Abstract
In this paper, I present an illuminating way of seeing, learning, and knowing the world through the rediscovery of beauty, art, and imagination. The purpose of the work is to explore how aesthetic and imaginal ways of knowing, the forgotten knowledge of the imagination and the soul, might be revived through a connection with the arts. Beauty and imaginal knowledge, knowledge which comes about through introspection and active participation with life, have edged near obsolescence, replaced by rigid external social constructs and often erroneous perceptions. The search for the forgotten knowledge of the soul is undertaken as an exploration through history, philosophy, and literature. Using an ontological textual analysis, I evaluate how active participation promotes engagement in imaginal knowledge, perhaps even providing a channel to it. In a close reading on the subjects of beauty, imagination, and the arts I explore how aesthetic and imaginal ways of knowing might be revived today. A connection between beauty, imagination, the arts, and forgotten imaginal knowledge is substantiated, with particular attention to the critical importance imaginal knowledge plays in the scientific realm. I conclude with a discussion about artists, poets and musicians as change makers for humanity, conduits in the recovery of beauty, historical imagination, and the forgotten knowledge of the soul.
Presenters
Katherine ZiemkeStudent, MST, JD, PhD (student) Transformative Studies, California Institute of Integral Studies, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Beauty, Art, Imagination, Active Participation, Knowledge, Perception, Soul, Aesthetic, Introspection
