The act of creation (Unknown Binding)

by Arthur Koestler (Author) "The three panels of the rounded triptych shown on the frontispiece indicate three domains of creativity which shade into each other without sharp boundaries: Humour,..." (more)
Key Phrases: bisociative act, participatory emotions, abstractive hierarchies, Book One, Book Two, Holy Ghost (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
While the study of psychology has offered little in the way of explaining the creative process, Koestler examines the idea that we are at our most creative when rational thought is suspended--for example, in dreams and trancelike states. All who read The Act of Creation will find it a compelling and illuminating book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 751 pages
• Publisher: Dell Pub. Co (1973)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0007ELVHU
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,868,583 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The intersection of lines of thought, August 5, 2002

By	Rafe Champion (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Act of Creation (Arkana) (Paperback)

This is the first of Koestler's big three serious science books. The second is "The Sleepwalkes", on the contribution of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. The third is "The Ghost in the Machine", which contains a critique of behaviorist psychology and Koestler's theory to account for the apparent self-destructiveness of human nature.

"The Act of Creation" offers a theory to account for the "Ah Ha" reaction of scientific discovery, the "Ha Ha" reaction to jokes and the "Ah" reaction of mystical or religious insight. In each case the result is produced by a "bisociation of matrices" or the intersection of lines of thought which brings together hitherto unconnected ideas and fuses them into a creative synthesis. When the lines of thought are scientic the result is a scientific discovery, when they are concerned with devotional matters the result is mystical insight and when they are on a more homely plane the result can be a joke.

The model is fleshed out with a great deal of information ranging from the religions of the world to a theory about the nervous system to account for the build-up of tension and its discharge at the puchline of a joke. Peter Medawar's review was scathing in his comments on Koestler's science, which is a shame because the book can have the desirable effect of encouraging young scientists to read far beyond the usual range of their literature.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece, sadly forgotten, worth reviving, April 29, 2006

By	Umesh Vyas (New Delhi, India) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Act of Creation (Arkana) (Paperback)

Recently, I have read a lot of books on Creativity and Innovation. My big surprise is that virtually none of them mention Koestler's The Act of Creation. This is unfortunate because this book is probably the most authoritative examination of creativity. Attention to this classic is worth reviving.

Koestler examines three types of creativity - Humor, Science, and Poetry. Humor, according to him, is cruel (a valuable insight). Poetry, and other forms of art, integrate oneself with the World. Science occupies the neutral middle. It is amazing how Koestler manages to link all three kinds of creativity with a common framework.

My two biggest take-aways from this book are regarding the process of creation and its form.

As Koestler describes beautifully - "..uncovers, selects, re-shuffles, combines, synthesizes already existing facts, ideas, faculties, skills. The more familiar the parts, the more striking the new whole." This is corroborated by all geniuses who have stood `on the shoulder of giants'. Even inventors like Edison fit this framework. This is close to saying that instead of thinking `outside the box', link several boxes to each other.

The other great insight is that the final breakthrough is rarely verbal, but in images. So people see new insights in a dream-like trance, rather than expressing it in language. Language, probably, impedes creativity.

There are several more delightful and relevant insights on creativity in this masterpiece. Nearly a bible on creativity.

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The roots of human creativity and its relation to nature., March 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Act of Creation (Arkana) (Paperback)

THE ACT OF CREATION has attracted a cult following since its original 1964 publication. It set the stage for much of the "New Age" literature of the following decades. Koestler draws analogies between human creativity and evolution in nature, seeing them as two different aspects of a single process. Koestler's writing is eminently readable and still highly topical three decades later.