Creativity and Aging: What We Can Make With What We Have Left

T hree of the four authors of this book are older than 60, and the fourth, Chandra Sripada, is no longer a spring chicken. We believe, in spite of our age, that our advocacy of prospection is quite a creative turn for psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience. It is natural that the four of us should be invested in the issue of aging and creativity and that our concluding chapter should tackle this thorny issue. Almost 40 years ago, Seligman was fortunate enough to spend an evening with psychologists Jerome Bruner and Donald Broadbent, who were both in their mid60s. When asked, “Be honest. When were you really at your most creative?” both answered without hesitation: “Right now!” Similarly, Seligman meets once a month with Aaron Beck, age 93. His answer is exactly the same, “Right now!” OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Mon Mar 21 2016, NEWGEN