside the object as with imagination or irreality. An affective a priori is the condition of possibility for the occurrence of aesthetic experience.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.6
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• pp.101-121
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• 2008

An artist, Oh Yun(1946~86)'s theory of people's art during his final period is summed up in his essay 'Expansion of Artistic Imagination and World' (1985). Emphasizing the mystic and traditional characteristics of Oh Yun's artistic oeuvre during his final period, some critics focus on Oh Yun's experience of medical treatment and shamanistic custom at Jin Do island, and his belief in Jeung San Do, the dao of Jeung-san, the Ruler of the Universe. However, they forget the practical intention and implication of his theory of art during his final period, which aimed to overcome the contradiction of revelation itself. Oh Yun's essay criticized the loss of artistic imagination and the ignorance of traditional culture that resulted from the elevation of science to a religion, and insisted that the stereotyped idealism, scientism and elitism in art should be overcome in order to recover the full reality in realism and to continue traditional cultures. The essay is comprised of 18 paragraphs. Oh Yun criticized monochromatic art, conceptual art, hyper-realistic art, objet d'art, and neo-dadaist art, saying that they were simply mechanical forms of modern art derived from scientism and a fetishistic lens culture. In addition, he criticized naturalism in art, which had continued as a tendency in the development of western art, for the same reason. He pointed out that even the world of realism had been diminished by elite stereotypes and diagrams. He declared the need to overcome the imitation of shells or stereotyped propaganda, and recover full realism, which seems to have started with a reflective examination of current problems in 'Reality and Utterance', in which he participated. Especially, he thought that universality and the extension of full realism could be achieved by building on the views of traditional cultures, which is meaningful. This logic is same as the theory of epic theatre that Bertolt Brecht(1898~1956) has developed under the ancient Greek masque and Pieter Bruegel the Elder(1525~69)'s story-like picture style. The universality of realism and the extension of acquisition to include incantation art, rather than move toward incantation art, is what Oh Yun intended to propose in 'Artistic Imagination'. This attitude is same as Bertoh Brecht's aesthetic viewpoint in the 1930s. But regrettably, Oh Yun's style wording, which seems covert and far-sighted, is often misunderstood as 'mysticism'. In the flow of people's art in the 1980s, Oh Yun was a traditionalist in a narrow sense, and an realist in a broad sense. However, his critical mind, which comprehends tradition and reality, was attempting to expand universality and extend full realism, and this attempt found many sympathizers and had an influence on the next generation of people's artists, such as "Levee" which is field-centered, to which we should pay attention. This means that while their works thought about 'tradition', we should be careful not to connect them with 'aesthetic conservatism' or 'classical art'. This is the why the meaning of Oh Yun's theory of art during his final period should be closely examined again.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.34
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• pp.93-114
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• 2014

Gaston Bachelard had a revolutionary progress in the field of human understanding by proposing his theory of image and imagination. His theory of the new image was so powerful, almost all areas of human science, particularly that of literary criticism, were strongly influenced and this influence continues until today. Today almost everyone accepts his theory of the image without much objection, but not rarely asked where began his transfer from the philosophy of science to the images. We propose a hypothesis that the beginning of the new concept of Bachelard's image was inspired by studies of contemporary science, especially quantum mechanics. The Heisenberg's uncertainty principle was the core of quantum mechanics, and opens new perspectives on the material world. We could summarize the message of the uncertainty principle : the material world is made up of various layers, and the material can not be measured by the location and movement at the same time. So we must have a new point of view of another dimension to know this material world. Bachelard had accepted this view of Heisenberg and developed his own theory of epistemological rupture. What is revolutionary in the theory of Bachelard's image is the fact that he looked at the images with the new perspective. The human psyche is another world compared to the rational world that dominates our daily lives. Bachelard insists that the image can not be explained by the concept. The fantasy world is a totally different world to that of rationality. That is why it can not be explained by the language of rationality as the concept. The imaginary world exists independently of the real world, but it is superimposed on the real world. These two worlds are influencing each other, and it is between these two world where our daily lives continues. The declaration of Bachelard 'image is a specific reality' is never a metaphor or rhetorical expression. This is an ontological expression that must truthfully. The imaginary world is a world built on the image and it works according to its own law. It is not a representation or copy of the real world. But the world of imagination are not alone. It exists in the same time and space with the world of science. It is superimposed with the world of science. Both two world influence each other. Bachelard has made a revolutionary change by studying the images. He gave them their own place. It has changed the views on the images that were treated as mere representations of reality. Thanks to him, the image can have its own value, that of a factor that creates reality. Bachelard shows how we can go deep into the source of being and the universe if we look at the pictures with the eyes of other dimensions.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.132-142
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to interpret the MCU's universal worldview from the perspective of geometry and to storytell narrative elements with mathematical imagination. For storytelling, data from the Phase 3 series aired from 2016 to 2019 was used. The Phase 3 series stimulates the imagination of the public with the sense of reality shown in the narrative and images based on geometrical theory and various predictions about future technology. Imagination is the driving force for diverse and original thinking about the unexperienced, and the ability to find order in chaos and create new perceptions of matter. The power of imagination is very necessary not only in artistic activities, but also in the scientific field where logic and rationality are important. Bachelard's imagination aims for art, the primitive realm of human beings, and contains sincerity and passion for the wonders of nature and all things. By exploring the MCU's worldview and superhero narrative through geometrical logic and imagination-driven imagery, you can understand the cosmic messages and laws in the film. From a convergence point of view of art and science, various and original techniques based on mathematics and scientific imagination used in MCU video production will help to improve the quality of video analysis.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.34
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• pp.7-41
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• 2014

This article examines magical realism in contemporary european film, which is considered to be one of the most popular styles in the present culture, with regards to Antonio Negri's theory of art. Magical realism is "alternative approach to reality" (Maggie Ann Bowers, Magic(al) Realism) and defined as "a fictional technique that combines fantasy with raw physical reality or social reality in a search for truth beyond that available from the surface of everyday life" (Joan Mellen, Magic Realism). The term of Magic Realism was coined in 1923 by Franz Roh, German art historian, as the concept for the post-expressionist painting in Germany. It has flourished in the Latin-American literature during the 1950s to 1980s and spread worldwide. Since 1980s magical realism is considered to be a universal artistic mode. Since 1990s magical realism is to find in the various novels, and since 2000 one encounters magical realism in the cinema very often. Antonio Negri writes about the relationship between life, imagination, art and the political in his book Art et Multitude. According to Negri, the hard life of people in the present society liberates the imagination and this creates the art as "the excess of the existence". In this process the aesthetic becomes to the political. Negri calls this space of art as "magical time and space". Claire Denis' film Vendredi Soir is analyzed as a contemporary magic realist text, which realizes Negri's concept of art: vendredi soir (friday night) in Vendredi Soir is the magical time, when the impossible becomes the possible, and paris in the public transportation strike is the magical space, where the individuals meet the other in a new situation. The film analysis associates itself with Negri's theory of art: in Vendredi Soir, it is to see, that the excess of the existence liberates imagination and creates the magic reality both in the movements of things and the human relationship. The phenomenon of magical realism in contemporary culture can be understood as the symptom of the emotional and existential pains of contemporary people in the current world. The contemporaneity of the magical realism can be read in the film as "the metaphor for contemporary thought" (Alain Badiou, Cinema). As Antonio Negri writes, art can become "the aesthetic redemption" (Negri, Art et Multitude) for us. At the same time "(t)his is where aesthetics can be transformed into the political." (Lee, "Communism and the Void")

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.37
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• pp.365-389
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• 2018

This research aims to study Michael Chekhov's acting techniques scientifically, because his techniques has been studied only theoretically or empirically. Especially, this study focuses on 'imagination' and 'Psychological Gesture' from the perspective of cognitive psychology. Chekhov thought 'imagination' as the basis and core of all the works of acting. In cognitive psychology, it is called as 'imagery' and means 'a representation of the mind of the object not communicated by the sensory organs currently'. This study starts with defining imagery and takes a brief look at the features and kinds of imagery. Then the researcher will prove scientifically the possibility of training acting using imagery as Chekhov's assertion. For the proof of the validity of imagery, we'll look for the theoretical evidences-functional equivalence hypothesis, psychoneuromuscular theory, symbolic learning theory, psychophygiological information processing-and experimental ones-measurements of cerebral blood flow or event-related potential, experiments with fMRI(functional magnetic resonance imaging) or PET(positron emission tomography). As a result, we can see that imagery is functionally identical to perception and improves fulfillment of cognitive and physical tasks. As proving physical changes can draw out psychological changes(feeling) on the medium of imagery, we can also see the validity of Psychological Gesture. From the above research, even if Chekhov developed the acting techniques only on the basis of his experience, his techniques can be thought as having scientific validity. Though insufficient, this study can be a help for actors or students as they using Chekhov's techniques.

• 한국임상약학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1994.11a
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• pp.97-130
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• 1994

'The formulation of a research problem is far more often essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative imagination and marks real edvance in science.'