This presentation will offer a ‘top-down’ overview of the Western philosophy of Creativity and its problems, calling on the work and writings of many philosophers, artists, scientists, social commentators and psychologists.
Issues to be touched on include the following: Where in our world do we find creativity? … Is a thoroughgoing philosophical account of creativity even possible? … How can we defend creativity against deflationary and sceptical accounts that emphasize the problems that creativity presents to us? … Do we need to revise all of our concepts of human creativity in the light of the alleged enhanced creativity that AI is now offering us?
These issues will be examined through historical and contemporary examples. No definitive answers to these questions will be offered but one may wish to draw the broad conclusion that philosophical musings on Creativity and its problems are extremely valuable for promoting our own human self-knowledge.