Creativity, Psychology and the History of Science

'Creativity, Psychology, and the History of Science' offers for the first time a comprehensive overview of the oeuvre of Howard E. Gruber, who is noted for his contributions both to the psychology of creativity and to the history of science. Gruber is a pioneer in combining history of science and cognitive psychology by means of detailed and meticulous case studies. His award-winning books 'Darwin on man' and 'The essential Piaget' are both modern classics.

The present book includes papers from a wide range of topics. In the contributions to creativity research, Gruber proposes his key ideas for studying creative work. Gruber focuses on how the thinking, motivation and affect of extraordinarily creative individuals evolve and how they interact over long periods of time. Gruber's approach bridges many disciplines and subdisciplines in psychology and beyond, several of which are represented in the present volume: cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, history of science, aesthetics, and politics. The volume thus presents a unique and comprehensive contribution to our understanding of the creative process. Many of Gruber's papers have not previously been easily accessible; they are presented here in thoroughly revised form. The book is for psychologists, historians and philosophers of science interested in the intersection of psychology and the history of science.

Zusammenfassung

Creativity, Psychology, and the History of Science offers for the first time a comprehensive overview of the oeuvre of Howard E. Gruber, who is noted for his contributions both to the psychology of creativity and to the history of science.

The present book includes papers from a wide range of topics. In the contributions to creativity research, Gruber proposes his key ideas for studying creative work. Gruber focuses on how the thinking, motivation and affect of extraordinarily creative individuals evolve and how they interact over long periods of time. Gruber's approach bridges many disciplines and subdisciplines in psychology and beyond, several of which are represented in the present volume: cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, history of science, aesthetics, and politics. The volume thus presents a unique and comprehensive contribution to our understanding of the creative process. Many of Gruber's papers have not previously been easily accessible; they are presented here in thoroughly revised form.

Inhalt

Introduction: A Life with a Purpose.- The Creative Person as a Whole.- The Case Study That Started It All: Charles Darwin.- Facets of the Creative Process: Insight, Point of View and Repetition.- Modalities.- Tracking The Ordinary Course of Development.- Coping with the Extraordinary.- Creativity in the Moral Domain.- Peace and Further Conditions for Human Welfare.