Intuition, Creativity and the 'Intelligent Unconscious'

Much of my work as a theoretical psychologist has concerned new science-based conceptions of intuition and the unconscious. Some books that cover this ground are:

The Wayward Mind (Little Brown 2005)

"Guy Claxton's quest for the origins of the unconscious mind combines page-turning narrative with cutting-edge neuroscience. The book marks an important contribution to our understanding of what it is to be human"
Rita Carter, author of Mapping the Mind

"An interesting journey .. lit brilliantly by sparkling insights"
Paul Broks, author of Into the Silent Land

"Neuroscience is showing us how to break out of the 'locked up self' of the past"
The Independent

"Claxton's book stands out from the crowd .. a work of terrific breadth .. unfalteringly elegant"
The Spectator

"A lively tour through stories of the unconscious"
Sunday Telegraph

"It is hard not to feel enticed by a book with such engaging opening words"
Steven Rose, The Guardian

Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind

My most successful book to date, critically and commercially, is Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: Why Intelligence Increases When You Think Less (Fourth Estate, UK, 1997, HarperPerennial, USA, 1999). It brought together for the first time a wide range of scientific evidence for the existence of 'the intelligent unconscious'. Very different from the wild, subversive unconscious of the Freudians, I showed that most of our everyday intelligence belongs not to the screen of consciousness but to the invisible 'motherboard' behind it.

'Just occasionally I get the feeling that somebody has said something important', said John Cleese, speaking of my work, in an interview in Newsweek . Together Cleese and I developed a video based on the book to help managers use their minds better (but sadly production money ran out before we could start filming. Dawn French was slated to play the 'hare' and Hugh Laurie the 'tortoise').

The Creative Thinking Plan

"This creativity master class is a treat for any of us who want to open our minds."
Octavius Black, The Mind Gym

"A compelling guide to developing creative habits of mind. The book draws on a rich variety of thinking about Creativity and shows how we can apply it to the benefit both of our work and our personal lives."
David Puttnam

‘...Guy Claxton and Bill Lucas have a well-established track record as experts in learning and have applied this understanding to creativity... The concise and clear text provides a practical and common-sense view of creativity... This book tantalizes us with the realisation that learning and creativity are close, and possibly inseparable, companions...’
Times Educational Supplement

"well presented, readable and takes us behond conventional thinking in order to achieve more in our personal and professional lives."
Professional Manager

Recent Developments on the Intelligent Unconscious: Creativity, Wisdom, Intuition, Management and the Arts

The idea that there is more to ‘thinking’ than just working things out rationally is proving attractive and fruitful in a number of areas.

A number of people are exploring the concept of wisdom, and how it goes beyond mere ‘thinking’. I have recently edited and contributed to a book with Howard Gardner and Anna Craft called Creativity, Wisdom and Trusteeship: The Role of Education. It was published by Corwin Press in the US and UK in 2007.
People in the business work are getting very interested in intuition. I gave a big public lecture on the subject to business leaders in New Zealand in November 2006. And I have a chapter titled ‘Beyond Cleverness: How to Be Smart Without Thinking’ in Jane Henry’s book Creative Management and Development (Sage 2006)
Creative practitioners in the performing arts rely a lot on intuition. I have been working with a group at the Centre for Research into Creation in the Performing Arts, ResCen, at Middlesex University, to develop their ideas, and these are now published in a book called Navigating the Unknown: The Creative Process in Contemporary Performing Arts (2006, see www.rescen.mdx.ac.uk). My chapter is called ‘Creative Glide Space’.

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