BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//Grails iCalendar plugin//NONSGML Grails iCalendar plugin//EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260514T154236Z DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20250207T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20250207T170000 SUMMARY:The Paradox of Creative Agency UID:20260514T171648Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-6b96c54f56-bljdq TZID:America/Toronto LOCATION:1151 Richmond Street\, London\, Canada DESCRIPTION:

Plato advances the thesis that the poet is a passive vessel inspired by a muse. Aristotle replies with the antithesis that the poet creates through skilled activity. The synthesis comes from a \;lesser-known figure called &ldquo\;Longinus&rdquo\; (1st century C.E.): like Plato\, he sees poets as passively inspired\, though by natural genius rather than a muse\; yet\, like Aristotle\, he acknowledges the necessity of skill. Longinus also highlights a paradox in poetic genius&mdash\;what is intended appears natural\, and what is natural appears intended. \;Immanuel Kant is influenced by Longinus but\, with his theory of agency\, he sharpens the paradox: (i) we deserve praise for what we do\, not for what merely happens to us\; (ii) the inspired origination of ideas is something that happens to the genius\, not something she actively does\; and yet (iii) the genius merits distinctive acclaim precisely for her inspired originality. I call this the \;Paradox of Creative Agency. \;After tracing the historical roots of this paradox\, I will outline steps toward resolving it.

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