Human Development and the Nature of Creativity

Abstract

The purposes of this essay are twofold. The first and main one is to apply a conceptual framework derived from holistic and 'process' philosophy to some issues of human development; generally in the psychological sense of the term. Just as the originator of process thought, Alfred North Whitehead, put the idea of creativity at the centre of his philosophy; so I will argue that creativity, appropriately defined, is a key characteristic of the development of the human mind.
The second related aim is to briefly examine the significance of this picture of human development within a broader social and political context. By so doing I hope to at least suggest that the insights of holism and process thought into the 'human condition' may be of genuine significance also to our assessment of our present situation as a society and of our future prospects. Following are some brief preliminary remarks about this 'situation' and the political challenges embedded in it.