ABSTRACT
If.imagination.is.an.airplane,.then.we.humans.are.frequent.fliers;.emerging.research.in.neuroscience.suggests.that.we.devote.a.large.portion.of.our.mental.lives.to.traveling.into.the.future,.as.well. as.the.past,.to.envision.what.other.times.and.places.would.be.like.and.how.we.would.feel.when.we. got.there.(Buckner.&.Carroll,.2007;.Buckner.&.Vincent,.2007;.Gilbert.&.Buckner,.2007;.Szpunar. &.McDermott,.Chapter.8,.this.volume)..Indeed,.while.the.average.Labrador.seems.to.display.some. drooling.recognition.of.how.much.he.will.enjoy.the.leftover.steak.that.has.just.been.placed.in.front. of.him,.humans.possess.a.qualitatively.different.ability:.We.can.imagine.a.situation.(or.steak).that.is. faraway.in.time.or.place.and.that.we.have.never.before.experienced,.calculating.with.some.degree. of.accuracy.how.we.would.feel.if.we.were.plunged.into.that.situation.
