Topics Worth Investigating

  1. On the theory of artistic creation outlined in this reading, how can Freud account for the existence of talented extroverted artists?

  2. Evaluate Freud's statement that "[I]t is well known how often artists in particular suffer from partial inhibition of their capacities through neurosis." To what extent can this ad populum be confirmed?

  3. Explain the limitations of Freud's description of the motivation of artists by sketching the biographies of artists whose lives pose counterexamples to his generalization:

    [The artist] longs to attain to honor, power, riches, fame, and the love of women; but he lacks the means of achieving these gratifications.

    Can Freud's theory account for the artists researched without substantial emendation?