Questions arise concerning both the relation of mental imagery to the corresponding perceptions and the differences between them, for Hume the problem of distinguishing impressions from ideas. According to the picture theory of imagery, having a mental image consists of being aware of some mental entity before the mind which represents the external scene imagined. Inasmuch as this provides an inner surrogate for the outer object of a mental state, this account parallels the sense-datum theory of perception. Those with leanings towards behaviourism often show the most hostility to the idea of mental imagery. Mental imagery has become the focus of a debate within psychology since research has suggested that imagery is involved in certain kinds of reasoning.
Imagery also seems to be exploited in certain forms of spatial reasoning.
This has led to a debate in both psychology and philosophy over the nature of the imagery involved in these cases, in particular whether there are distinct forms of representation within the brain, although it is not clear whether this new debate is continuous with the more traditional debates about imagery and imagination. The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology 3. The Oxford Companion to the English Language 4. aesthetics, problems of The Oxford Companion to Philosophy 5. All rights reserved.