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Quote by Gaston Bachelard

“For in the end, the irreality function functions as well in the face of man as in the face of the cosmos. What would we know of others if we did not imagine things?”

Author

Gaston Bachelard

French philosopher known for his work in epistemology, poetics, and the philosophy of science. His writings have had a profound impact on 20th-century philosophy, particularly in understanding human cognition and the scientific method. more

“Perhaps it is even a good idea to stir up a rivalry between conceptual and imaginative activity. In any case, one will encounter nothing but disappointments if he intends to make them cooperate. The image can not provide matter for a concept. By giving stability to the image, the concept would stifle its life.”

Ifs Giving Ideas Matter Imagination Cases Activity Concepts Disappointment Encounters Stability Good Ideas Can Not Imaginative Rivalry

Author:Gaston Bachelard

“The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. It is a non-sense to claim to study imagination objectively since one really receives the image only if he admires it. Already in comparing one image to another, one runs the risk of losing participation in its individuality.”

Ifs Dream Running Imagination Study Risk Losing Claims Individuality Admire Compare Participation Objectivity Reverie

Author:Gaston Bachelard

“Through imagination, thanks to the subtleties of the irreality function, we re-enter the world of confidence, the world of the confident being, which is the proper world for reverie.”

World Imagination Function Thanks Subtlety Reverie

Author:Gaston Bachelard

“I am not even six feet tall. Yet I am praying to the Absolute Supreme to reach His infinite Height, which is far beyond even my imagination's flight. For me to long to grow into that Height - is this not a miracle? I am mortal. My thoughts, my deeds, my experiences - everything that I have and everything that I am - represent mortality. Yet despite everything that I have and everything that I am, I am longing for Immortality. Is this not a miracle?”