Full Idea
Imagination - a blind though indispensable function of the soul, without which we would have no cognition at all, but of which we are seldom even conscious.
Gist of Idea
We are seldom aware of imagination, but we would have no cognition at all without it
Source
Immanuel Kant (Critique of Pure Reason [1781], B103/A78)
Book Reference
Kant,Immanuel: 'Critique of Pure Reason', ed/tr. Guyer,P /Wood,A W [CUO 1998], p.211
A Reaction
I'm not sure why he calls it 'blind', since I can very deliberately control imagination. Neverthless, I applaud his recognition of imagination's central importance, even (I take it) in the simple act of looking out of the window.