Scientific Evening: A Pluralistic Perspective on the Concept of Creativity

On December 16, 2025, at 17:00, everyone is invited to the scientific evening “A Pluralistic Perspective on the Concept of Creativity”, which will take place at the University of Latvia Academic Centre, House of Sciences, Auditorium 401.

The event will feature a guest lecture by Professor Christian Nimtz from Bielefeld University, titled “A Pluralistic Perspective on the Concept of Creativity” (Conceptual Pluralism about Creativity), exploring the concept of creativity and its definitions from the perspective of the philosophy of language.

As Nimtz notes: "It seems that there is no single unified concept of 'creativity.' In everyday language, we encounter multiple concepts of creativity, and the word 'creative' is used in many nuanced and different senses.

In my lecture, I examine this diverse conceptual space of creativity. I argue that these conceptual variations are not random: they can be systematically unraveled. In particular, I will discuss three linguistic mechanisms applicable to shifts in the meaning of 'creative': (1) conceptual differentiation, (2) semantic adaptation, and (3) dimensional variation.

I believe these mechanisms explain the topology of the conceptual space of 'creativity.' Moreover, studying them allows us to clearly address several unclear questions regarding the use of the word 'creative' and our intuitions about creativity."*

The scientific evening will also feature a presentation by Professor Mārcis Auziņš from the Department of Physics, Faculty of Exact Sciences and Technology, University of Latvia, titled “Creativity in the Natural Sciences.”

In his presentation, Professor Auziņš will explore how creativity plays a crucial role in generating new ideas in the natural sciences, allowing researchers to move beyond existing assumptions.

The event will be conducted in English.

Registration for the event is available online.

The event is organized by the Interdisciplinary German Studies Research Centre at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia, under the direction of tenured professor Raivis Bičevskis, in collaboration with the Baltic-German University Office.