Imagination as a Way of Knowledge with Gary Lachman - in-person event!

Join Gary Lachman for an in-person talk in PRS library!

Imagination as a Way of Knowledge with Gary Lachman

In the PRS Library!

When we think of “the imagination,” what do we mean? Generally we consider imagination to be related to fantasy, the unreal, or, at best, the “not yet” real, when we think of it as putting us on the “cutting edge” of innovation and technology. We think of imagination in the sense of “make believe,” of day dreams and wishful thinking, of, in some way, an escape from reality.

But there is another way to understand and to experience imagination, as a way not of “make believe” but of “making real”.

Although in modern times, the idea of imagination as a way of knowledge has lost favor, throughout history there has been a long tradition of seeing imagination as a way of knowing and participating with the world, and not as a means of retreat from it.

My talk, based on my book Lost Knowledge of the Imagination, will look at this other way of knowing. It will show how, with the rise of science, imagination as a way of knowledge became marginalised and what this means for us in the postmodern age. It will show that without the support and contribution of this other form of knowledge, our understanding of reality is not only incomplete but in a very real sense dangerous.

Ticket price: $15 (in-person event)

If you have any questions please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167

Gary Lachman is the author of many books on consciousness, culture, and the western esoteric tradition, including Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Aquarian Age, Aleister Crowley: Magick, Rock and Roll, and the Wickedest Man in the World, Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson, and The Secret Teachers of the Western World. In a past life he was a founding member of the rock group Blondie and in 2006 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Lachman writes about philosophical and mystical ideas with exceptional grace, forcefulness and clarity." Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

Recent Book: Touched By The Presence