Tuesday, September 11, 2018

What is imaginary?


Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

What is imaginary? Here is my definition:
Imaginary is the condition of existing only in the mind
In your head, think of a tennis ball sitting on a windowsill. The tennis ball is doing nothing but just sitting there. Then you see a cat jump onto the windowsill and walk towards the tennis ball. At this moment, the cat pushes the tennis ball off the windowsill with its paw. This entire scenario is imaginary because it only exists in your mind.

I believe that all concepts are imaginary. A concept is a a general meaning and does not exist in particulars. For example, it is correct to point to a cat and say, "there is a cat" but it is incorrect to point to a cat and say, "there is the concept of a cat". That particular cat does not capture the entire essence of the concept. The only place that a concept can be found is in the mind.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0