Product Description

Intrigued by history's list of "troubled geniuses", Albert Rothenberg investigates how two such opposite conditions - outstanding creativity and psychosis - could co-exist in the same individual. After studying creative geniuses of the past, conducting over 2000 hours of psychiatric interviews with prize-winning writers, artists and scientists, and carrying out psychological experiments with more than 1000 research subjects, Rothenberg concludes that high-level creativity transcends the usual modes of logical thought - and many even superficially resemble psychosis. But he also discovers that all types of creative thinking generally occur in a rational and conscious frame of mind, not in a mystically altered or transformed state. He asserts that there is nothing pathological in creativity, though it clearly can co-exist with psychosis. Far from being the source - or the price - of creativity, Rothenberg concludes, psychosis and other forms of mental illness are actually hindrances to creative work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #622998 in Books
• Published on: 1994-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
"In this excellent, concise volume, Rothenberg reports his current views on this fascinating subject...Well argued and judicious."--'Journal of the American Medical Association' "This intriguing theory will no doubt provoke lively debate both in and outside professional circles."--'Wilson Library Bulletin' "Albert Rothenberg has devoted the major part of a distinguished career to a broad program of research on creativity. In his excellent, concise volume, he reports his current views on this fascinating subject...It is well-argued and judicious and, therefore, a useful introduction to the domain of creativity research." --'Journal of the American Medical Association'

About the Author
Albert Rothenberg, M.D., is clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard University and director of research at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His books include 'The Emerging Goddess: The Creative Process in Art, Science, and Other Fields'.

Customer Reviews

Rothenberg's false prophecy
Rothenberg's 1994 book claims to have supposedly "debunked" the "myth" between creativity and madness based on his "new findings and old stereotypes" that many geniuses such as aristotle have proclaimed a link between the two for thousands of years. He states that previous studies linking bipolar disorder to creativity were biased and a link to schizophrenia is nonexistent. He bases this on sketchy evidence with nobel laureates where there responses to a creativity test called a word association test had a slightly different response style then psychotics. He then comes to the narrow conclusion that creativity is mostly based on juxtaposition and homospatial thinking which he contends is the part of the test that nobel laureates have scored high in and psychotics didn't based on the results of his word association test.

However, since then a rigourous longitudinal study has come out in a book called "The Price of Greatness: Resolving the Creativity and Madness Controversy" found that Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia like psychosis, and other disorders are Much more prevalent among creatively eminent people then they are found in the general population. Studies by Hans Eysenck and others have also shown that psychopathology (or personality traits that predispose to psychosis) is much higher in creative people then in non-creative people in the general population. Also relatives of people with mental disorders are on average more creative then in the general population. To top it all off a study done by Peter Jordanson and colleagues has found one of the biological basis to creativity, which is that creative people score low on measures of latent inhibition which measure one's openness to novel stimuli or new possibilities. People with mental illness, particularly Schizophrenics, also score low on latent inhibition showing they have a trait that is essential for creativity, and that creative achievers also have. Of course Rothenberg obviously wasn't open to this possibility (which has now been scientifically proven), when he wrote this book. While at the same time other creativity researchers were (go figure). While Rothenberg's theory does have some truth in it such as obvious facts that creative achievement and insanity aren't the same thing and in fact that insanity in itself can be destructive to creative achievement; or that not all mentally ill people necessarily become eminent creative achievers. His main premise of the book that there is no link between creativity and madness has been proven false and it is clear that he was probably the one who was biased against any association between creativity and madness to begin with.

Then again psychiatrists, which are in the same profession as Rothenberg, often note that there is some truth in every delusion. Which I suppose means that even though "new findings and old stereotypes" has disproven Rothenberg's "delusion" (or false belief) of their not being any link between creativity and madness, his "delusional theory" should not be thought of as not being true at all. As he does make some (although mostly obvious) points about the subject in his book.

a poor study
a medical doctor who likes the santity of a black-white boxed world of classification, forces theory in lieu of rationalization, esp. in the chapter on homosexuality and its relationship to the creative endevor. a blurred, inconsistant work that should be avoided when researching this topic

A Psychiatrist Looks at Creativity
Rothenberg looks at creativity from the perspective of a scientist. He examines psychological ideas- Freudian, depression, bi-polar, schizophrenia; linguistic trends- use of alliteration, metaphors, rhymes; personality characteristics- motivated, determined, and able to organize one's ideas; and relates them all to his search for answers to why some can create such wonderful works of art. He dispells myths about creativity being some mystical birth-right that only the chosen few possess, and implies the conclusion that creativity is more the product of an aware mind and feeling human being than tormented genius. Good book, quick read.