The unlikely grouping of Harry Potter, Santa Claus, and God through influential modalities of imagination, cognition, and culture

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Date
2022-01
Authors
Driedger, Haley
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Abstract
Imaginative entities are everywhere. Harry Potter, Santa Claus, and God are examples of imaginative entities that we encounter on a daily basis. Although varied, every manifestation of our imagination is fuelled by the intricate relationship of imagination, cognition, and culture. But we do not treat them the same. The relationship between imagination and culture is exquisitely intertwined, creating an authority that defies rationale and has the power to influence cultural trends, societal design, and individual perception. My thesis proposes an explanation for varieties of imaginative entities as well as a tentative system of classification to stipulate, differentiate, and understand their purpose. The crux of this analysis is that imagination, cognition, and culture are the most influential factors of societal operation. Societal operation is dependant on the complex relationship between human development, social transmission, and cultural formation. This research seeks to address oversights and misconceptions of literature by creating a taxonomy to acknowledge and explain these concepts. Research on various imaginative entities provides crucial information on how people interact with imagination, cognition, and social authority, a pervasive and often unrecognized occurrence for everyone. Support for these assertions rely on interdisciplinary literature reviews and case studies from culture, religion, anthropology, and psychology. These case studies provide an empirical and concrete basis to analyze.
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Keywords
Imagination, Cognition, Culture, Religion, Christianity, Pretend play, Imaginary companions, Imaginative entities, Myth, God, Harry Potter, Santa Claus
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