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14 - Is It Reasonable to Be Creative?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2010

By
Jacques-Henri Guignard  and
Todd Lubart
Edited by
James C. Kaufman  and
John Baer
Jacques-Henri Guignard
Affiliation:
Institute de Psychologie, Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, Université René Descartes, Paris
Todd Lubart
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, UMR 8605, Université René Descartes, Paris
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
California State University, San Bernardino
John Baer
Affiliation:
Rider University, New Jersey
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Summary

Reasoning refers, in general, to the act of thinking based on inductive and deductive processes. It is often associated, more specifically, with the process of developing and supporting assertions, claims, proposals, or conclusions (Reber, 1995). It provides, in many cases, the basis for action or decisions. The development of reasoning is often viewed as an important educational goal. In this chapter, we focus on the relation between reasoning and another aspect of cognition that has been gaining increasing attention, namely creativity.

Creativity can be defined as the capacity to produce novel, original work that fits within task constraints (Lubart, 1994). Work refers to all types of ideas and productions. This work must be novel in the sense that it goes beyond a replication or copy of that which exists. The extent to which the work produced is novel can vary from being original only for the person who completed the work (this is the notion of reinventing ideas known already in the larger social context) to being original for a limited social group to being original for all of humanity. The second component in the definition concerns the fit with constraints. We distinguish creative ideas from bizarre ideas, which are also novel, because creative ideas take into account the parameters of a situation, the constraints. Novel productions that are in some way “useful” or “reasonable” in a given context are, thus, creative.

We explore possible links between the development of reasoning and the development of creativity in children and adults.

Type
Chapter
Information
Creativity and Reason in Cognitive Development , pp. 269 - 281
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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  • Is It Reasonable to Be Creative?
    • By Jacques-Henri Guignard, Institute de Psychologie, Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, Université René Descartes, Paris, Todd Lubart, Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, UMR 8605, Université René Descartes, Paris
  • Edited by James C. Kaufman, California State University, San Bernardino, John Baer, Rider University, New Jersey
  • Book: Creativity and Reason in Cognitive Development
  • Online publication: 19 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511606915.016
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  • Is It Reasonable to Be Creative?
    • By Jacques-Henri Guignard, Institute de Psychologie, Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, Université René Descartes, Paris, Todd Lubart, Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, UMR 8605, Université René Descartes, Paris
  • Edited by James C. Kaufman, California State University, San Bernardino, John Baer, Rider University, New Jersey
  • Book: Creativity and Reason in Cognitive Development
  • Online publication: 19 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511606915.016
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Is It Reasonable to Be Creative?
    • By Jacques-Henri Guignard, Institute de Psychologie, Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, Université René Descartes, Paris, Todd Lubart, Laboratoire Cognition et Développement, UMR 8605, Université René Descartes, Paris
  • Edited by James C. Kaufman, California State University, San Bernardino, John Baer, Rider University, New Jersey
  • Book: Creativity and Reason in Cognitive Development
  • Online publication: 19 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511606915.016
Available formats
×