Quelques considérations sur l’imaginaire dans les sciences
Some Considerations on the Imaginary in Science

Summary/Abstract: Our study analyzes the relationship between the imaginary / imagination and scientific rationalism while mirroring seemingly contrasting aspects. Just as the imaginary has its own reasoning (structures, archetypes, the capacity to produce meaning – analyzed by Gilbert Durand, Gaston Bachelard and Northrop Frye), rationalism is subject to its own logic (cause- effect, arguments, deduction/ induction, etc.) which may surface in the realm of the imaginary. We further analyze the cognitive function of the imaginary, which is at the core of analogy-based knowledge and manifests itself through the metaphorical side of language. Thus a subtle, yet rigorous game emerges between clarity (characteristic to science) and ambiguity (a feature of the imaginary), between visible and invisible, further leading towards an understanding of reality beyond abstract

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