Creativity and Rationality

“One must, I say, be a visionary, make oneself a visionary. The poet makes himself a visionary through a long, a prodigious, and rational disordering of all the senses. Every form of love, of suffering, of madness; he searches himself, he consumes all the poisons in him, keeping only their quintessences.”1 Thus did Arthur Rimbaud, in a letter dated May 15, 1871, to his friend, Paul Demeny, announce his self‐conception of his avocation as a poet. The seventeen‐year‐old poet's manifesto bears ample testimony to the idea of the poet as madman, but it also points in a contrary direction, to the poet as a rational being, in that telling phrase, “raisonnédérèglement de tous les sens” (rational disordering, or reasoned derangement, of all the senses). The tradition of the poet as a rational being is as venerable as that of the poet as fundamentally irrational, and one may wonder what Rimbaud was after in his apparently paradoxical self‐identification with both views. Part of what I argue in this article is that Rimbaud's paradox is no paradox at all, that one should understand certain exercises of creativity as involving both rational and irrational aspects. There is thus a way in which the traditions of thinking of creativity as an irrational disposition and of thinking of it as a rational disposition are both correct, a point for which I argue partly on philosophical and partly on psychological grounds. But I also argue that this composite view is fundamentally rationalistic in character, for exercises of creativity, even when they incorporate irrational elements, are necessarily rational in a certain respect. I begin with a very brief sketch of the two traditions, with the aim of counseling against a cursory dismissal of either view, since both number eminent philosophers and literary writers among their adherents. i.Irrationalism. The idea of poetic creativity as fundamentally irrational has its earliest philosophical expression in Plato. In Phaedrus he says that “if any man come to the gates of poetry without the madness of the Muses, persuaded that skill alone will make him a good poet, then shall he and his works of sanity with him be brought to nought by the poetry of madness, and behold, their place is nowhere to be found.”2 According to Plato, there are four kinds of divine madness—love, prophesy, Bacchic celebration, and poetry—and poetry is the lowest of these.3 Plato draws on the earlier Greek idea of poetry as an inspiration from the Muses, but he seems to have been the first to construe inspiration as a kind of madness.4 His chief argument, to which I will return, is presented in Ion and holds that poetic emotions are fundamentally irrational, since they are felt even when there are no events that would justify them. Plato's charge of madness proved to be enormously influential, not least on poets, whose attestations run from John Dryden's famous couplet, “Great wits are sure to madness near allied, / And thin partitions do their bounds divide” to Byron's more pithy summation, “We of the craft are all crazy.”5 It also continued to find philosophical defenders, who developed arguments different from Plato's. Arthur Schopenhauer argues at length in The World as Will and Representation that genius is “closely akin to madness,” on the grounds that both the genius and the madman abandon the Principle of Sufficient Reason, chiefly the claim that every event has a cause.6 Friedrich Nietzsche too stands in the irrationalist tradition. In The Birth of Tragedy he traces the demise of classical Greek tragedy to Euripides, whom Nietzsche accuses of “aesthetic Socratism,” the introduction of reason into the aesthetic realm.7 For Nietzsche, the power of tragedy essentially depends on its Dionysian wisdom, of the underlying, primordial unity of all things, which can be grasped only by instinct, not by reason. And Nietzsche avers that reason undermines creativity, for creative accomplishment depends on instinct, whereas reason can only be critical: “While in all productive men it is instinct that is the creative‐affirmative force, and consciousness acts critically and dissuasively, in Socrates it is instinct that becomes the critic, and consciousness that becomes the creator—truly a monstrosity per defectum!”8 ii.Rationalism. Though it was less influential, the tradition that holds that creativity is a rational disposition is coeval with the irrationalist view, for it is also to be found in Plato. Plato's charge of irrationality is made specifically against the poets: in contrast, he holds, in some dialogues at least, that painters, musicians, and sculptors, whom we would now regard as artists, are following a craft (technē), and craft for Plato is a rational activity.9 Also, in Timaeus the demiurge who creates the universe, that ultimate act of creation, exercises reason in crafting the world out of disordered matter, following the patterns laid out in the eternal forms.10 Unlike Plato, Aristotle defends the rationality of poetic creativity, though the significance of his response has, through textual bad luck, often been missed. He is frequently quoted, not least by psychologists, as saying that all men who are outstanding in philosophy, poetry, and the arts are melancholic. So holds the author of the Problems, but that author is not Aristotle, for the work is largely a product of the later Peripatetic school.11 There is, however, a passage in the Poetics in which Aristotle says that “poetry demands a man with a special gift for it, or else one with a touch of madness in him; the former can easily assume the required mood, and the latter may actually be beside himself with emotion.”12 But as several scholars have argued, the claim that a poet might be mad in making his art is inconsistent with the basic framework developed in the Poetics, and there is textual evidence, derived from an early Arabic translation, that Aristotle wrote not “or else” one with a touch of madness, but “rather than” one with a touch of madness.13 Aristotle's account of the composition of poetry holds it to be a process of making (poiēsis in Greek), which, like all such processes, starts with some goal, refines that goal, and develops means to it. For tragedy, the goal is to elicit fear and pity in the audience with the aim of achieving a catharsis of these emotions (Poetics, chapter 6). The means to achieve the goal include a type of plot that involves reversals of fortune and recognition (chapters 6 and 11), and characters worthy of pity (chapter 13). Tragedy is thus accorded a teleological analysis, and Aristotle also applies that analysis to how it should be made: in chapter 17, for instance, he advises the poet to sketch out first the general structure of the plot, which generates the basic tragic emotions, in the of the For Aristotle, poetic is a rational of involving the and of and the of the means to achieve them. The of as a rational was in the account of of the world as the of rational through but it seems to have less the irrationalist tradition on the of creation, the of the to But it and even at the of in of is for the to of a mad It also has a in who argues that all is a of an to to But the the view in that the view makes too rational an Though there are two traditions, there are different kinds of in tradition. So we to some and the of to irrational not being I to out of though I that I to do I I irrational in for it is not by what I that I have reason to though I irrational, I not of would be of the being that one is involves such as that one is being by an or that one are irrational such as as in there are no but the or these of without the irrationality of and the irrationality of such as of there is the of irrational emotions and who from a fear of may that the are he is not But he is irrational, for the fear is not in its he the is not The though he that bad is is we the of we should that being being and is by of rationality and is rational in is to I it is I that it is I in that is to the It is since I the to be for there being being against it. that I irrational is to but not any of to of to understand a of that a is not to all the but is not For the are too and for such an to be So the of to which as irrational, be that are to an as I will say, and come in different rationality is a of to one can be rational in of some but irrational in of in makes irrational, but I not be that I to is a rational on of the to some work is that I do not act on that and can be of these of rationality may in one but not in may be irrational in of some but not may be irrational in of that but rational in of for The is that when we is rational or irrational, a to that to in what the is rational or irrational, and the of rationality or irrationality is a in of these more of rationality or irrationality to or such as and but not to all such for instance, have no of rationality no I in I not I no I There is a reason I do or do not but that is a reason in the of a not in the of a response of is not rational is it it is, as I will it, The of a is that it holds that creative into a of with which we are rational of one or a is a rational involving a to and the means to that making a involves a goal and a more of to it. of making both rationality the is and rationality the means are to achieving that no special or there is no place for of divine irrational processes, and of creative this an a creative has the aim of a work with certain and means to that So begin by that creative this kind of rational making and some to it, from the irrationalist and the of The of the philosophical is Plato's in There Socrates says of the who poetry to There he is, at a or in with and he though he has of his he with in the of more though is him or him we that the man is in his Plato's charge is that the emotions of poetry are the poet, the and his audience may fear or though they that bad has But an an that one not is an irrational is the earliest of one of the paradox of might that to the rationality of the and of is not to the poet's the of audience may no to the poet's But that will not Plato's the poet, is to the of poetic should in the place of the of is irrational, is when their one should the charge of emotions can be felt even one only to for instance, one can events and emotions as of a rational process of what to such as what one should all to irrational, as Plato we not as we that are irrational the in a from that are not the who since emotions are in to these emotions irrational, we would have to that all that are works of are fundamentally but that is for of creativity from the that creative often into they come to of the how to to him without being by any on the matter, when he was on a the and his on the of a a less of have the of to when in the or for a the has been by the and the such of the one might argue that they are not to a since they of the they are not and since they are not they are both of that are the even not to rational this would not the claim that there is an irrational to are to be from as we have For some to be irrational actually it to be to rational would be like as a but not is the first for that of the will are are to rational though they are of the do not to that it is we that it is but the that it is is a rational since it to the and the that it is not would in this be fear of is not a that is but is irrational, since are not at least some can be and The that the irrationalist can in is the of psychological that a though creativity in and kinds of is a who is an on has that of the and and is, more a I form of the and of the poets, John and from of the or also eminent writers and and that of been for a In contrast, only one of the general from and one to two from The of among writers and has been by also a for how creativity, that are for creative and or of the are in which the can be to and work has also been on the creativity in the arts in and and is a of that with a for include and For instance, a by and with who been by and a of a with The for and and for creative the For without any the creativity was a of it was in with one of for with two or more but no or of for with a or of and lowest for the with of have a undermines creativity, to a certain to it by number of to kind of that a of irrationality may creativity, but irrationality may it. The in creative of these and a of and has also been in the of the and creativity to eminent whom at least one was in The and The into poetry, the and and of the from a of some their of of and of also that of a was in the or of the of He also the creativity and with of which we in the the The psychological and its significance have been on grounds. are as as I will and have that in some of these of is on creative the of the that creativity and madness are in the which is the of creative have reason to their is not in all such instance, it is not in and the of in some is of the the creativity and of the two and and four to an is by the idea of being a mad genius as to himself or to act in that him that of to the view is in good of it may be that the and creativity not the of any them. creative which and often in is may be and this may in some It is that this in some the creative is of a and more on creative But in the from to creative starts in or early a that the of the in which creativity is creative often have who from their or of it, but these may not be creative in any the creativity and holds more in some such as poetry, in such as In of from and this is the of the who from it to one So there is a and creativity, the that it will only in some also found that a was of an in his was in the of as to the a of So from a makes it more in general that is creative being creative at a less eminent even the only in some such as that would a to the since the is a general one and applies to creativity in all There is a to account for the in of that would the to creativity in any For being might some some but it would no in they are creative in the is not and creativity but and which is a of with are to but their has to do with their creativity in these this the this a good good way to it out is to an to be by the of the and to have to and who him him to be in these and one friend, John him to sketch his is account of one of this of a I him he for the of what he I felt by his of that he a him, for he and on of the to make a of the of the which the he was from with the first he it. the in the the him that all by the of such as by to and to the and form of he himself for the of a he would a of the made two of the his and later a on The of a The a in a of by with a or view of a with four the of which is to the of the He in basic a but his is and and he has his and a that is into the by a with the and of his he a whose that of his to the of his And in his he a to their into which his and which his According to the him to and poetry as his of but his to do with his creativity the is the of and The of The of a from visionary of the are for instance, is from his Though the work is its largely depends on the and of the of the we the as we in the of its making as by So the creativity of the and creativity as its depends on his which from his to the and with his at least an creativity is on the of his So the psychological the a The a composite which holds that creative may both rational and irrational In the of this evidence, how should the should that irrational can a in creative in some which a composite But this composite has, I will a fundamentally character, for certain exercises of rationality are for creative by a of rational argues that it can be rational in certain to rationality or even oneself to this for instance, be the rational response to since by irrational one oneself to certain by a a man into the but since is they will some to the to the which should It would be irrational not to the since would be but it would also be irrational to the since the is to and to from the number of his and it to the have a that will when the to will him to do since and when the will for him to since it is with this madman, the is to without that are will not his is and but it in the of in his phrase, There are in which it is even to make oneself has this for of is that it is also in of creative and may be more psychological a good or even required way of rational aim of being creative is to make oneself irrational to some or even by in For the irrational or in and these may the for Rimbaud's reasoned of all the it was a rational to of irrationality in himself for creative in it the of of and as to by the of his poetry, he in his He was was Rimbaud in this one of the for his a for the was his for the of to creativity, though his less There is a of can be with but some writers and who are this to the since they find the their in two of such to the is the to a irrationality in this rationality in But this is a of rational being in a of irrationality creativity in some and their aim is to be then it is rational for to irrationality by the the of among creative such may not be that a aim is to be of may be required to the and irrational for are there is a to or to in But what of the of to a creative not to his be rational in his he not be by of not to the since no was But he be rational by of that his creativity in on his irrational and being that he was of rational irrationality into a of rational to and on a famous is of from of a on which the however, not of they to the significance for his of the one such a good to is to be to the that who is in this not be for that are to may be to the that may come such and be to the they In his to The of how he what he the of the from a at and that of his from such seems to have a of to The of can also be to of may one to and to such is a good for The of which in to from the was an to for creative And to for after a which he as a to the he would have or of come to him he was thinking of in are not one is irrational is not irrational, but is in the for there is no for rational or of this of and The of rational into a of rational of to and it being to the that irrational can creativity, and one may even to in all of irrationality that in creative are of rational of that a poet who from is that the would to But after that poetry is not would be of to as a poet. has, however, though to So to poetry, that not from of and is creative only of of is is irrational, and is creative is But is not irrational, for is that should the is irrational So not all of irrationality that creativity are of rational But a and of into this is irrational in of of But come in a it may be that to a type of is required to be is the claim that I now According to on the work of are not since a not have the of but are the product of the of of a of these works are that the has when the the to be the he would on the it an who is a that this is of some and And a is he will not to at the So the works are not art but are the product of the to and account of art is since I in a it is not the of the account that but the that it is and a of and can as a So it as such for that a a that is and should we that he is being creative in his There is reason to the is only in his and the to the of the the that he an is a of is even in the the the at the since these on the and from the point of view, it was that in an and In as we a kind of for and we do not for of an in creativity, as in of But such are in being is not the with the but the not in his The reason the is on luck, his of and is that he the to his and can no in his to be creative one to an of the on creativity into a general of on the It is not to be creative that one and for the may be a of as when I a of and it to a or be by means of of the of in some of or by following in by So to be it not what is but also how it is an is one of the on the of making that is to its being There is an this and a type of a work in making it, what it has and what it should have in the of So the and of as to form it one way are on the and of these have that rationality in to So in work in making it, the a kind of this that is, to on the of the So way to the claim that creativity an is to that creativity a to on the of the there is a type of rationality that is required to be In the of the these are but the with the type of creative for instance, in the of creativity, are the The of rationality is with being irrational in is irrational in not to do what it is to is irrational in of being But since is be to and is creative and be rational in some respect. But there is no that a creative be irrational in any respect. There is no a for that and it is in with the that of the eminent he from that who did and poets, as we are the to of all creative So there is a the of rationality and irrationality in whereas of a kind of rationality is required to be there is no that the creative be irrational in any respect. creative even in the are rational all the in their creative though the account of creativity I have is in on of the irrationalist its is I have for a account of creativity that has the following creative the of a rational but it not the of an irrational though not all, of irrationality in being creative are of being the first it that the account is fundamentally in the it that of creativity, one is irrational in some are less the to But even when one is irrational, one is irrational in some though one has made oneself and some of creativity, as in the of will may be of irrationality in some respect. So the account draws on both the and irrationalist traditions but is in a way The to account to incorporate the psychological but can do without the