The Rational Imagination¶
Byrne, R. M. J. (2005). The Rational Imagination: How People Create Alternatives to Reality. MIT Press.
Cited by¶
1 citation across 1 artifact.
Each citation links to the sentence it supports in the citing article.
Primes¶
- Counterfactual Reasoning
- Mental simulation of alternative histories ("what if Napoleon had won at Waterloo?")
This sourceArgues counterfactual imagination is governed by the same principles as rational thought, identifying systematic patterns (controllable events, actions, last-in-sequence) in how alternatives are constructed.
Supported in partVerified against the publisher's abstract
Byrne's abstract backs counterfactual thinking as imagining alternatives to reality, but names everyday events, not historical 'alternative histories' such as Napoleon at Waterloo.
“This accessible and original monograph explores a central aspect of the imagination, the creation of counterfactual alternatives to reality, and claims that imaginative thoughts are guided by the same principles that underlie rational thoughts. ... People often create alternatives to reality and imagine how events might have turned out "if only" something had been different.”
- Mental simulation of alternative histories ("what if Napoleon had won at Waterloo?")
Verification¶
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Registry ID ref:ede9bab7be96 · see in the full table