The Economics of Creativity: Art and Achievement under Uncertainty

416 Pages·2014·1.23 MB·English

by  Pierre-Michel Menger

The Economics of Creativity

The Economics of Creativity
Art and Achievement under Uncertainty
PIERRE- MICHEL MENGER
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, En gland
2014
Copyright © 2014 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
This book is an abridgment of a work originally published in French as
Le Travail Créateur, © Seuil/Gallimard, 2009
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Menger, Pierre- Michel.
[Travail créateur. En glish]
The economics of creativity : art and achievement under uncertainty /
Pierre- Michel Menger.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 0- 674-7 2456- 3
1. Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) 2. Artists—F rance—Social conditions.
3. Art and society— France. I. Title.
NX160.M4513 2014
700.1'03—dc23 2013040100
For Béatrice Longuenesse

Contents
Introduction
1
1
Time, Causes, and Reasons in Action
15
2
Is Working to Achieve Self-F ulfi llment Rational?
72
3
Rationality and Uncertainty in the Artist’s Life
104
4
Talent and Reputation: Social Science Explanations
for Varying Degrees of Success
142
viii Contents
5
How Can Artistic Greatness Be Analyzed?
Beethoven and His Genius
236
6
Profi les of the Unfi nished: Rodin’s Work and
the Varieties of Incompleteness
285
Conclusion
318
Notes
325
Ac know ledg ments
389
Index
393
Translated by:
Steven Rendall
Amy Jacobs
Arianne Dorval
Lisette Eskinazi
Emmanuelle Saada
Joe Karaganis