Sonntag, 19. Oktober 2025

Genius - Two Notions:

Hans Eysenck:

"Two notions, ideas, concepts - call them what you like - have always been attached to the problem of creativity. Is has been widely surmised that the creative genius generates his major ideas by way of intuition, rather than rational thinking; reason can test and prove or disprove the insights achieved by intuition, but cannot produce them. Furthermore, the process by means of which intuition works is unconscious; the Unconscious, whether with or without a capital 'U' is the cradle of creativity. I will spell out some of the data on which this commonsense view rests (mainly anecdotal), and then go on to define the concepts experimentally. ..."

"My own definition would run something like this: Intuition is a mode of cognitive functioning located at the opposite end of a contiuum from logical thinking, characterized by speed and suddenness of reactions (aha! experience), small number of relevant facts known or considered, feelings of certainty about the conclusion reached, reliance on unconscious (non-verbalizable) processes, not following the rule of Aristoletic logic, and relying on unusual associations and analogies. This definition is not right or wrong; definitions try to embody the major lines of theoretical thinking and empirical study, and they do so more or less successfully. They are judged by their usefulness in bringing together known facts, and helping the discovery of new ones. This definition will serve to link together my general argument and such experimental work as has been done in this field, notably by Westcott; no more is claimed for it."

"This is another way to characterize the intuitive ('magician') as opposed to the analytical ('ordinary genius') scientists or mathematician (and probably, ceterisparibus, artist as well); we see the intuitive worker as intrinsically more 'creative' just because the origins of his creativity are hidden in the unfamiliar cliffs and caves of the unconscious."

Keine Kommentare:

Kommentar veröffentlichen