This paper aims to identify some of the characteristics and the structural dynamics of mental images of early blind persons, and to analyse the components of non-visual imaging in image-memories and dreams. Contributions by Antonio Damasio, Gilbert Simondon and Francisco Varela establish the base of the discussion on the concept of mental image, highlighting its processing and inventive dimensions. Using first-person methodology, four early blind adults were interviewed. The technique of explicitation interview was used for the description of pre-reflective experiences. The article analyses excerpts of the interviews that reveal the presence of multi-sensorial imaging, the importance of the tactile platform and the presence of distal tactile images- both in dreams and memories - that are described as close to the experience of vision. The article highlights the hybridity visuo-tactile of distal tactile images as well as the presence of elements of the language of the seers.
Visual disability; mental image; distal tactile image