Kant's theory of imagination

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This book challenges existing scholarship on Kant by highlighting the essential role of imagination in his philosophy. For Kant, cognition and experience are both passive and active, thought and sensed, free and unfree. While these dualisms are often viewed as flaws in his system, the author, Sarah Gibbons, argues that imagination is crucial for "bridging gaps" between various cognitive elements. This insight reveals the complexity of cognition for finite rational beings. Gibbons begins by offering a broader interpretation of synthesis, examining the first Critique to provide a reading of the Transcendental Deduction and the chapter on Schematism, which elucidates the extraconceptual activities of imagination vital for cognition. She further develops this concept in The Critique of Judgment, where Kant explores imagination's role in defining the subjective conditions of judgment. Gibbons emphasizes the collaboration between imagination and reason, illustrating that humans strive for reason's ideal ends through ongoing efforts to articulate them. This process involves engaging with a shared social and historical imagination, indicating that a comprehensive understanding of the subjective conditions of judgment must account for the interplay between imagination and reason.