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6 - The Innovation Dilemma: Some Risks of Creativity in Strategic Agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
James M. Jasper
Edited by
David H. Cropley ,
Arthur J. Cropley ,
James C. Kaufman  and
Mark A. Runco
James M. Jasper
Affiliation:
CUNY Graduate Center
David H. Cropley
Affiliation:
University of South Australia
Arthur J. Cropley
Affiliation:
University of Hamburg
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
California State University at San Bernardino
Mark A. Runco
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
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Summary

Ipse docet quid agam; fas est et ab hoste doceri [The enemy himself teaches me what to do; it is good to be taught by him].

Ovid

The study of strategic interaction, in which players hope to influence the actions, beliefs, and feelings of others, has long been dominated by game theory. As a branch of mathematics, and a mostly normative one at that, game theory has had enthusiasts, but most social scientists have rejected or ignored it. Sociologists in particular have dismissed it without even knowing much about it. As a result, they have rejected the study of strategy altogether. Since sociology is my main discipline, since I see both insight and limitations to game theory, and since I believe that strategy is central to a great deal of social life, I have tried hard to develop a softer alternative to game theory (Jasper, 2004, 2006). This entails a fuller, more realistic recognition of emotions, cognition, and social context. And one of my hopes in doing this work has been to better understand the creativity of social action, especially the creativity found in social movements (Jasper, 1997).

In strategic settings, creativity has several characteristics that may not hold elsewhere. For one, it arises out of interaction as players act and react to one another; we must lay aside the popular image of the creative genius who first imagines new possibilities and only then presents or promulgates them.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Dark Side of Creativity , pp. 91 - 113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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