The Genesis Of Artistic Creativity: Asperger's Syndrome And The Arts [Paperback]

Michael Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1843103346 | ISBN-13: 978-1843103349 | Publication Date: July 19, 2005

The nature of artistic creativity and its relationship with 'difference' has intrigued people for centuries. The Genesis of Artistic Creativity is a revealing exploration of the lives of 21 famous writers, philosophers, musicians and painters including George Orwell, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Andy Warhol and many others, in light of the recognized criteria for diagnosis of high-functioning autism and Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Having diagnosed hundreds of individuals with AS during his professional career, Professor Fitzgerald examines here the social behaviour, language, humour, and obsessive interests and routines that accompanied creative genius in the past four centuries. From Herman Melville's eccentric breakfast habits and Simone Weil's intense dislike of being touched by other people to Ludwig van Beethoven's inappropriate marriage proposals and Vincent van Gogh's inability to form satisfying relationships with others, the author offers compelling insights into the association between creativity and autism spectrum disorders. This celebration of artistic genius and AS will prove a fascinating read not only for professionals in the field of autism and AS, but for anyone interested in the sources of creativity and the arts.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Fitzgerald is Henry Marsh Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin. A Clinical and Research Consultant to the Irish Society for Autism and an Honorary Member of the Northern Ireland Institute of Human Relations, he has a doctorate in the area of autism and has been a researcher in this area since 1973. He trained at St. Patrick's Hospital Dublin, Chicago Medical School, and The Maudsley Hospital and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London. He has clinically diagnosed over 900 individuals with autism and Asperger's Syndrome and has served on the Government Task Force on Autism and the Family. He has contributed to National and International Journals on autism and is the author of over 120 publications. This is his thirteenth book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub (July 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843103346
• ISBN-13: 978-1843103349
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,262,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good read... shame about the premise., February 11, 2006

By 

Suz "treadingwater" (Freeland, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Genesis Of Artistic Creativity: Asperger's Syndrome And The Arts (Paperback)

This is a selection of mini biographies of famous artists, writers, musicians and painters that specifically looks for indications of Asperger syndrome from the available evidence about what sort of people they were. It was certainly very interesting reading but I am not sure about the hypothesis that autism and creativity are linked. For every great artist listed here how many are there that don't fit the diagnostic criteria of AS? Furthermore, the author often seems to just assume autism is the cause of the behaviours he describes, when he can't really know for certain... Historians and scientists beware, the lack of objectivity will leave you cringing. Despite this though I was engrossed from beginning to end and as a person who is diagnosed AS myself I felt better for discovering that, for whatever reason, many of these people faced similar difficulties to myself.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Anecdotal, not rigorous, February 26, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Genesis Of Artistic Creativity: Asperger's Syndrome And The Arts (Paperback)

Fitzgerald favors sweeping statements like "Wittgenstein was obviously the greatest philosopher of the 20th century," and often uses diagnostic criteria that are true of a majority of people, e.g. liking animals, liking music, being creative. For example, the posthumous diagnosis of Lewis Carroll might seem convtroversial, given that the Wired magazine Asperger's quiz, which is 30 questions long, has 2 of those questions focused on the ability to play make-believe (apparently, people with Asperger's tend to lack it). Furthermore, saying that people with AS "suffered unbearably" and can do things "a hundred times better than the average person" may raise hackles among both AS so-called "sufferers" and the general population.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disjointed, Disorganized, Disappointing, January 28, 2010

By 

Jonni Good (Oregon) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Genesis Of Artistic Creativity: Asperger's Syndrome And The Arts (Paperback)

I really looked forward to receiving this book, because I thought it would include some insight into how the unusual "wiring" of Asperger's syndrome contributes to creative genius. Now that I've read through the parts I could make myself read, I can't imagine why anyone would recommend this book.

First, the introductory chapter was so disorganized that one can only guess at it's purpose. There were comments about the similarities between autistic savants and the intense focus and dedication to a craft that is evident in creative geniuses with Asperger's, but the connection was not entirely plausible. There was also a discussion about the heritability of genius, during which a mention was made of Margaret Mead's disgraced Samoan studies, for no apparent reason. The first chapter appeared to be a jumble of disconnected paragraphs.

Nevertheless, I plowed on to the next chapter, about Jonathan Swift. At the beginning a cursory statement was made concerning his writing ability and his influence over the politics of the day, but the bulk of the chapter was a short history of the way he was treated by his family and peers, and a list of quotations from the "neurotypicals" who knew Swift, and found him irritating. Even when discussing such clearly traumatic incidences as his mother's abandonment of him at a very early age, no attempt was made to explain how his own experiences might have influenced his work.

Nor did the author discuss any positive gifts that might have been a consequence of Asperger's, such as Swift's strong sense of fairness, and his ability to stand outside the generally accepted political machinations of his culture and see it with new eyes. Because the judgments of Swift's contemporaries were the primary focus of the chapter, we learn only that he didn't fit in -- but we learn absolutely nothing about the connection between Asperger's and Swift's creative genius, which the book is supposed to be about.

Subsequent chapters were no more enlightening. If you really want to know how Asperger's syndrome is connected to creative genius, you should avoid this book. The author seems remarkably devoid of any feeling of compassion for the people he writes about, or any sense of awe at the great works they produced in spite of the great injustices they experienced because they were different. Nor is he particularly interested in how a person with Asperger's thinks in a way that is different from his peers, and how this difference contributes, in a positive way, to artistic expression.