Transformational Creativity, Care, and the Common Good: Toward a Refined Definition?

Abstract

The concept of transformational creativity has been widely embraced as a desired shift in creativity research. Transformational creativity emphasizes the development of creativity in service to the common good. However, to date, what precisely constitutes this “common good” for researchers of transformational creativity remains unclear. As evidenced by the recent Handbook of Transformational Creativity, the term “common good” has been deployed on numerous occasions without any definition or rationalization of its meaning. The aim of this article was therefore to delineate what may constitute a common good which is worth contributing to. Motivated by transdisciplinary outlooks, it explores the concept of the common good through the lenses of human needs, degrowth, and the ethics of care. This article redefines transformational creativity as the creation of new ideas, artifacts, or practices that promote the common good by fostering caring, needs-responsive relationships and enabling communities to collectively contribute to their well-being and support a sustainable, ecologically nurturing, and preserving livelihood.