ABSTRACT
The simplest form of imagining is pictorial thinking; we depict to ourselves the object as we have perceived it, as we have seen, heard, touched, or otherwise sensed it. In such imagining, "imagery" seems to take the place and perform the functions of sensory experience. Pre-perception, or the influence of imagination on perception, is greatest when we not only think of the object before perceiving it, but also expect to perceive it; that is to say, when our anticipation of it is definite and explicit. The essential and primary function of imagination is to carry out the process of trial and error on the imaginary plane, to depict each situation and the consequences of each step of action, before the action is accomplished or even begun. The influence of conation on imagination of the future is more generally and adequately recognized under the head of Desire.
