Re: "Visualization is something that happens in the mind's eye." I'm coming from the position that the mind's eye is part of the conscious self, the onlooker that observes what is going on in the unconscious. And that onlooker doesn't necessarily know the whole story. Words refer to mental concepts. What mental concepts are, I have no idea. But they could be some kind of representation of sensory experiences, including visual ones. O.K. I have a question. Recently after recovering from a surgery, i was plagued by visual images every time I closed my eyes. One of those images was a picture of sun shining on polar trees, a picture from a music video I watch on YouTube. I have never been able to see that picture in my mind's eye before or since. But it is obviously stored somewhere in my mind. So wherever it is stored, does that qualify as a visual image? I need to think this through.
This is extremely interesting Alice. My pet theory is that we visualize just like anybody else, but aren't able to access it in our consciousness. For instance, how can you think about tip jars next to cash registers without some degree of visualization somewhere? You are probably right that any "impressions" we have come after we've already accessed the meaning of the word, in which case my line of inquiry won't be much use. Thanks for taking the time to help out.
Summer, having aphantasia is no big deal. Think of it this way. Millions of people in the past have lived and died with aphantasia without ever knowing they were any different from anybody else. If it was important, if it made much of a difference to life, it would have been noticed long before now. Just enjoy your life and all it's blessings.