About this title: Koestler probes "bisociative" thinking--creativity and the new perceptions offered us by creative activity. An area of psychology that is often neglected, creativity is, according to Koestler, often suppressed by the daily near-automatic routine of our lives. He offers the suggestion that it is when our rational thought is suspended that we are at ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Dell, New York
Date Published: 1967
Description: Fair. Old paperback with scuffing on cover. Some pages are wrinkled. Stored for 30 years. 751 p. : ill.; 18 cm. Includes index. Bibliography: p. 709-728. Recommended reading for all freshmen entering Radcliffe in 1965. Koestler examines the common factors in scientific, artistic, and cosmic creations, and gives examples from psychology, Eastern mysticism, and biology... read more
Description: Reader copy. Ex-library hardcover with the usual indications. Text otherwise unmarked. Binding solid. Jacket in typical plastic library sleeve. More than average general use and wear. Decent reading copy. read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Hutchinson, London
Date Published: 1969
Description: Good in Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. x-xxii. 491pp. the second book in his classic trilogy on the mind of man. black cloth boards with gilt decoration. d/j worn at edges. top edge dusty and stained. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Macmillan
Date Published: 1964-01-01
Description: Good. 1964 hardcover, no dj, no marks noted in text, binding tight, All of our products are cleaned with an disinfectant for your protection before shipping. read more
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: hardbound
Publisher: Hutchinson, London
Date Published: 1964
Description: b&w frontispiece. Very Good in chipped & rubbed dustwrapper. 8vo. Dustwrapper. 751pp. 1st UK Edition of this classic study of the creative process, in which the author attempts to define the universal pattern common to all creative activities, with major chapters on comic art, visual art, verbal art, philosophy, etc; this copy has the former owner's name to fep, light offset to endpapers, o.w. Very Good tight and clean throughout; dustwrapper edgeworn and rubbed, with some short closed tears ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Pan Books
Date Published: 1966
Description: Good. Overall rather worn but still a useful readable copy. No major defects-unabridged, clean, complete, not falling apart; some light wear. A perfectly good reading or reference copy. read more
Edition: 6th Printing.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: New York, Macmillan & co
Date Published: 1967
Description: Description: 751 p. illus. 24 cm. Bibliography: p. 709-728. Subjects: Creative thinking. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.). Fine cloth copy in a near fine, very slightly edge-nicked and dust-dulled dw, now mylar-sleeved. Remains particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and sharp-cornered. 2. pp. 751. read more
Edition: Second Edition 1st Printing
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: The Danube Edition-Pan Books Ltd., London
Date Published: 1970
ISBN-13:9780330731164ISBN:0330731165
Description: Very Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Previous Owner Markings; Light Creasing on Front, Rear Covers; Front, Rear Covers, Spine Lightly Chipped; Spine Slightly Cocked; Light Moisture Damage (Staining); Edges Lightly Soiled; Moderate Yellowing Due to Age. SYNOPSIS: The Act of Creation is a brilliant and important analysis by a famous author of the artistic and scientific faculties of man, including humour. In this major study Arthur Koestler advances the theory that all creative activities-the ... read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780140191912ISBN:0140191917
Description: Very Good. 0140191917 Previously read trade paperback book in very good condition, some very minor shelf wear, no rips or tears. 03335079 _ read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780140191912ISBN:0140191917
Description: Very Good. 0140191917 Previously read trade paperback book in very good condition, some very minor shelf wear, no rips or tears. 03335902 _ read more
Edition: First Separate
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Picador
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780330244473ISBN:0330244477
Description: Collectible; Good. GOOD+ 1975 1ST IMPRESSION PICADOR PAPERBACK, WITH LOVELY MAX ERNST COVER ARTWORK 'SERENITE', PAPERBACK INCORPORATING THE 'DANUBE EDITION' PREFACE AND REVISIONS. PAGES TANNED AT EDGES, UNCREASED BUT DARKENED SPINE, TIGHT BINDING, INNERS UNMARKED. ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER OF KOESTLER'S HIGHLY ORIGINAL, COMPELLING FUSIONS OF SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY AND PHILOSOPHICAL ORIGINALITY. IMMEDIATE 1ST CLASS/AIRMAIL DISPATCH WORLDWIDE FROM UK SPECIALIST-MANY OTHER KOESTLER TITLES ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan
Date Published: 1970
ISBN-13:9780330731164ISBN:0330731165
Description: Very Good. VG(+) 1970 1ST IMPRESSION PAN PIPER PAPERBACK, WITH LOVELY ABSTRACT COVER ARTWORK, PAPERBACK INCORPORATING THE 'DANUBE EDITION' PREFACE AND REVISIONS. PAGES A LITTLE TANNED AT EDGES, UNCREASED SPINE, TIGHT BINDING, INNERS UNMARKED. ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER OF KOESTLER'S HIGHLY ORIGINAL, COMPELLING FUSIONS OF SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY AND PHILOSOPHICAL ORIGINALITY. IMMEDIATE 1ST CLASS/AIRMAIL DISPATCH WORLDWIDE FROM UK SPECIALIST-MANY OTHER KOESTLER TITLES AVAILABLE ~~Please browse our ... read more
Fantastic book - comparison of art, science and humor and how they require similar creative processes, i.e. an orthogonal leap using combination of things that were already known. It puts scientists in their "proper" place, IMO, i.e. away from the "hard and stodgy rational,", and with the creative. Most scientists appreciate art and music - the reputation is unwarranted. Perhaps it comes from people we think are boring - i.e. those who start conversations by talking about the weather."
"For starters I've never read this book cover-to-cover, but have read most of it at least once over the past couple years.
In some 700 pages Koestler makes the case for a new way of understanding the relationship between art and science. He does this in a most dense and thorough way that I could not begin to explain here. Suffice it to say it is among the most difficult and most interesting writing I have ever come across. He loads his writing with fascinating examples and illustrating facts that keep you engaged throughout. I often go back to reading this book in my free time, or between other books.
I would strongly NOT recommend this book for the general public. I have a copy that states on the back flap that this was in 1967 assigned reading to incoming students at Radcliffe College; I cannot think of many graduate students that would have gotten much more from this that boredom and frustration. It would be of interest to people with significant background in the social science, and possibly natural sciences. It would also be of interest to people who study the history of ideas.
The book is the second book in the unofficial trilogy of Koestler's works, beginning with The Sleepwalkers and ending with Ghost in the Machine. Act of Creation is itself divided in two: "Book I: The Art of Discovery and the Discoveries of Art"; and "Book II: Habit and Originality". The each book explains the same material, with the first taking a broader scope, and the second working "from the ground up" to explain the same ideas in much more technical language."
"A scientific analysis of the creative process. Koestler argues that the scientific discovery, the work of art, and the joke are all instances of creativity, and that the common element in each is "bisociation," a term referring to the mental process in which two unlike things are put together. Lots of examples and clear descriptions of the ideas with which Koestler works. Entertaining, informative and accessible."
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