A long intellectual tradition, uniting such diverse figures as Freud and Piaget, states that children's early fantasy life is primitive and disorganized. In "The Work of the Imagination" Paul Harris argues against this tradition, showing that children's ability to imagine hypothetical and counterfactual possibilities makes a continuing contribution to their cognitive and emotional development. In particular, he reveals how children's ability to entertain such possibilities is critical for making causal and moral judgements.

Incorporating a unique, cross-cutting approach, "The Work of the Imagination "discusses a number of key topics in cognitive development that are usually discussed quite separately.