Creativity: Created or Discovered?

Creativity is one of the most mysterious and fascinating aspects of human thought. Is it something we generate through conscious effort, or is it something we uncover, like an archaeologist revealing a buried artifact?

Philosophers, artists, and scientists have debated this for centuries. Some view creativity as an entirely human invention—an active process of constructing something new. Others see it as a process of discovery, where the artist or thinker merely uncovers what was already present in the world, waiting to be found.

The truth might lie somewhere in between. Let’s explore both perspectives.

Creativity as Creation: The Active Mind

From this viewpoint, creativity is an act of making. It is built from experience, knowledge, and effort. When we engage in creative work—whether writing, painting, or composing—we are not passively receiving ideas but actively shaping and transforming raw material into something new.

1. Creativity as Synthesis

Great ideas often emerge from combining existing concepts in a novel way. The best filmmakers, musicians, and writers borrow elements from different sources and merge them into a unique whole. For example:

• Hip-hop music was created by mixing funk, soul, and jazz with new rhythmic structures.
• The Renaissance was fueled by artists who merged classical knowledge with new techniques in perspective and composition.
• The internet revolution was built on existing technologies (telephone lines, early computers, data storage) but combined in a way that transformed the world.

If creativity is simply about making new connections, then it is something we create—it doesn’t exist until we bring it to life.

2. The Deliberate Effort of Creation

Many artists describe creativity as a craft that requires discipline and training. Beethoven meticulously revised his compositions, rewriting entire sections. Hemingway famously said, “The only kind of writing is rewriting.” In this sense, creativity isn’t a mystical force but a skill honed through effort and persistence.

This aligns with the idea that inspiration is overrated. As Thomas Edison put it: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

From this perspective, creativity is a constructive process, something humans invent rather than stumble upon.

Creativity as Discovery: The Hidden Order of Ideas

On the other hand, many great thinkers have described creativity as something that happens to them, rather than something they consciously generate.

1. The Muse and the Mystery of Inspiration

Ancient Greeks believed in the Muses—divine beings who whispered ideas into the minds of poets and artists. Many artists today describe creativity as something external, arriving unexpectedly.

• Michelangelo said he did not create sculptures but released them from the marble.
• Henri Cartier-Bresson captured decisive moments in photography as if they were already composed in the world, waiting for him to press the shutter.
• Mathematicians often “discover” equations rather than invent them—suggesting that mathematical beauty exists independently of human thought.

If creativity is about uncovering something that already exists, then it is a process of discovery rather than creation.

2. The Collective Unconscious and Universal Patterns

Carl Jung believed in a collective unconscious—a reservoir of archetypes and ideas shared by all humans. This explains why similar myths, symbols, and artistic themes appear in unrelated cultures.

For example, across different civilizations:

• The concept of a Great Flood appears in Mesopotamian, Hindu, and biblical traditions.
• The Hero’s Journey structure (as described by Joseph Campbell) is found in myths from ancient Greece to modern Hollywood films.
• Geometric patterns found in nature (like the Fibonacci sequence) also appear in classical art and architecture.

If creativity is about uncovering universal patterns, then it is less about inventing and more about perceiving something fundamental.

Art is the Window to the Transcendent

This phrase suggests that art is more than just a form of expression—it is a gateway to something beyond the ordinary, beyond the material world. To understand this fully, let’s break it down into different layers of meaning.

1. Art Reveals Deeper Truths

Throughout history, art has been used to express ideas and emotions that words alone cannot fully capture. Whether through music, painting, cinema, or poetry, great art often reveals something beyond the immediate experience of life.

• Religious Art: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel or Buddhist mandalas are not just beautiful—they point to spiritual realities beyond the physical world.

• Philosophical Art: Dostoevsky’s novels explore the deepest aspects of morality, suffering, and redemption, making the abstract tangible.

• Music and Emotion: A symphony by Beethoven or a jazz improvisation can evoke feelings beyond logic, hinting at something transcendent within human experience.

Art, in this sense, acts as a bridge between the physical and the metaphysical, making the unseen visible.

2. Art Evokes the Sublime

The concept of the sublime in philosophy (notably discussed by Kant and Burke) refers to experiences that are so vast, powerful, or awe-inspiring that they go beyond our rational understanding.

• A breathtaking landscape in a painting can make us feel small yet connected to something greater.

• A film like 2001: A Space Odyssey doesn’t just tell a story—it evokes a sense of cosmic mystery, making the viewer feel the weight of existence itself.

• Abstract art, like that of Rothko, doesn’t depict anything concrete, yet it pulls something deep from within us, like a direct confrontation with the infinite.

This is why some people describe encounters with great art as spiritual experiences—art takes them to a place beyond logic, into the realm of the transcendent.

3. Art and the Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious suggests that all human beings share a deep, underlying connection through symbols and archetypes. These archetypes—such as the Hero, the Shadow, or the Divine—often appear in art, literature, and mythology.

When we resonate with a piece of art, it might not be just personal—it might be tapping into something universal, something beyond the self.

• A film like The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick) feels dreamlike and deeply personal, yet it speaks to universal human emotions—love, loss, and wonder.

• A simple piece of music, like a Gregorian chant, can create a sense of sacredness, not because of its complexity, but because it connects to something primal in human nature.

If these deeper structures exist within us, then art is a window into something beyond our individual existence—something eternal.

4. The Artist as a Messenger

Some of the greatest artists describe their process as receiving rather than creating. They don’t feel like they are inventing something from nothing, but rather channeling something greater than themselves.

• Plato believed that artists were inspired by the divine realm of forms, making them messengers of higher truths.

• William Blake, the poet and painter, claimed he had visions and that his art was dictated by something beyond him.

• Ingmar Bergman said that his films were his way of exploring the silence of God—an attempt to grasp the transcendent through cinema.

If this is true, then art is not just a window to the transcendent—it is a way for the transcendent to speak to us.

Art as a Spiritual Experience

When we say “Art is the window to the transcendent”, we mean that art gives us access to something beyond the material world. It reveals hidden truths, evokes deep emotions, and connects us to something larger than ourselves—whether that is the divine, the universal human experience, or the infinite mysteries of existence.

Great art doesn’t just entertain. It awakens something in us. It reminds us that there is more to reality than what we can see, measure, or explain. It is, quite literally, a window into another dimension of being.

The Truth: A Balance Between Creation and Discovery

Ultimately, creativity seems to be both created and discovered.

• The raw material—the patterns, structures, and fundamental truths—already exist in the world.
• But it takes a human mind to interpret, refine, and shape them into something meaningful.

Imagine creativity as mining for gold. The gold itself (ideas, patterns, inspiration) is already in the earth, but it takes effort to extract, refine, and shape it into something valuable.

Many of history’s greatest breakthroughs were a combination of both:

• Einstein’s theory of relativity existed before he formulated it, but he had to use creative thinking to discover it.
• Van Gogh’s use of color was inspired by nature, but he actively created a new way of seeing the world.
• Filmmakers use real human emotions and natural lighting (which already exist), but they construct narratives to make those elements meaningful.

Conclusion: The Best Creators Are Also the Best Discoverers

If you’re trying to be more creative, it might help to think of yourself as both a creator and a discoverer.

• Explore the world—look for hidden patterns, observe nature, study different disciplines.
• Train your craft—even the best inspirations need refinement and structure.
• Trust intuition, but also work hard—great ideas often feel like they come from nowhere, but they only take form through effort.

In the end, whether creativity is created or discovered doesn’t change the fact that it is one of the most essential forces in human life. It allows us to see the world differently, shape our experiences, and connect with something beyond ourselves—whether that’s an audience, an idea, or a universal truth.