Historical Thread of Creativity Cross Cultures

Pre-Christian View of Creativity

Jan 1, 1000

About 140 BC: The concept of genius was changed by the Greeks from being someone who had "mystical powers of protection and good fortune" to being "associated with an individuals abilities and appetites" (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010, p. 5). It became socialli valuable to be creative, and according to the Romans, men could pass on their creativity to their children.

Earliest Western View of Creativity

Jul 1, 1000

Around 450 BC: The book of Genesis tells the story of creation in which creativity is deasribed as "doing God's work on Earth" (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010, p. 5).

Shift from Religion to Science

Period: Jan 1, 1500 to Jan 1, 1700

As scientific research opposed religious authorities, people gained more freedom, and more emphasis was beginning to be placed on the individual as opposed to God (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010, p. 7).

Human research and philosophy

Jul 7, 1543

According to Kaufman & Sternberg (2010), creativity did not become separated from "God's work" until the greatest scientists including Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton proved otherwise. Through their scientific research, the public began to look at the physical world in different ways, illuminating the fire of creativity in the European worlds.

Hobbes

Jul 7, 1615

Hobbes recognizes that imagination is essential to human thinking and planning. Creativity and imagination become linked.

Jean-Jacques Rouseau

Jul 7, 1740

Jean-Jacques Rouseau (1712-1778) emphasizes how inner feelings are a source of inspiration and wisdom (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2010, p. 10).

Malthus

Jul 7, 1798

Malthus's Essay on Population (1798) proved with data that the English population was questioning life and existence, which established the beginnings of the social sciences.

Darwin's Origin of Species

Jul 7, 1859

With Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) describes how human existence was subject to natural selection, and that creativity was an example of an adaptation essential to human survival.

Galton

Jul 7, 1874

Galton (1874, 1883) studied differences in individuals and claimed these differences could be measured. He also wanted to control the natural selection concepts described by Darwin, in the interest in increasing British talent and thus creativity.

Levons

Jul 7, 1877

Levons (1877) redefines genius to be "essentially creative" (
kaufman & Sternberg, 2010, p. 13).

William James

Jul 7, 1880

Divergent thinking becomes a widely accepted idea, and later becomes a synonym for imagination.

Shift in thought as to the origin of individual creativity

Jul 7, 1920

Creativity is suggested to be influenced by development and families, as opposed to being unconsciously driven. This was concluded by Cox's research in the 1920s, and bodies of work from Barron, Helson, MacKinnon, and Roe in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s.