In the previous post I talked about the transcendentals–truth, goodness and beauty. Specifically, regarding truth I referred to C.S. Lewis and how the cultivation of the imagination creates the fertile ground of meaning for truth to take root. Concerning this idea, Lewis was greatly indebted to Scholasticism, wherein the imagination receives what is perceived prior to the understanding of truth. The incongruity of Scholasticism with Orthodoxy raises the question of pertinence: does the notion of imagination aiding in the reception of truth have any place in Orthodox spiritual life?
Some will emphatically say, No!
And some will will volley back with a resounding, Yes!
Archimandrite Hierotheos Vlachos tells us in The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition that after the fall of man the nous was darkened, therefore reason supplanted the nous for control, and, consequentially, phantasy has been energized causing an array of problems for man. Men have been deluded by images and phantasies. Moreover, only men and demons have phantasy. For man to achieve theoria and be free from images, phantasy must become inactive.
A cursory glance at these ideas one can easily come to the conclusion that Lewis’ idea has no place in Orthodoxy. However, the answer is found within St. Sophrony’s teaching on the three forms of prayer. These forms correspond to the normal development of the human spirit, there is an outward movement of the nous, a return to itself, and, finally, the ascent towards God through the inner man. The first of the three forms of prayer is that of the imagination, or phantasy (fantasia, φαντασία). The second is meditative or thinking (noisis, νόησης). The last, wrapped concentration (theoria, θεωρια). All are beneficial, yet there is a danger if one believes one of the first two forms is all that is needed. There is a great harm if one cultivates images during prayer, this leads to delusion and deception.
Contrariwise, Lewis is talking about the cultivation of the imaginative faculty of the human person as an imperative for the reception of truth. The imaginative forms of prayer often found in Western Christianity are not compatible with Orthodoxy, at all. However, the imagination plays a key role in understanding the place each person has within the cosmos. It brings coherence and meaning to a seemingly chaotic world, where disparate happenings inundate the person. Without a meaningful narrative, the human person is subject to the vicissitudes of the fallen world, which will lead to varying forms of neuroses. These neurotic behaviors are the result of a disordered person–meaning here that the passions govern needs and actions, and not the nous.
The concern for (post)modern humanity is that we’ve forgotten how to be human. We’re actually terrible at being human. The ancient world imbued man with mythic meaning. Classical instruction instilled truth, goodness and beauty in man. There existed a real, living continuity with the past and the cosmos. This is where we get the idea of the noble pagan. Unfortunately, we’re not even good pagans anymore, let alone Christian. Reclaiming the mythic understanding of the cosmos is crucial for living the Orthodox life. One is unable to immerse oneself in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church if water is just comprised of hydrogen and oxygen; or bread and wine is simply just yeast acting on flour and grapes; or light is the result of electricity traveling through copper to a filament in a bulb. The imaginative–the mythic–is key for reclaiming the ancient paradigm that Christianity grew out of. After two centuries of modernity demythologizing the world, Lewis recognized the need to cultivate imagination, or instill the mythopoetic, to borrow the term from his colleague JRR Tolkien, in order for truth to take root. If not, then the seed of truth will land on hardened, arid soil. Story will recapture the imaginations of modern people. Then the grandeur of the Christian story will open up to them. Christ’s parables will illuminate. The Old Testament stories will be rife with meaning. And hagiography will enliven readers and hearers.
However, the caveat from His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos warning us of allowing the imagination to direct prayer is one that increasingly more pertinent in contemporary culture. These two seemingly antithetical views about imagination set the boundaries of what is needed for spiritual development.
Next time we will discuss what kind of stories are worth reading with a little help from St. Basil and Dickens.
