ERIC Number: EJ948837
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0175
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Available Date: N/A
Creative Thought as a nonDarwinian Evolutionary Process
Gabora, Liane
Journal of Creative Behavior, v39 n4 p262-283 2005
Selection theory requires multiple, distinct, simultaneously-actualized states. In cognition, each thought or cognitive state changes the "selection pressure" against which the next is evaluated; they are not simultaneously selected amongst. Creative thought is more a matter of honing in on a vague idea through redescribing successive iterations of it from different real or imagined perspectives; in other words, actualizing potential through exposure to different contexts. It has been proven that the mathematical description of contextual change of state introduces a non-Kolmogorovian probability distribution, and a classical formalism such as selection theory cannot be used. This paper argues that creative thought evolves not through a Darwinian process, but a process of context-driven actualization of potential. (Contains 4 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Evolution, Probability, Creativity, Creative Thinking, Theories, Cognitive Processes, Context Effect
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A