--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagination is conjunctive and unifying…" description: "\"“Imagination is conjunctive and unifying; the sour, habitual wars of the self are disjunctive and separating. When I begin a story at my desk, the wind..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/paula-fox-13833_imagination_imagination-is-conjunctive-and-unifying_727672.jpg" --- # Imagination is conjunctive and unifying; the sour… ![“Imagination is conjunctive and unifying; the sour, habitual wars of the self are disjunctive and separating. When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back, the path is not there. As I start to walk, I make the path.” quote by Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/paula-fox-13833_imagination_imagination-is-conjunctive-and-unifying_727672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/paula-fox-13833_imagination_imagination-is-conjunctive-and-unifying_727672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/paula-fox-13833_imagination_imagination-is-conjunctive-and-unifying_727672.jpg) > ““Imagination is conjunctive and unifying; the sour, habitual wars of the self are disjunctive and separating. When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back, the path is not there. As I start to walk, I make the path.”” [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination creates connections and unity, while habitual self‑conflict fragments identity; starting a story lets you forge the path as you go. **In simple terms:** Imagination unites, habits divide; writing creates the road. Key Takeaway Begin creating, don’t wait for a pre‑existing path. Themes creativity self‑identity storytelling Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - writing a novel - brainstorming ideas - overcoming creative block Key Concepts psychology narrative theory unity Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination help resolve inner conflict? - What habits fragment your sense of self? A Different Perspective Imagination alone cannot solve structural problems without discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [A pair of statements may be taken conjunctively or disjunctively; for example, "It lightens and it thunders ," is conjunctive, "It lightens or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/a-pair-of-statements-may-be-taken-conjunctively-or-disjunctively-for/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [“She’s so conjunctive to my life and soul That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, I could not but by her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/she-s-so-conjunctive-to-my-life-and-soul-that-as-the-star-moves-not/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [When two terms belong to the same category, it is proper to construct conjunctive propositions embodying them. Thus a purchaser may say that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-ryle/when-two-terms-belong-to-the-same-category-it-is-proper-to-construct/) [Gilbert Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-ryle/) > [“An example of this is, when the simple propositions are connected by the particle or; as, either A is B or C is D;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/an-example-of-this-is-when-the-simple-propositions-are-connected-by/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [There's two kinds of thinking. There is conjunctive thinking and there's disjunctive thinking. Disjunctive thinking says it has to be either/or. Now clearly, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/there-s-two-kinds-of-thinking-there-is-conjunctive-thinking-and-there/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“Either A is B or C is D,” means, “if A is not B, C is D; and if C is not D, A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/either-a-is-b-or-c-is-d-means-if-a-is-not-b-c-is-d-and-if-c-is-not-d/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [It's incredible how much stamina you can find when you're fighting and enemy in battle, even if that enemy is just in your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/it-s-incredible-how-much-stamina-you-can-find-when-you-re-fighting/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Paula Fox > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-and-occupy-what-seems-in/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [You'll see some bad things, but if you didn't see them, they'd still be happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/you-ll-see-some-bad-things-but-if-you-didn-t-see-them-they-d-still-be/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“I imagine there's a timid animal inside me...When it's afraid, I feel it tremble. It can't hear. It only knows the fear it feels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-imagine-there-s-a-timid-animal-inside-me-when-it-s-afraid-i-feel-it/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I taught writing classes at the University of Pennsylvania for a number of years and I realized that all you can do is encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-taught-writing-classes-at-the-university-of-pennsylvania-for-a/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Words are nets through which all truth escapes ("News From The World")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/words-are-nets-through-which-all-truth-escapes-news-from-the-world/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I don't like to listen to music while I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-don-t-like-to-listen-to-music-while-i-m-working/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Imagination has to do with one's awareness of the reality of other people as well as of one's own reality. Imagination is a bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/imagination-has-to-do-with-one-s-awareness-of-the-reality-of-other/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [If a person had accused him of meanness, he could have defended himself. But with a dog - you did something cheap to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/if-a-person-had-accused-him-of-meanness-he-could-have-defended/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [A year and a half after the end of the war and the German occupation, Paris was muted and looked bruised and forlorn. Everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/a-year-and-a-half-after-the-end-of-the-war-and-the-german-occupation/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“You’ll see some bad things, but if you didn’t see them, they’d still be happening so you might as well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/you-ll-see-some-bad-things-but-if-you-didn-t-see-them-they-d-still-be-2/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Words are nets through which all truth escapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/words-are-nets-through-which-all-truth-escapes/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [When I had a few francs, I spent them at a café on the Place de Longchamps, a block or so from my pension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/when-i-had-a-few-francs-i-spent-them-at-a-caf-on-the-place-de/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I've always known a lot of very bad people, destructive, brutes of a certain kind. Then I've seen these lovely impulses and what not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-ve-always-known-a-lot-of-very-bad-people-destructive-brutes-of-a/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/the-density-of-people-in-society-is-so-thick-that-we-forget-that-life/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) [Explore all 49 Paula Fox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Imagination is conjunctive and unifying; the sour, habitual wars of the self are disjunctive and separating. When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back, the path is not there. 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