The target article by Dubourg and Baumard (D&B) usefully draws our attention to the extraordinary human ability to imagine a version of the world that is quite different from what actually appears before us in daily life. However, their explanation for this ability, that it is derived from our propensity to explore novel environments, is unpersuasive. Instead, I propose here that our ability to create “imaginary worlds” is a reflection of a broader human tendency to create and share a version of reality that is compelling, comprehensible, and largely fabricated. As cultural animals, we create stories that explain why things happen as they do. However, in order for these stories to retain their full psychological power, we must believe they are not merely stories but descriptions of The Way Things Really Are. In short, we have a universal and immutable tendency to invent and believe in imaginary realities. The imaginary worlds described by D&B represent a recent form of play based on our ancient propensity for embracing imaginary realities.
The limitations of the “imaginary worlds” concept
D&B explain the appeal of imaginary worlds by stating that they “co-opt our preferences for exploration, which have evolved in humans and nonhuman animals alike, to propel individuals toward new environments and new sources of reward” (target article, abstract). This is a weak thesis. Rats and apes and most other creatures also are motivated to explore novel environments, yet they do not create imaginary worlds. The creation of imaginary worlds is a distinctly human ability, yet there is nothing distinctly human about D&B's thesis, so it fails to explain the phenomenon.
The authors of the target article present an evolutionary explanation for the recent invention of imaginary worlds that is equally flawed, claiming that “the late appearance of imaginary worlds [beginning in the 17th century] is explained by the evolution of the strength of exploratory preferences. For a long time, people's exploratory preferences were too weak to give rise to the production of imaginary worlds in fictions. Economic development made such preferences adaptive in some populations, and only then could imaginary worlds appear and be culturally successful.” Yet exploratory motivations have existed among hominins for hundreds of thousands of years, as evident in the original spread of hominins out of Africa, first to Asia and eventually to Europe (Tattersall & DeSalle, Reference Tattersall and DeSalle2019). There was virtually no “economic development” during this long era, so that explanation for geographical explorations is questionable. On the contrary, explorations and migrations into new geographical regions, then as well as now, are far more likely to be motivated by dire conditions and local scarcity of resources (Black et al., Reference Black, Adger, Arnell, Dercon, Geddes and Thomas2011). In short, a better explanation is needed for the distinctly human capacity to create imaginary realities and the imaginary worlds based on them.
The essential functions of imaginary realities
A more plausible and compelling explanation for our creation of imaginary realities (and by extension imaginary worlds) is that they are at the heart of the human capacity for creating cultures. Over a century of anthropology has documented in glorious detail how every human culture has an elaborate set of cultural beliefs that explain why the world functions as it does (Shweder et al., Reference Shweder, Goodnow, Hatano, LeVine, Markus, Miller and Lerner2007). In every culture, these beliefs are not merely based on physical reality but go far beyond, incorporating magical, fantastic, and supernatural elements to create an imaginary reality. What is extraordinary about our imaginary realities is that we have created them in every culture, but without recognizing that they are imaginary. We hold beliefs such as that natural forces have human-like consciousness; or that our deceased ancestors monitor us constantly; or that our group descended from another animal; or that our adversaries may cause us to become ill by looking at us malevolently; but we regard these imaginary realities as The Way Things Really Are, not as invented fictions (Harari, Reference Harari2015; Tattersall & DeSalle, Reference Tattersall and DeSalle2019).
Although imaginary realities distort our understanding of the physical world in myriad ways, in some respects imaginary realities are highly practical. Most importantly, they promote social cohesion and group cooperation, as cultural members' shared beliefs provide a foundation for a shared understanding of how the group should function and how responsibilities should be distributed (Rossano, Reference Rossano2010). Imaginary realities also provide a social identity that distinguishes “our” cultural group and enhances cohesion in the event of conflict with other groups (Scheepers & Ellemers, Reference Scheepers, Ellemers, Sassenberg and Vliek2019).
In these respects, imaginary realities are related to the concept of master narratives that has become widely used in recent years (Hammack, Reference Hammack2008; McLean & Syed, Reference McLean and Syed2015). However, the concept of imaginary realities recognizes that master narratives are not just practical and useful, they are also elaborate fabrications. They do not simply provide a sensible road map through life, they embellish that road map by connecting it at each point to interpretations that fictionalize it. Moreover, it is essential that the people believing in imaginary realities do not recognize them as fictions – lest they lose their psychological power.
The derivation of imaginary worlds from imaginary realities
In sum, our recently flourishing ability to create imaginary worlds that we do recognize as fiction, described in the target article, is derived from a more ancient ability to construct imaginary realities we believe actually exist. What distinguishes the modern era is that we have learned to create imaginary worlds that we recognize as fictions and enjoy them as entertainment. This occurred as human societies became more complex, literate, and affluent; we have created not only imaginary worlds but other diverse creative products, from musical works to architectural marvels to literature. But the original source of that ability is our propensity for creating imaginary worlds that we believe are real – not imaginary worlds, then, but imaginary realities.
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The target article by Dubourg and Baumard (D&B) usefully draws our attention to the extraordinary human ability to imagine a version of the world that is quite different from what actually appears before us in daily life. However, their explanation for this ability, that it is derived from our propensity to explore novel environments, is unpersuasive. Instead, I propose here that our ability to create “imaginary worlds” is a reflection of a broader human tendency to create and share a version of reality that is compelling, comprehensible, and largely fabricated. As cultural animals, we create stories that explain why things happen as they do. However, in order for these stories to retain their full psychological power, we must believe they are not merely stories but descriptions of The Way Things Really Are. In short, we have a universal and immutable tendency to invent and believe in imaginary realities. The imaginary worlds described by D&B represent a recent form of play based on our ancient propensity for embracing imaginary realities.
The limitations of the “imaginary worlds” concept
D&B explain the appeal of imaginary worlds by stating that they “co-opt our preferences for exploration, which have evolved in humans and nonhuman animals alike, to propel individuals toward new environments and new sources of reward” (target article, abstract). This is a weak thesis. Rats and apes and most other creatures also are motivated to explore novel environments, yet they do not create imaginary worlds. The creation of imaginary worlds is a distinctly human ability, yet there is nothing distinctly human about D&B's thesis, so it fails to explain the phenomenon.
The authors of the target article present an evolutionary explanation for the recent invention of imaginary worlds that is equally flawed, claiming that “the late appearance of imaginary worlds [beginning in the 17th century] is explained by the evolution of the strength of exploratory preferences. For a long time, people's exploratory preferences were too weak to give rise to the production of imaginary worlds in fictions. Economic development made such preferences adaptive in some populations, and only then could imaginary worlds appear and be culturally successful.” Yet exploratory motivations have existed among hominins for hundreds of thousands of years, as evident in the original spread of hominins out of Africa, first to Asia and eventually to Europe (Tattersall & DeSalle, Reference Tattersall and DeSalle2019). There was virtually no “economic development” during this long era, so that explanation for geographical explorations is questionable. On the contrary, explorations and migrations into new geographical regions, then as well as now, are far more likely to be motivated by dire conditions and local scarcity of resources (Black et al., Reference Black, Adger, Arnell, Dercon, Geddes and Thomas2011). In short, a better explanation is needed for the distinctly human capacity to create imaginary realities and the imaginary worlds based on them.
The essential functions of imaginary realities
A more plausible and compelling explanation for our creation of imaginary realities (and by extension imaginary worlds) is that they are at the heart of the human capacity for creating cultures. Over a century of anthropology has documented in glorious detail how every human culture has an elaborate set of cultural beliefs that explain why the world functions as it does (Shweder et al., Reference Shweder, Goodnow, Hatano, LeVine, Markus, Miller and Lerner2007). In every culture, these beliefs are not merely based on physical reality but go far beyond, incorporating magical, fantastic, and supernatural elements to create an imaginary reality. What is extraordinary about our imaginary realities is that we have created them in every culture, but without recognizing that they are imaginary. We hold beliefs such as that natural forces have human-like consciousness; or that our deceased ancestors monitor us constantly; or that our group descended from another animal; or that our adversaries may cause us to become ill by looking at us malevolently; but we regard these imaginary realities as The Way Things Really Are, not as invented fictions (Harari, Reference Harari2015; Tattersall & DeSalle, Reference Tattersall and DeSalle2019).
Although imaginary realities distort our understanding of the physical world in myriad ways, in some respects imaginary realities are highly practical. Most importantly, they promote social cohesion and group cooperation, as cultural members' shared beliefs provide a foundation for a shared understanding of how the group should function and how responsibilities should be distributed (Rossano, Reference Rossano2010). Imaginary realities also provide a social identity that distinguishes “our” cultural group and enhances cohesion in the event of conflict with other groups (Scheepers & Ellemers, Reference Scheepers, Ellemers, Sassenberg and Vliek2019).
In these respects, imaginary realities are related to the concept of master narratives that has become widely used in recent years (Hammack, Reference Hammack2008; McLean & Syed, Reference McLean and Syed2015). However, the concept of imaginary realities recognizes that master narratives are not just practical and useful, they are also elaborate fabrications. They do not simply provide a sensible road map through life, they embellish that road map by connecting it at each point to interpretations that fictionalize it. Moreover, it is essential that the people believing in imaginary realities do not recognize them as fictions – lest they lose their psychological power.
The derivation of imaginary worlds from imaginary realities
In sum, our recently flourishing ability to create imaginary worlds that we do recognize as fiction, described in the target article, is derived from a more ancient ability to construct imaginary realities we believe actually exist. What distinguishes the modern era is that we have learned to create imaginary worlds that we recognize as fictions and enjoy them as entertainment. This occurred as human societies became more complex, literate, and affluent; we have created not only imaginary worlds but other diverse creative products, from musical works to architectural marvels to literature. But the original source of that ability is our propensity for creating imaginary worlds that we believe are real – not imaginary worlds, then, but imaginary realities.
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