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Why the creative process is not Darwinian Gabora, Liane
Abstract
Simonton (2006) makes the unwarranted assumption that nonmonotonicity supports a Darwinian view of creativity. Darwin’s theory of natural selection was motivated by a paradox that has no equivalent in creative thought: the paradox of how change accumulates when acquired traits are not inherited. To describe a process of cumulative change in which acquired traits are retained is outside of the scope of the theory of natural selection. Even the early evolution of life itself (prior to genetically mediated template replication) cannot be described by natural selection. Specifically, natural selection cannot describe change of state that involves horizontal (Lamarckian) exchange, or occurs through interaction with an incompletely specified context. It cannot describe change wherein variants are evaluated sequentially, and wherein this evaluation can itself change the state space and/or fitness function, because no two variants are ever evaluated according to the same selection criterion. Concerns are also raised as to the methodology used in Simonton’s study.
Item Metadata
Title |
Why the creative process is not Darwinian
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Creator | |
Publisher |
Taylor & Francis
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Date Issued |
2007
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Description |
Simonton (2006) makes the unwarranted assumption that nonmonotonicity supports a
Darwinian view of creativity. Darwin’s theory of natural selection was motivated by a paradox
that has no equivalent in creative thought: the paradox of how change accumulates when
acquired traits are not inherited. To describe a process of cumulative change in which acquired
traits are retained is outside of the scope of the theory of natural selection. Even the early
evolution of life itself (prior to genetically mediated template replication) cannot be described
by natural selection. Specifically, natural selection cannot describe change of state that involves
horizontal (Lamarckian) exchange, or occurs through interaction with an incompletely specified
context. It cannot describe change wherein variants are evaluated sequentially, and wherein this
evaluation can itself change the state space and/or fitness function, because no two variants are
ever evaluated according to the same selection criterion. Concerns are also raised as to the
methodology used in Simonton’s study.
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Subject | |
Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2018-03-05
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0364145
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Citation |
Gabora, L. (2007). Why the creative process is not Darwinian. Creativity Research Journal, 19(4), 361-365. [http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.1668]
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Publisher DOI |
10.1080/10400410701753317
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Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Faculty
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Rights URI | |
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International