| Abstract: | In this introductory article to the special issue, I explore the trope of paradox to think through the idea of creativity. Traditionally, metaphor has been the favored trope to conceptualize creativity: the combination of two existing elements into something different, something new. In this special issue, we focus on the trope of paradox as a trope defined by juxtaposition and an apparently irresolvable conflict to delineate creativity. Glossing the usefulness of paradox for artistic as well as scientific creativity, I show how the idea of Janusian thinking or being in two minds holds great potential to bridge creativity research in the humanities and social sciences. This issue starts building that bridge with multidisciplinary perspectives on creativity that, first, deconstruct apparent dichotomies in creativity research and, second, approach creativity as a situated, distributed concept. |
