Thomas Hobbes’ Conception of Imagination

dr Krzysztof Wawrzonkowski, Wyższa Szkoła Gospodarki w Bydgoszczy, Instytut Kulturoznawstwa, Zakład Filozofii i Teorii KulturyThe article deals with Thomas Hobbes’ conception of imagination. Hobbes was aware of Greek and Latin origins of the term. According to him, imagination is nothing but a decaying sense. While reconstructing the draft of Hobbes’ theory of imagination, the author of the article describes the activity of mind as motion caused by bodies, and states that imagination can overcome the bounds of senses and memory. On the one hand, imagination is limited toexperience (in its reproductive function), but on the other, it can create newideas, conceptions or trains of thoughts (in its productive function)