Thinking: Exploring Mental Life 133(1) productivity,(2) originality,and (3) flexibility.Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910),
author ofWar and Peaceand Anna Karenina,is generally thought to be one of the
world’s greatest authors. Why? Let’s employ the three criteria. First, Tolstoy was
extremely productive. He wrote many books, short stories, and essays. He left
behind a large body of work.
Second, he was highly original. War and Peacebroke the ground for a now-
familiar kind of book, the war novel. Anna Kareninawas one of the first great
romantic tragedies presented in the form of a novel. It pioneered today’s tearjerk-
ers and soap operas. Although the patterns are familiar today, they were highly
original when Tolstoy first presented them. In general, his stories and essays often
presented characters and ideas from unusual perspectives.
Third, Tolstoy was unusually flexible. As already indicated, he expressed his
ideas in several forms. Also, he changed his philosophy of life from an egocentric
one to a selfless one, and wrote extensively about the shift in his viewpoint. As you
can see, Tolstoy receives high marks on all three criteria.(a) Tolstoy wrote many books, short stories, and essays. This example is associated with what
criterion used to evaluate creative thinking?(b) Tolstoy’s works often presented characters and ideas from unusual perspectives. This exam-
ple is associated with what criterion used to evaluate creative thinking?
Answers: (a) Productivity; (b) Originality.SELF-TEST
- The process of thinking about thinking is called
a. cognitive existentialism
b. symbolic production
c. functional reflection
d. metathought - What kind of a concept strings together perceived attributes?
a. A relational concept
b. A disjunctive concept
c. An iconic concept
d. A conjunctive concept - Which of the following identifies an object or an idea that fits a concept, that
can be contained within it?
a. Positive exemplar
b. Negative exemplar
c. Bipolar exemplar
d. Transformational exemplar