The Socratic Boogie: Creating Creativity is a conversational dance between two speakers. They begin their dance trying to understand why the rationally scientific and the emotionally creative are always in mortal combat. Their serpentine route leads them to startling discoveries: that emotion is the most sophisticated of our mental processes; that creativity is the most primal emotion after self-preservation; that intuition is the foundation of creativity; that the creative self is not singular but plural; that the creativity that all humans possess can be accessed at will.
Having drawn their road map of mental processing, the speakers then create methods for becoming intentionally creative whenever and wherever they choose to be. They are awed by the implications of their dialogic dance; however sophisticated the evolution of these methods, they can be used by anyone of high school age or older. The implications stagger them as they envision a society in which creativity is a useful everyday tool taught throughout the educational system.
The Socratic Boogie is home to myriad ideas from a number of disciplines. Its audience will come from all walks of life. Philosophers, artists, therapists, educators and college students, as well as any educated man-in-the-street will find this the book that irrevocably changed their lives. A user's guide is provided for readers who wish to focus on a part of the book -- such as creative methods -- rather than the whole.
Get your toga and join the dance...
Picture someone who had over 5,000 hours of philosophical training by the age of sixteen, before he even knew what philosophy was, because he and his father talked into the wee hours of the night many, many times.
This someone then gets a good education in philosophy of religion at Princeton and Union Seminary/Columbia University in New York City, but then leaves academics to attempt to solve the oldest of philosophical problems: transcendence, or how new knowledge is acquired. This someone then passes through 35 years of teaching and several other occupations but continues to work on the problem, which evolves and gradually centers on creativity and intuition.
This someone then returns to graduate school and finally, in the fortieth year of this odyssey, puts all the pieces together in a philosophy of creativity entitled Meontology. The philosophy then takes the form of the book The Socratic Boogie: Creating Creativity.
This someone has used the creative methods set forth in the book for some years, resulting in creations in philosophy, poetry, and the design and making of wood furniture. This someone now wishes to share his treasure with you. That someone is me. Of course.
