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8 - The Question of Unconscious Processes in Creative Thinking

from Part III - The Question of Extraordinary Thought Processes in Creativity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2020

Robert W. Weisberg
Affiliation:
Temple University, Philadelphia
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Summary

This chapter examines the role that the unconscious might play in creativity, focusing on the question of how the unconscious might work. The idea that unconscious processes are important in creativity raises questions for the analytic view. Taking a historical perspective, the chapter begins with Poincaré’s (1913) seminal theory of how unconscious thinking functions in creativity and traces the development of modern views, many of which have built on Poincaré’s ideas. This will lead us to recent research concerning the possible role of the unconscious in creative thinking, focusing on the study of incubation in problem-solving. This chapter deals with a very difficult question: how can one gather evidence concerning the unconscious, which is, by definition, not observable?

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Rethinking Creativity
Inside-the-Box Thinking as the Basis for Innovation
, pp. 249 - 283
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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