THE CONCEPT OF CREATIVITY IN SCIENCE AND ART

THE CONCEPT OF CREATIVITY IN SCIENCE AND ART

MARTINUS NIJHOFF PHILOSOPHY LIBRARY VOLUME 6 Other volumes in this series: 1. Lamb, D.: Hegel - From foundation to system. 1980. ISBN 90-247-2359-0 2. Bulhof, LN.: Wilhelm Dilthey - a henneneutic approach to the study of history and culture. 1980. ISBN 90-247-2360-4 3. van der Dussen, W;J.: History as a science - the philosophy ofr.g. Collingwood. ISBN 90-247-2453-8 4. Chatterjee, M.: The language of philosophy. ISBN 90-247-2372-8 5. Kluge, E.-H.W.: The metaphysics of Gottlob Frege - an essay in ontological reconstruction. 1980. ISBN 90-247-2422-8 ISBN Martin us Nijhoff Philosophy Library series 90-247-2344-2 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS IN PHILOSOPHY III THE CONCEPT OF CREATIVITY IN SCIENCE AND ART edited by Denis Dutton and Michael Krausz editors of the series Harold A. Durfee and David F.T. Rodier Other volumes in this series: L The Faculty in Philosophy at the American University: Explanation - new directions in philosophy. 1973. ISBN 90-247-1517-2 II. Durfee, H.A.: Analytical philosophy and phenomenology. 1976. ISBN 90-247-1880-5 Published by Martinus NijhofJ Publishers

THE CONCEPT OF CREATIVITY IN SCIENCE AND ART edited by DENIS DUTTON and MICHAEL KRAUSZ. ~ '... 1981 MARTINUS NIJHOFF PUBLISHERS THE HAGUE / BOSTON / LONDON

Distributors: for the United States and Canada Kluwer Boston, Inc. 190 Old Derby Street Hingham, MA 02043 USA for all other countries Kluwer Academic Publishers Group Distribution Center P.O. Box 322 3300 AH Dordrecht The Netherlands Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: The Concept of creativity in science and art. (Martinus Nijhoff philosophy library; v. 6) (American University publications in philosophy; 3) Includes-index. Contents: The three domains of creativity / A. Koestler -- Creativity in science / R. Harre --" Evey horse has a mouth / F.E. Sparshott -- [etc.] 1. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) -- Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Creative ability in science - Addresses, essays, lectures. 3. Creative thinking -- Addresses, essays, lectures. 1. Dutton, Denis. II. Krausz, Michael. III. Series. IV. Series: American University publications in philosophy; 3. BH301.C84C66 128'.3 81-4001 AACR2 ISBN-13: 978-94-009-8232-1 e-isbn-13: 978-94-009-8230-7 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-8230-7 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1981 Copyright 1981 by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, P.O. Box 566, 2501 CN The Hague, The Netherlands.

TABLE OF CONTENTS List of editors and contributors Series editors' preface Editors' preface vii ix xi The three domains of creativity A. KOESTLER Creativity in science R. HARRE 19 Every horse has a mouth: a personal poetics F.E. SPARSHOTT 47 Criteria of creativity C.R. HAUSMAN 75 The creative imagination M. POLANYI 91 The rationality of creativity I.e. JARVIE 109 Creative product and creative process in science and art L. BRISKMAN 129 Creativity as learning process C.A. VANPEURSEN 157 Creating and becoming M. KRAUSZ 187 On the dialectical phenomenology of creativity A.HOFSTADTER 201 Name index 209

LIST OF EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS Editors: Denis Dutton, Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan - Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan 48128, USA. Michael Krausz, Department of Philosophy, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010, USA. Contributors: Larry Briskman, Department of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland EH8 9JX, Great Britain. Rom Harre, Linacre College, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PN, England. Carl Hausman, Department of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA. Albert Hofstadter, Department of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95060, USA. I.C. Jarvie, Department of Philosophy, York University, Downsview, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. Arthur Koestler, London, England. C.A. van Peursen, Rijksuniversiteit Leiden, Centrale Interfaculteit, Filosofisch Instituut, Witte Singel 71, Leiden, The Netherlands. Michael Polanyi, late of the University of Chicago. F.E. Sparshott, Department of Philosophy, Victoria College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1AI, Canada.

SERIES EDITORS' PREFACE This third volume of American University Publications in Philosophy continues the tradition of presenting books in the series shaping current frontiers and new directions in philosophical reflection. In a period emerging from the neglect of creativity by positivism, Professors Dutton and Krausz and their eminent colleagues included in the collection challenge modern philosophy to explore the concept of creativity in both scientific inquiry and artistic production. In view of the fact that Professor Krausz served at one time as Visiting Professor of Philosophy at The American University we are especially pleased to include this volume in the series. HAROLD A. DURFEE, for the editors of American University Publications in Philosophy

EDITORS' PREFACE While the literature on the psychology of creativity is substantial, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the subject by philosophers in recent years. This fact is no doubt owed in part to the legacy of positivism, whose tenets have included a sharp distinction between what Hans Reichenbach called the context of discovery and the context of justification. Philosophy in this view must address itself to the logic of justifying hypotheses; little of philosophical importance can be said about the more creative business of discovering them. That, positivism has held, is no more than a merely psychological question: since there is no logic of discovery or creation, there can be no philosophical reconstruction of it. Though the field of aesthetics has naturally addressed itself to the question of creativity with greater frequency than empiricist philosophy of science, even there attention in the last two decades has been largely concentrated on such issues as the logic of critical interpretation or the ontology of works of art. The question of artistic creativity has been once again left to the hands of psychologists. We present this collection of articles in the belief that there are questions of a significantly philosophical sort to be asked about the concept of creativity, questions which overlap the fields of both art and science. We wish to acknowledge the permission granted by the McGraw-Hill Book Company to reprint the article by Arthur Koestler, Chemical and Engineering News to include Michael Polanyi's contribution, and Philosophy and Phenomenological Research to present Carl Hausman's paper. The other articles were written especially for this volume, though F.E. Sparshott's contribution has been published ill Philosophy and Literature and Larrv Briskman's has appeared in Inquiry. Both appear with the kind permission of the publishers. We appreciate the capable assistance

of Daniel Marowski and David Sosnowski in the preparation of the manuscript. DENIS DUTTON University of Michigan - Dearborn MICHAEL KRAUSZ Bryn Mawr College