Ego may be a commanding force in the urge to create. I have explained it this way:
Despite their differences, in one sense Richard Feynman and Florence Nightingale were alike. No prospect of fame, pride, position, personal gain, bettering one’s station, feeling important in the eyes of others, or cashing in on the work could have bought off his compulsion to paint the subatomic landscape, or her altruistic zeal for eradicating the poor sanitary practices of hospitals.
The impression and probably the truth is that creators with a commanding motive to feed their egotism are mostly men. They may create under the stimulus of amassing riches and luxuries. Or perhaps the thought of being second-in-command galls unbearably, and they must issue orders and pull levers of control. Or perhaps they need to be in charge for the sake of vanity, status, applause, radiating importance, being envied, or getting the better of rivals, under the logic of “I accomplish hugely, therefore I hugely am.” Or perhaps it is a means of paying off old scores, a There-I’ve-shown-you! resentment directed to someone who long ago loosed meanspirited remarks which saddled them with feeling inferior. Or perhaps they aspire to escape anonymity after death, erecting monuments and public works in their names. Any or several of these may operate in them.
Something good is to be said of them. Along with the charitably driven, they are society’s mundane lifeblood. How else can complex projects of uninteresting necessity and great tonnage be accomplished? How else can food be counted on to be delivered to supermarkets, and electricity and water come affordably into homes? To staff the positions with people overcome with their private dreams, many ill-suited for working cooperatively and to timetables, is useless. Those with the temperament of van Gogh will not get the practical work done.
(Quoted from page 58-59 of The Life of the Creative Spirit, by H. Charles Romesburg. Xlibris, 2001.)
For the companion post of this one, “The Saunterer on the motive of creating products that serve human welfare, ” click here.
Despite their differences, in one sense Richard Feynman and Florence Nightingale were alike. No prospect of fame, pride, position, personal gain, bettering one’s station, feeling important in the eyes of others, or cashing in on the work could have bought off his compulsion to paint the subatomic landscape, or her altruistic zeal for eradicating the poor sanitary practices of hospitals.
The impression and probably the truth is that creators with a commanding motive to feed their egotism are mostly men. They may create under the stimulus of amassing riches and luxuries. Or perhaps the thought of being second-in-command galls unbearably, and they must issue orders and pull levers of control. Or perhaps they need to be in charge for the sake of vanity, status, applause, radiating importance, being envied, or getting the better of rivals, under the logic of “I accomplish hugely, therefore I hugely am.” Or perhaps it is a means of paying off old scores, a There-I’ve-shown-you! resentment directed to someone who long ago loosed meanspirited remarks which saddled them with feeling inferior. Or perhaps they aspire to escape anonymity after death, erecting monuments and public works in their names. Any or several of these may operate in them.
Something good is to be said of them. Along with the charitably driven, they are society’s mundane lifeblood. How else can complex projects of uninteresting necessity and great tonnage be accomplished? How else can food be counted on to be delivered to supermarkets, and electricity and water come affordably into homes? To staff the positions with people overcome with their private dreams, many ill-suited for working cooperatively and to timetables, is useless. Those with the temperament of van Gogh will not get the practical work done.
(Quoted from page 58-59 of The Life of the Creative Spirit, by H. Charles Romesburg. Xlibris, 2001.)
For the companion post of this one, “The Saunterer on the motive of creating products that serve human welfare, ” click here.
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