¶ … arises in the mind. Ideas give rise to concepts, which are the basis for knowledge. The artistic notion of ideas is that they do not evolve from previous experience; they are the birth of something totally new. But, ideas don't just happen. Perhaps preconceptions are pushed aside, but when devising an idea people think about their past experience and what want in the future. This is not to say that the creative process does not involve original thinking, but it is based on prior knowledge.
According to Wallas (1926), one of the first to explore the creative process, there are four sequential steps in the creative process. The first is the creative process in which a deficiency or a gap in knowledge is sensed. The second stage is incubation in which information is acquired, ideas are explored and solutions begine to be formulated. Next, illumination happens. In this third stage, there is a flash of insight that contributes to the birth of the new idea. The final stage is revision, in which the options are evaluated and the most promising is chosen.
To believe that an idea is something totally new, one would have to skip the first two stages of Wallas' theory on the creative process. In this case, the idea would have to evolve from intution or an inner way of knowing. However, theories such as those by Wallas are more credible than the notion of intuition for the formulation of an idea. An individual might not be consciusly aware of the prior experiences and mental exploration that have contributed to the idea, but they no doubt are buried in the individual's subconcious. After all, if a person had not had an experience, there would have been no need for the idea in the first place.
Bibliography
Wallas, G. 1926. The art of thought, New York: Harcourt, Brace.
