Divergent Thinking
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Divergent Thinking
Introduction
Mark A. Runco Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, USA
The question “what is possible” is enormously important. That is in part due to its breadth: it could be asked within any culture, any era, or any discipline. It no doubt comes to mind any time there is a concern for progress, advance, growth, or evolution. It might be asked by organizations faced with a problem (e.g., how to maintain a competitive advantage) and in need of solutions, or asked by an individual pondering the human condition. How can such a broad question be answered? The question “what is possible” might be answered via logical inference. Simplifying, such logic might start with the way things are and then logically extrapolate to the way things could be. Current options might be extended or tweaked so they have some new component. The problem with this logical approach is that what is possible may not depend much if any on the way things are, in which case the current situation – and even the current logic – may not predict all possible futures or options. This is precisely what Jerome Bruner pointed to creativity when he thought about the future. He was concerned about the speed of social, cultural, and technological change and argued that because of the speed of change educators must focus on preparing students for a future which is, as he put it, unforeseeable. He described creativity as a way of going “beyond the information given,” which is consistent with the idea above that creativity can
Keywords
Divergent thinking · Cognitive hyperspace · Creativity · Originality · IQ · Paradigm shifts · Forecasting
Synopsis This chapter answers the question of “what is possible” by drawing from theories of creativity. It suggests that creative thinking will provide a wider range of answers to that key question than will logic and convergent thinking. It also points to one particular model of creative thinking, namely, that of divergent thinking, as especially useful. It provides a summary of the research on divergent thinking. This includes the very recent modifications to the model, including those defining cognitive hyperspace. This chapter concludes by putting divergent thinking in the larger context. Divergent thinking is useful but is not synonymous with creative thinking. There are other approaches to creative thinking, though, as noted herein, the divergent thinking approach is especially useful when considering the question, “what is possible?”
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 V. P. Glăveanu (ed.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_31-1
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provide possibilities that are not apparent from traditional logic. Think also about paradigm shifts (Kuhn 1963), which are defined as dramatic breaks in the flow of progress. No wonder Kuhn (1964) pointed to creativity in his theory of paradigm shifts. Indeed, creative processes offer possibilities that may not follow from logical inference. This chapter explores creativ
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