“Why Imagination Matters, Why Takhayyul Matters: The Transformative Power of Social Imaginaries” by Sertaç Sehlikoglu

At the Institute for Global Prosperity, we understand that imagination is not merely fantasy or escapism—it is a profound force that shapes our social, political, and ecological realities. Our imagination, both individual and collective, serves as the blueprint for how we construct our world. This is why the study of imaginaries sits at the heart of our work. But what exactly are imaginaries, and why do they matter so much for prosperity?

Imagination is frequently dismissed as unreal or irrational—the realm of daydreams and fiction. Yet as our research consistently demonstrates, imagination operates as a terrestrial yet celestial faculty that simultaneously engages with worldly conditions while connecting to deeper truths. When large groups share imaginative references and understandings, these become exchangeable, tangible, and ultimately transformative.

As studied extensively in our ERC-Funded (2019 StG 853230) TAKHAYYUL project, the concept of takhayyul offers a framework for understanding imagination as a creative capacity that can reshape material realities. Unlike Western traditions that often reduce imagination to a contrast to truth or reality, takhayyul represents a transformative power that operates through a trialist structure of the sensible, imaginable, and intelligible (See Sehlikoglu 2025a). This provides an intervention and alternative to dualist thought that limits our understanding of political imagination's transformative potential.

An Interesting Case from Istanbul: Fig Trees and Contested Imaginaries

Our recent ethnographic research in Istanbul's Balat and Fener neighbourhoods provides a striking example of how imagination shapes material reality (Sehlikoglu 2025b). In these historically Greek and Jewish neighbourhoods, we observed how different imaginative relationships to ecological heritage—specifically fig trees—reflected broader contestations over belonging, heritage, and identity.

For the newer settler-residents who migrated to the area in the mid-20th century, fig trees represented a threat—seen as invasive species that could damage buildings and homes. This perspective wasn't merely practical; it was deeply embedded in a particular imaginative framework centred on the concept of fetih (conquest). The trees became proxy contestants in a broader struggle over belonging, with newer residents developing a destructive attitude toward them.

As one resident explained: "They grow to burst a wall, collapse your entire house. Haven't you heard the saying 'planting a fig tree into one's household'?" This saying, meaning to cause growing destruction to a household, revealed their anxieties about these trees.

Yet for former Greek and Armenian residents, fig trees held entirely different cosmological significance. They shared the same proverb, only the extended version, resulting in a contrasting position: "Those who cut a fig tree plant another into their household"—dooming anyone who destroyed these trees. For Jewish residents, too, fig trees held special significance, symbolising their own resilience and ability to thrive in challenging environments.

These contrasting cosmological references weren't just differences of opinion—they are built on shared ecologies, shared values, shared beliefs – and manifested in concrete actions. While former residents developed techniques for coexisting with these trees, newer residents treated them as weeds, poured cement over the earth to prevent their growth, and cut them down whenever possible. The imaginative attachment to fetih (conquest), located in a broader district named Fatih (conqueror) as a legitimising narrative, enabled and encouraged ecological destruction.

The Transformative Impact of Shared Imaginaries

What makes this case so instructive is how it demonstrates that imagination isn't merely individual fantasy but a collective force that shapes material realities. The fetih narrative transformed historical events into political currency by enabling followers to imagine themselves as part of a continuous spiritual and political lineage. This imaginative framework simultaneously concealed the destruction of alternative heritage narratives.

At the Institute for Global Prosperity, we recognise that such imaginative frameworks operate not just through official channels but through everyday anxieties and actions. The fig trees became what one scholar termed "natural witnesses" that challenged the very legitimacy of conquest through their persistent rootedness. This battle between trees and residents wasn't just metaphorical—it represented a fundamental clash between different ways of imagining relationships to place, heritage, and belonging.

This is precisely why the study of imaginaries is so central to our work at the Institute. Prosperity cannot be understood simply through economic metrics or material conditions. It is fundamentally shaped by how we collectively imagine what prosperity means, who belongs, and what relationships we have with our social and ecological environments.

The destructive imagination evidenced in our Istanbul case study shows that imagination can serve as a mechanism for legitimising exclusion and ecological harm. But the inverse is also true—alternative imaginaries can foster inclusion, sustainability, and more harmonious relationships with our environments.

Examining imaginaries offers us a critical lens that exposes the hidden power dynamics dictating who defines prosperity and belonging, while simultaneously uncovering alternative visions that promise more inclusive and sustainable futures. This work illuminates the fundamental mechanisms of transformative change—revealing how shifts in collective imagination precede material transformation—and equips us with the tools to intentionally cultivate imaginative frameworks that support human flourishing and ecological regeneration rather than perpetuating destructive patterns of exploitation and exclusion.

Reimagining Prosperity Through Takhayyul

What we offer here is not to study imagination for its own sake. We understand that addressing today's most pressing challenges—climate change, inequality, social fragmentation—requires not just technological solutions but fundamentally new ways of imagining our relationship to each other and our planet.

The concept of takhayyul offers particularly rich possibilities for reimagining prosperity. It allows us to see imagination not as opposed to reality but as a terrestrial imagination that is "simultaneously realistic and worldly yet also prophetic." This understanding helps us move beyond simplistic dichotomies of real versus unreal, practical versus idealistic, to recognise the profound ways imagination shapes what we collectively understand as possible.

When we see trees not merely as resources or obstacles but as "ecological witnesses" with their own historical and cultural significance, we open new possibilities for prosperity that honour multiple relationships to place and heritage. When we understand that cement poured over soil represents not just a practical action but an expression of a particular imaginative relationship to place, we can begin to cultivate alternative imaginaries that might foster more regenerative relationships.

Imagination shapes what we collectively understand as possible, desirable, and worth striving for. By studying how imagination operates—through concepts like fetih in our Istanbul case—we gain insight into how transformation happens and how we might intentionally foster more inclusive and sustainable imaginaries.

At the Institute for Global Prosperity, we remain committed to this work of understanding and cultivating transformative imagination. We recognise that addressing our most pressing global challenges requires not just new policies or technologies, but new ways of imagining our collective future. By taking imagination seriously as a force that shapes material reality, we open new possibilities for prosperity that work for all people and our planet.

References:

Sehlikoglu, Sertaç. 2025a. "Imaginative landscapes of Islamist politics: An introduction to takhayyul." History and Anthropology:1-23. doi: 10.1080/02757206.2025.2486805.

Sehlikoglu, Sertaç. 2025b. "Inheritance without the heritage: fig trees and the ecological effects of imaginative attachments to fetih (conquest)." International Journal of Heritage Studies:1-19. doi: 10.1080/13527258.2025.2496873.