[Revised entry by Daniel Munro, Shen-yi Liao, and Tamar Gendler on January 12, 2026.
Changes to: Main text, Bibliography]
To imagine is to represent without aiming at things as they actually, presently, and subjectively are. One can use imagination to represent possibilities other than the actual, to represent times other than the present, and to represent perspectives other than one’s own. Unlike perceiving and believing, imagining something does not require one to consider that something to be the case. Unlike desiring or anticipating, imagining something does not require one to wish or expect that something to be the case….

Read the full article which is published on Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (external link)