Journal of Psychology & Behavioral Science

Creativity and Mental Illness
Dr Maya Mainkar

Abstract
Creativity involves the use of the imagination or original ideas in order to bring something in existence. Madness has to do with foolishness and things which are not sensible. It includes things done without thought or control. If we combine the two we can come to some very healthy conclusions. First, that we tend to use words, and these include creativity and madness, rather loosely, often, in contrast to what they actually mean, and in contrast to what can take us from mediocrity to greatness. Second, that all sensible human beings want happiness and abundance. People are miserable when their thoughts and deeds are poor. Third ,that we have to leave the mentally ill in the care of specialist doctors. It is not a topic we can resolve. Fourth, that every human being is creative. He can achieve great things if he is trained to use his mind wisely. We tend to use madness rather loosely. Most of us clamor to be in madly in love without realizing that mad men cannot sustain love. We are also mad when we indulge in negative emotions. Hysteria is nothing but extreme or uncontrollable excitement. It is a mental disorder. Madness in art and literature is often linked with genius. In reality, it is completely anti-life. Art is selective recreation of reality according to an artist s metaphysical value judgment. Literature re-creates reality by means of language. The most important principal of the esthetics of literature was formulated by Aristotle, who said that fiction is greater that history, because history represents things as they are, while fiction represents them as they might be and ought to be. This requires vision and what shape life should take, not for a dozen mad men but for the multitude of humanity.

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