Litcius/Paper detail

The aphantasia paradox: a Sartrean update

Margherita Arcangeli, Paolo Bartolomeo

2025Brain9 citationsDOI

Abstract

Neuroscientific research into mental imagery often relies on David Hume’s view of visual imagination as weak perception. Arcangeli & Bartolomeo argue that Jean-Paul Sartre’s alternative framework—supported by recent findings on aphantasia—offers a more conceptually and empirically robust approach.

Topics & Concepts

PerceptionCognitive sciencePsychologyMental imageEpistemologyCognitive psychologyPhilosophyPsychoanalysisCognitionNeuroscienceVisual perception and processing mechanismsFace Recognition and PerceptionMultisensory perception and integration