Being creative: with or without limits?
| Objective: To feed your philosophical thoughts on creativity with the help of your family during lunch! |
Duration : 30 to 75 minutes
Material :
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Sheets of paper and pen
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Coloured pencils and markers
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Your family
Instructions :
It's time to eat! Gather your family around the table for a delicious dialogue about creativity. Explore the following questions, finding inspiration in the thinking prompts as necessary. Together, think of reasons to explain your positions and try to build an answer by combining your ideas! But don't worry if the urge to keep talking doesn't subside... philosophical picnics are an insatiable quest!
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- Question 1: Is everyone creative?
- Thinking prompts : Have you ever heard someone say, "Oh I'm not creative at all, you know!”. Why would someone say that? Does it take something special—a quality, a gift, a training—to be creative? Are there things you can do to become more creative? Or is creativity part of human nature? And are animals creative too? Hmm... maybe it all depends on what you mean by creativity... go back and read the definition from your Idea Stretching and compare it to the ones your family members have!
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Question 2: Is it possible to be too creative?
- Thinking prompts: Is it true that there can be too much of a good thing? With your family, try to imagine someone who is so creative that it would be almost exaggerated... have you found any examples? Imagine how a typical day would go in that person's life, making sure to determine what would be too much creativity and what the possible consequences could be. But can there really be too much of a good thing? Hmm... maybe we’re assuming that creativity is always beneficial...
- Question 3: Can creativity be bad?
- Thinking prompts: If we imagine the opposite position... what could be the negative side of creativity? Could there be risks or dangerous effects? Together, think of examples of situations that could go wrong because of creativity. Do they have anything in common? Does that mean it’s necessary to think of others when you are creative, or even that creativity should only be used for the good? Hmm... maybe creativity is not as important as we first thought... what would you say to an opponent of creativity to convince them of its value? Try to finish the sentence: If creativity didn't exist, then _________.
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Bonus : Is your collective imagination on fire? So tap into its strength to complete a collaborative creative mission! Each person should have a sheet, make a drawing inspired by a prompt below, then pass their sheet to the person on their right before starting the next drawing. At the end, you can contemplate your collective masterpieces! Some prompts to inspire your collective drawings:
Following this experience of collaborative creation, how would you answer the following questions: Are your drawings examples that illustrate that everyone is creative... or are they perhaps proofs that creativity is not always good? |
| Tricks for tots : To help you imagine different perspectives, invite an imaginary friend to your table! Place an empty chair by your side where it can be comfortably take a seat, or even build its silhouette out of recycled cardboard! Whenever you offer an answer, imagine that this friend thinks otherwise... or even the opposite! What would be its answer? What would be its reasons for thinking like so? |
Tips for teens : Parlez-vous français ? As you prepare your meal or digest your feast of delicacies and tasty ideas, listen to the Les jeunes sages podcast on art. Drawing inspiration from the reflections of the young philosophers, try to answer the question: Can we live without art? Do you agree or disagree with the answers put forward by the participants? Try to think of lines of thinking that have not been addressed... What other angles of the concept of art deserve to be explored? If you can't understand French, don't worry! You can still wonder about the question! You can even imagine that you are recording a podcast with your family... Family Wisdom! |
Share your creative reflections by sending them via email.
Include photos of your projects and notes of your thoughts, as well as your first name and your age!
