ABSTRACT
In chapter 5, I discussed objects of perceptual experience as inexhaustible sources of information. I argued that any creator of graphic work must look at the world of perceivable objects and make choices to establish what should be shown and what should be excluded. In this chapter, I will address those graphic images that do not represent objects of perceptual experience, but entities that must be imaged by intuition or conceptualization. These entities actually do exist in some form, but nobody will ever see them. They therefore are different from the images of myths or fables, such as monsters, superheros, genies, and gingerbread houses. Those fruits of our fantasy are rather simple to represent because they are nothing more than variations of entities that we all encounter in our daily experience. On the other hand, any artist knows well that to illustrate Kant’s books would be impossible, senseless, and even ridiculous. It is difficult to imagine how a drawing could clarify a difficult passage of the Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. Nonetheless, even philosophers, who when manipulating concepts prefer to use words, have used images when discussing objects and their spatial relations or specific aspects of the natural world. Excellent examples of this practice are found in Descartes and Newton, which I discuss later.
