What to read to become more creative
This article is part of our Summer reads series. Visit the full collection for book lists, guest essays and more seasonal distractions. Creativity is both prized and puzzling. Although associated with certain qualities—imagination, originality, artistic flair—it defies easy definition.
Many philosophers contend that if a product (an artwork, a technological invention, a mathematical solution or a mere idea) is creative, it must be both new and valuable. Intention is also important: most would agree that a snowflake is not creative, nor a work composed by artificial intelligence. But beyond that there is little consensus.
Explanations for where it originates range from the dreaming subconscious to wide-eyed attentiveness; from ponderous reflection to the bright flash of insight; from godly inspiration to grinding toil. Plato wrote that poets are inspired by the Muses in a divine madness, whereas Aristotle considered their work to be rational and focused on outcomes. Immanuel Kant thought creativity had to be both “original"—since “there can be original nonsense"—and “exemplary", born of an innate imaginative capacity.
For Friedrich Nietzsche it was a balancing act between a “Dionysian" ecstasy and “Apollonian" robustness. Yet creativity is enormously sought after. A poll of over 1,500 CEOs in 2010 ranked it as the most important leadership quality for success in business; the World Economic Forum has called creativity “the one skill that will future-proof you for the jobs market".
Nor is it just lucrative: creativity promises self-fulfilment, happiness and moral good in and of itself. These books provide clarity on what it is and where to find it. A World of My Own: A Dream Diary.
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