Creativity and Madness: New Findings and Old Stereotypes

by Albert Rothenberg MD

Intrigued by history's list of "troubled geniuses,"Albert Rothenberg investigates how two such opposite conditions―outstanding creativity and psychosis―could coexist in the same individual. Rothenberg concludes that high-level creativity transcends the usual modes of logical thought―and may even superficially resemble psychosis. But he also discovers that all types of creative thinking generally occur in a rational and conscious frame of mind, not in a mystically altered or transformed state. Far from being the source―or the price―of creativity, Rothenberg discovers, psychosis and other forms of mental illness are actually hindrances to creative work. Disturbed writers and absent-minded professors make great characters in fiction, but Rothenberg has uncovered an even better story―the virtually infinite creative potential of healthy human beings.

Genres: Psychology, Art, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is probably the worst book I have ever read. First of all, I take offense to any psychological disorder being referred to as "Madness," and second of all, I do not think homosexuality and alcoholism are legitimate forms of "Madness." I hate the term Mad in place of "crazy" or "psychotic," but it more accurately fits.

Second of all, all of the artists and scientists, who were actually famous, are all dead and cannot defend themselves. Was Michaelangelo gay because he took such care in creating the perfect man ("David"), I don't know, but the author somehow does.

Third of all, are all of Sylvia Plath's poems masked suicide notes, therefore bearing no creative value?

Do all artists who have committed suicide over time negate the value of their own work by doing so? (I am not suicidal, but I really like some of the work of the confessional poets).

And finally, I will leave you with this quote, which goes to show minimal hope for a talented artist who temporarily suffered a mental illness, after he/she goes through psychotherapy, "This type of therapy involves the new and valuable ways of resolving inner conflicts as well as carrying out everyday activities such as preparing food and getting dressed." That quote can be found on the penultimate page of the book.

[Stefan Gašić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uvodni deo je toliko savršeno napisan da sam se izuzetno začudio prosečnim, ili pak lošim ocenama ovde... ali kada sam došao do polovine, pa sve do samog(mučnog) kraja shvatio sam.
Rotenberg je utonuo u mutne vode, teško je objasniti proces stvaranja bez ikakvog uticaja, a kamoli kad su još i sporedni faktori prisutni( u slučaju ovog ispitivanja- ludilo, a pored toga alkoholizam i homoseksualnost).
U stvari, kad smo već kod toga, ne vidim razlog što se alkoholizam i homoseksualno ponašanje ubraja u "Ludilo".
Ako je već odlučio da ta ispitivanja ubaci u knjigu, Rotenberg je mogao da poradi na naslovu.
Glavna mana je nedovršenost istraživanja, nekonzistentnost prikazanih teorija koje su potpuno kontradiktorne, ali možda to i jeste cilj pisca, s obzirom da je osnivač pojma Janusovskog procesa(kao veoma zanimljive teorije i jedne od svetlih tački u knjizi).

Možda bi čak bilo bolje da su u drugoj knjizi prikazana pojedinačna istraživanja o određenim piscima/umetnicima, jer se nekako ne uklapa sve to u ovaj vid naučno istraživačkog rada... mada moram priznati da je analiza pesama Emili Dikinson bila veoma zanimljiva ali opet, sam prikaz mogućnosti psihoze ove spisateljice je mističan, nedorečen, jer na kraju tog poglavlja opet ne postoji nijedna čvrsta teorija koja potkrepljuje činjenice o njenom ludilu.

Ono što pisac naglašava više puta, da je vršio višegodišnja istraživanja sa različitim genijima, dobitnicima Nobelovih i prestižnih književnih nagrada, je pomalo neuverljivo jer ti opiti ovde nisu DOVOLJNO detaljno prikazani... možda u drugoj njegovoj knjizi, nisam siguran ali čemu onda naglašavanje?


I jedno od najbanalnijih izjava ikada: Homoseksualnost utiče na kreativnost!!!
Holy fuck, što čitav život jurim za vaginama kada se istina krije u muškom anusu?

Vrtoglavica me je držala neko vreme nakon kompletiranja knjige, jer ona sama nudi rollercoaster osećaj za vreme čitanja, čas sam potpuno fokusiran na reči, čas odlutam u dosadna sanjarenja koja su opet sama po sebi zanimljivija od teksta ispred mene.

Ove tri zvezdice ipak ne znače "I like it" kako je gudridz to namestio već su više nešto poput: nit' smrdi nit' miriše.
Ali izgleda ružno

[Theron Fairchild · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've studied these same questions in my own work, and the book is one of the better reads. There is a long history of uncritical, unscientific belief that creativity and mental illness draw from the same well. They do not. The book itself is a little dated, as better research now exists. Unfortunately, the book's message is still needed, to address numerous misunderstandings about both creativity and mental illness.

Rothenberg's book simply invites the reader to consider the evidence, and reconsider popular notions about both creativity and mental illness. This has typically been easier said than done, since both issues tend to be emotionally charged, as people read there own meanings and feelings into the topics (I've done it myself). Revered artists are often held to mythological status, and analyses of their lives or work often results in reactions of outrage (particularly since many of these analyses are not very well done). As an artist, I used to react similarly, until I started studying the clinical and biographical research myself, and realized I knew next to nothing about creativity or mental illness.

Rothenberg is a clinical psychiatrist with many years invested in artist research, and this alone tends to automatically invite suspicion by many in the arts and humanities. I've worked on different sides of the equation now, and one terrible misconception, one that I used to hold myself, is that negative forces or even illness drive creativity, and one must suffer terribly or success will not follow. This simply is not true, and worse, it's damaging to the person who believes it. Evidence overwhelmingly shows that destructive emotions and thoughts invariably undermine the creative process, and sometimes result in outcomes far worse than artistic failure. The Rothenberg book merely invites the reader to consider this evidence, and reconsider what we actually understand, and don't, about creative processes and about mental and emotional disturbances.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Old stereotypes" from the subtitle is right -- the book's full of them! And I'm not sure he could have misread Plath and Dickinson more badly.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rothenberg talks utter nonsense bullshit at times

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-researched book delves into the nature of creativity. The madness comes in because truly creative minds, whether artistic or scientific, unavoidably function on the razor's edge of the boundary between reality and imagination, fact and fiction, sanity and insanity. Not all creative people struggle with falling off the edge into mental and emotional instability, but a higher percentage of people in the creative fields do have this experience when compared to average thinkers and workers. What I found most helpful are Rothenberg's elucidation of two key aspects of mental processing that lead to true creative thought: 1. what Rothenberg calls Janusian thinking, the fact that certain minds can conceive multiple opposites (antitheses) simultaneously - something can be true and not true at the same time, for example; and 2. the homospatial process, which is essentially metaphorical thinking, whereby a "thing" can be understood from more than one point of view at the same time, or can become a synthesis of disparate things, such as a character in a novel incorporates aspects of more than one person in the author's consciousness. Einstein's theory of relativity is another example; as I write this review I am sitting still but I am also moving at a phenomenal speed as I ride the earth on its orbit around the sun. For me the book reinforced concepts I already understood to be true and have myself experienced, and it was a springboard to further reading, beginning with Kay Redfield Jamison's Exuberance.

[Chaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rothenberg attempts to elucidate the romantic myth behind the 'tortured artist'. Many folks and theories since antiquity for example Plato's Phaedrus have claimed that madness and creativity are linked. In this well researched book he presents a few ethnographic studies and analysis -- he assesses different variables that may or may not increase creativity.... looks at the relationship between alcohol/genius/ homosexuality/bipolar disorder/and other mental aberrations.
In addition he also looks deeply into the lives of such well-known artists such as Tennessee Williams, and Emily Dickinson. (I was able to extract a few thought-provoking quotes from various journals and notes.) While I don't *completely* agree with his supposition that mental illnesses are a hindrance to creativity -- I feel like he has presented an interesting viewpoint and anyone can learn a little about a few certain famous artist's idiosyncrasies.
Nonetheless -- if you're looking for a nonfiction jaunt into our one of our 'society''s stereotypes.... It's worth the time.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok... I don't own THIS addition but "Creativity and Madness" is a MUST own for anyone interested in the creative process, art history and and the lives of artists both in literature and fine arts. I bought my copy back in 2002 and it was out of print then... I am wondering if this version is the same as mine. Humm.
Good Read.

[Katharine Holden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed. Lacks depth. Confused. Very hard to pull anything useful out of this book.