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    Imagination and metacognition in Futures & Foresight process

    The liminal dimension of anticipatory learning: imagination and metacognition in Futures & Foresight processes

    Imagination, in common discourse, is often relegated to a secondary domain of thought – a frivolous, playful, and unreliable mental activity confined to childhood, the arts, or, at best, applied creativity. A “magic box” that opens only when logical rigor relaxes, when attention drifts toward invention and fantasy. Yet this view, however seductive, is ultimately reductive – if not misleading.

    When examined through the lens of contemporary cognitive science, imagination instead reveals itself as a profound and complex cognitive function. Not only does it actively participate in processes of knowing, but it also constitutes one of their foundational dimensions. It is the mental faculty through which we construct alternative worlds, test hypothetical scenarios, and explore the unknown without needing to experience it directly. Far from being a mere appendage to rational thought, it serves as one of its key structural supports.

    Even more striking is what emerges from recent scientific research: imagination possesses a metacognitive character. This means it does not merely generate mental content that diverges from reality, but is also capable of reflecting on itself – monitoring and adjusting its own trajectories, becoming the object of awareness and intentional regulation. In other words, imagining is not just about conjuring what is absent from the world, but also about knowing one is imagining, directing that act toward specific goals, and assessing its quality, limitations, and implications.

    This represents a genuine epistemological shift – recasting imagination not as a passive or automatic process, but as a strategic ally of thought. Within this framework, imagination emerges as a faculty that weaves together multiple dimensions of our cognitive experience:

    • perception, which provides sensory input;
    • intuition, which enables rapid, non-linear associations;
    • intentionality, which channels imaginative effort toward a purpose;
    • and self-awareness, which allows us to revise and reinterpret what has been imagined, imbuing it with meaning and value.

    It is within this layered and dynamic space that imagination assumes a renewed role: no longer a retreat into the unreal, but a critical tool for probing the possible. It becomes the lens through which we may observe not only what is, but what could be – and, through this, reconfigure our relationship with the present.

    It enables us to anticipate without predicting, and to plan without constraining.

    In educational, professional, and social contexts – and even more so within the fields of Futures Thinking and Foresight – this reconceptualization of imagination as a metacognitive skill proves to be strategically essential. To anticipate the future is not to guess what will occur, but to cultivate a gaze that can recognize alternatives, navigate uncertainties, and imagine trajectories not yet in existence. Doing so requires more than creativity; it demands a deep literacy in conscious imagination.

    To rediscover imagination through a metacognitive lens is to restore its dignity as an epistemic, transformative, and educational faculty. A faculty not only capable of generating visions, but also of sustaining, interrogating, and refining them. A power to be reintegrated into our intellectual and civic formation – so that it may help us not only to imagine different worlds, but to understand the conditions that make them possible.

    Posted on: 09/06/2025

    Last Edited: a month ago

    Dr. Matthew J. Spaniol1

    Senior Researcher at Roskilde University

    Posted on: 28/05/2025

    Last Edited: a month ago

    André Uhl1

    Posted on: 13/05/2025

    Last Edited: 2 months ago

    Minna Takala1

    Strategist & Creative Thinker exploring emerging themes and signals of change

    Posted on: 09/05/2025

    Last Edited: 2 months ago

    Agustín ALEMÁN GONZÁLEZ1

    Think exponentially, act incrementally.

    Posted on: 09/05/2025

    Last Edited: 2 months ago

    Adrien Cadiot1

    Posted on: 23/04/2025

    Last Edited: 2 months ago

    Pedro de Senna1

    Performance for Futures

    Posted on: 16/04/2025

    Last Edited: 2 months ago

    MERYEM LAGHMARI1

    Anthropologist & Foresight Researcher

    Posted on: 12/04/2025

    Last Edited: 3 months ago

    ISINNOVA1

    Institute for Studies on the Integration of Systems

    Delivering solutions for a more sustainable future

    ISINNOVA provides research services and strategic consultancy to public and private actors pursuing sustainable visions, solutions, and policies.

    Five Pillars of Our Approach

    1. Anticipate – Apply systems thinking and foresight methodologies to identify emerging challenges, reveal interdependencies, and inform proactive, future-resilient strategies.

    2. Integrate – Connect disciplines, sectors, and knowledge systems to foster richer analysis and tackle complex challenges holistically.

    3. Align – Ensure research, innovation, and governance processes reflect the values, priorities, and needs of society through ethical, participatory, and responsible approaches.

    4. Co-create – Engage diverse stakeholders — researchers, policymakers, citizens, and industry — in collaborative processes to design solutions that are inclusive, relevant, and impactful.

    5. Transform – Drive systemic change by translating shared knowledge and co-created solutions into sustainable, scalable actions, supported by continuous assessment to ensure applicability, effectiveness, and long-term value.

    Track Record

    • 50+ years in the game (and counting).
    • Involved in over 130 research projects (ISINNOVA designs, develops, and manages sector-specific & cross-sector EU and global projects)
    • 15 staff members with multidisciplinary backgrounds (engineering, statistics, economics, politics, law, social sciences, computer science and media studies)

    Posted on: 03/04/2025

    Last Edited: 4 months ago

    Iulia Grafu1

    Posted on: 28/02/2025

    Last Edited: 4 months ago

    Erik Øverland1

    It's not about being right in hindsight, but about being wrong in interesting ways.

    Posted on: 20/02/2025

    Last Edited: 5 months ago

    Aaron B. Rosa1

    a tagline to remember

    Posted on: 06/02/2025

    Last Edited: 5 months ago

    Marianna Martínez Alfaro1

    Posted on: 03/02/2025

    Last Edited: 6 months ago

    4CF The Futures Literacy Company1

    4CF The Futures Literacy Company is a consultancy entirely focused on strategic foresight and long-term strategies. For nearly two decades, 4CF has been on the mission to help its clients prepare for an uncertain tomorrow. The Company has executed hundreds of projects for private companies, public institutions and international entities, including the European Commission and its agencies (EUDA, ENISA), FAO, UNFCCC, UNESCO, UNEP and UNDP. 4CF is at the forefront of global innovation, and actively contributes to the development of cutting-edge foresight tools, including 4CF HalnyX (Delphi platform), 4CF Sprawlr, 4CF FLEx.

    Posted on: 17/12/2024

    Last Edited: 7 months ago

    Saar van der Spek1

    Posted on: 18/11/2024