Imagination

The chapter explores how legal professionals navigate fields of non-knowledge within the Argentine justice system, emphasizing their imaginative practices. It begins by providing an interdisciplinary overview of research on imagination and discusses its methodological treatment in anthropology. Drawing from philosophical and anthropological studies, the chapter explores legal professionals' perspectives on and utilization of imagination. Overall, legal professionals prioritize rational methodology over imaginative thinking and also reject imaginaries of the public. However, the empirical material reveals that they indeed resort to imaginative thinking when confronted with unknowable aspects in their work. Imaginative processes provide immediate knowledge and explanatory models that bridge gaps left by rational methods, enabling social action within complex legal contexts. These imaginings condense into a larger social imaginary. Despite varied political and philosophical positions, it reveals that legal professionals harbor suspicions of manipulation by powerful groups. This social imaginary shapes ethical self-perceptions and decision-making processes within the legal system, influencing interactions and legal proceedings. The chapter underscores the integral role of imaginings in legal professionals' collective understanding and behavior, impacting the dynamics and outcomes of legal processes through a pervasive culture of non-knowledge, suspicion, and skepticism.