A post by Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s (1648-1695) Primero Sueño (First Dream) is an astonishing epistemological poem that follows the flight of an intellectual soul, freed from its body by the sleep of reason, as it seeks to understand all of creation. Of the many subjects worthy of philosophical interest in the epic poem, my focus will be the way its incredible imagery hints at a psychological ontology. Quotations of Sor Juana’s [SJ] Spanish-language verse in the following are my own English glosses.

A post by Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa.

In his Address to the Congress of Angostura, on February 15th, 1819, Simón Bolívar sketches his vision of the future for ‘Gran Colombia’, the state he wanted to help build after fighting for South American independence against Spain.

“Flying from age to age, my imagination reflects on the centuries to come … I feel a kind of rapture, as if this land stood at the heart of the universe [...] I see her as unifier, center, emporium for the human family” (The Angostura Address).

This passage closes a long speech where Bolívar is making concrete (though not infallible) projections and normative judgments about the political future, including denouncing slavery, defending democratic ideals, and rejecting the viability of a federalist system. I suggest that this speech is an example of the use of political and social imagination, that is, imagination that has as its object political or social change, consideration of the thoughts and feelings at the personal, group, and institutional level. I will argue that we need a concept of political imagination.

A post by Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa.

Anne T. King is an interior designer. She has a variety of specialized skills and kinds of knowledge which make her good at her job. She has knowledge of the prices and various features of building materials, home decor, and furniture. She is familiar with the locations of good shops for home goods. She has the contact information of reliable craftsmen. Anne also possesses an aesthetic sense for color and composition, business acumen, people skills, and, most importantly, the capacity we call a “good imagination”.

What does her “good imagination” consist in?