In Times Which Seem Like Self-Psychotherapy He Says To Himself:Oh, Vienna

Novel: Times 1–4, Chapter 54 I worked out a further test of compatibility

I am indebted to Berys Gaut at the University of St Andrews for his work The Philosophy of Creativity. Distance, and creativity, are going to be two of the underlying themes as our Story moves forwards. Quoting directly from Berys’ abstract, I hope you agree, provides some food for our thoughts, some pillars to rest our souls against: This paper surveys some of the central issues in the philosophy of creativity and argues that an adequate treatment of them requires attention to the rich psychological literature on creativity. It also shows that the range of interesting philosophical questions to be raised about creativity is much wider than concerns its role in art. Issues covered include the definition of ‘creativity’; the relation of creativity to imagination; whether the creative process is rational; whether it is teleological; the relation of creativity to knowledge; whether creativity can be explained; computational and Darwinian theories of creativity; whether creativity is a virtue; the relation of creativity to tradition; the aesthetic value of creativity; and whether creative activity is different in science and art.