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.

What do I, Farica, Hildemar, Hildegarde, Wilda and Dinah think about our own creative output, just where, just how, just when do we work together on creativity; let’s go on an exploration shall we.

Dinah is to join me for my first ever weekend in Berlin; we are going to stay in the Meliá Berlin, which is near to the river, also close to the museum quarter. I arrive on the Thursday, a day earlier than Dinah; I feel I need to become acquainted with the area a little, before we go on out to discover the city properly together. I have booked a Junior suite on the eighth floor; I will need somewhere to work when Dinah leaves, also we will need somewhere to relax when we are together.

After checking in I go for a walk along the riverbank, I find myself outside the Museum für Islamische Kunst (Museum for Islamic art), I stand outside for a while before going in. In those few moments I worked out a further test of compatibility between Dinah and myself; do you see how unsure I still am…