Howard Gruber
Encyclopedia
Howard E. Gruber, an American psychologist, was a pioneer of the psychological study of creativity
. Howard E. Gruber earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University
and went on to a distinguished academic career. He worked with Jean Piaget
in Geneva and later co-founded the Institute for Cognitive Studies at Rutgers with Dorothy Dinnerstein. At Columbia University Teachers College, he continued to pursue his interests in the history of science
, and particularly the work of Charles Darwin
. Gruber's work led to several important discoveries about the creative process and the developmental psychology
of creativity
.
His work on Charles Darwin
entitled Darwin on Man: A Psychological Study of Scientific Creativity, became the groundwork of his methodological approach for the case study
of evolving systems. In 1974 this book was awarded Science Book of the Year by Phi Beta Kappa
http://www.pbk.org/infoview/PBK_Infoview.aspx?t=&id=57
Key aspects of this approach are a radical focus on individuals as situated in a network of enterprise. The method uses a strong existential
perspective as regards the "creative" individual who is said to act at all times with knowledge, purpose and affect. Creativity is purposeful work.
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
. Howard E. Gruber earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and went on to a distinguished academic career. He worked with Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children. His theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemology"....
in Geneva and later co-founded the Institute for Cognitive Studies at Rutgers with Dorothy Dinnerstein. At Columbia University Teachers College, he continued to pursue his interests in the history of science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
, and particularly the work of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. Gruber's work led to several important discoveries about the creative process and the developmental psychology
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
of creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
.
His work on Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
entitled Darwin on Man: A Psychological Study of Scientific Creativity, became the groundwork of his methodological approach for the case study
Case study
A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find...
of evolving systems. In 1974 this book was awarded Science Book of the Year by Phi Beta Kappa
http://www.pbk.org/infoview/PBK_Infoview.aspx?t=&id=57
Key aspects of this approach are a radical focus on individuals as situated in a network of enterprise. The method uses a strong existential
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
perspective as regards the "creative" individual who is said to act at all times with knowledge, purpose and affect. Creativity is purposeful work.