Genetic Theories of Genius

3.1. Genetic Theories of Genius
Genetic ( from the Latin. Genesis - birth, lineage) theories are aimed at studying the origin of genius, at revealing the conditions and causes of its occurrence, as well as at determining the main determinants, laws and conditions of its origin, formation and development.
At the same time, the main attention of researchers is focused on identifying a single cause of underlying genius, identifying the original matrix, the qualitatively peculiar core remaining identical at various stages of its development.
The awakening and development of genius is carried out and deployed in the space of mutually attached, but autonomous and preserving their qualitative originality of worlds: the subject, symbolic, social, internal and integrating their world of culture. In this regard, genetic theories and genius can be grouped and inscribed in Pentabazis of phenomenological worlds.

Table 4. Genetic Theories of Genius

3.1.1. The hereditary theory is based on the genetic conditionality and innateness of genius, on its direct connection with the factors of heredity, and also on the assumption "that genius is passed on to inheritance, accumulating, as if some mysterious energy, from generation to generation" (V. Pekelis).
These ideas were put forward by such great representatives of humanity as Plato and Goethe , however, for the first time they were conceptually decorated by F. Galton in his famous book The Inherited Genius (1869) and supported by L. Termen and G. Hollingworth. Modern followers of this theory argue that there is no single genius gene, but a combination of a number of genes and genetic programs.
Proponents of the hereditary theory to prove its irrefutable result in the facts of the appearance of a whole galaxy of geniuses in the same family in different generations. So the inheritance of various talents in a straight line was observed in the families of such musicians as: Bach , Strauss, Mozart, Scarlatti, Bellini, Dussek, Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer; artists: Titian, Van Dyck, Correggio, Veronese, Tintoretto, Raphael; poets and writers Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Corneille, Racine, Swift, Coleridge, Tasso, scientists Aristotle, Bacon, Bernoulli, Galileo , Herschel, Darwin, Leibnitz, Euler, Guk, Curie. At the same time, Schiller, Helderlin, Schelling, Hegel, Planck were members of a clan and had a common antecedent of Johann Vant. Relatives were F. Galton and C. Darwin, G. Heine and K. Marks, and also A.S. Pushkin, L.N. Tolstoy, F.I. Tyutchev, P.Ya. Chaadaev, family Bestuzhev, K.N. Leontyev and A. N. Tolstoy.
In addition, the theory of innate genius confirms the relatively early development of abilities, as well as the achievement of high creative results in childhood. Among the outstanding geeks distinguished musicians: Mozart, Haydn, Liszt, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Handel, Schubert and artists: Rafael Giotto, Van Dyck, Michelangelo, Dürer, poets Lope de Vega, Tasso, Griboyedov, Pushkin, Lermontov, Brodsky, mathematicians: Gauss, Leibniz, Vinogradov, Bogolyubov, scientists: Pascal, Ampere, DSMil, K. Witte, Wiener.
Pascal in 10 years created the theory of acoustics, and in 15 wrote a treatise on conic sections. D. Rossini created the opera The Barber of Silvil at the age of 24, S. Rakhmaninov graduated from the conservatory at the age of 18, and at 19 wrote the opera Aleko. Z. Freud and D. Mendeleev published their first articles at the age of 21, and C. Darwin, B. Pascal, A. Einstein at 22, J. Piaget published several scientific papers before graduation, and by the age of 20 he had become a recognized malacologist (molasses specialist). In turn, A. Pushkin at the age of 20 completed the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila", N. Gogol at 22 wrote "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", and M. Sholokhov at 23 finished the first book of the novel "Silent Don".
At the same time, from an occult point of view, the presence in a person of various creative forces, collectively called genius, is not due to a blind event and not to internal features that are inherited, but the accumulation of individual experiences by a person in her previous life or lives (Elena Blavatskaya)

3.1.2. Sociogenic theory asserts that genius personality is generated by the specific needs and values ​​of society, peculiar family relationships and educational conditions, a creative professional atmosphere saturated with ideas, and the ability to communicate with great talented people. At the same time, geniuses in specific fields of activity appear only when society is in urgent need of them. V. Lange-Eichbaum talked about the “chord of genius” when there is a complex of specific psychological and social factors, and in each separate group of geniuses (scientists, military leaders, artists, etc.) quite definite “chord sounds” dominate.
A genius is always in the thick of things and his heart beats in unison with time and country. He absorbs spirit and knowledge, and his originality is the identity of his people and time (R. Emerson). The more people a person holds in his understanding, the more ingenious he is, and it should be added that the more clearly and intensively these people are reflected in him (O. Weininger). A genius can always better express the spirit of a people than a mass (N. Berdyaev).

but). The influence of the family. A huge influence on the formation of genius have an early influence, family, parents. At the same time, from the very early stages of development, the possibilities, diversity and richness of the surrounding stimulus environment, which allows absorbing useful information, assimilating new meanings and experiencing vivid impressions, acquire enormous importance.
Various researchers offer a variety of characteristics of family relationships that generate genius. Among them stand out:
Maternal care. The developmental effects of the mother, which creates a world of warmth and confidence for the child, have the most beneficial effect on the development of a genius. Maternal love was surrounded in childhood by Goethe , Schiller, Haydn, Liszt, and Heine, who with extraordinary warmth and gratitude remembered their mothers throughout their lives. Kant said: “I will never forget my mother, because she planted and raised the first germ of good in me. She opened my heart to the impressions of nature, she awakened my ideas and broadened my horizons and her teachings had a constant, beneficial influence on my life. ” J. Washington's mother surrounded him in childhood with tender care and gave him an excellent upbringing. “My mother,” he wrote, “was the most beautiful woman I knew. What I have become, I owe my mother. All my successes in this life, moral intellectual and physical education, I put in the merits of my mother. " T. Edison's mother taught him at home in a warm family atmosphere. He later emphasized that the education received at home was an excellent springboard for his future success. Mother Picasso constantly told her son: "If you go to the army, you will become a general, and if you become a monk, then you will be the pope." When the parents of the brilliant athletes L. Armstrong and A. Rodriguez divorced, their mothers devoted themselves to their children and worked hard to make ends meet. The determination, dedication and dedication of mothers have had a tremendous long-term impact on future great athletes.
Family conditions. Some authors argued that future geniuses were mostly first-born, in most cases the eldest children in the family, and often the only sons, for example: John Stuart Mill, Karl Gauss, Norbert Wiener.
Most of the presidents of the United States and more than half of the “great innovators, creators, leaders and other leaders of the twentieth century” were the firstborn (D. Simonton). and M. Goertzel, T. Goertzel and V. Goertzel, on the basis of their research, claimed that 30% of the geniuses were firstborn, and 16% were the only children in the family.
Other researchers, on the contrary, believed that geniuses were late children in a family - V. A. Mozart, P. Tchaikovsky or younger children in a family - Copernicus, I. Newton, C. Darwin, D. Mendeleev, Z. Freud. So D. Mendeleev was the fourteenth child in the family, L. van Beethoven - the seventh. M. de Cervantes - the fourth, A. Chekhov - the third.
At the same time, F. Salloway united these theories, claiming that the children of the firstborn, as a rule, became geniuses with conservative views — Louie Agassi and John Herschel, and later children were prone to radical and unconventional views — Emmanuel Kant, Charles Darwin, Ernst Gockel .
Among the family conditions of the formation of geniuses stood out: the presence of old fathers and very young mothers, so the fathers of Michelangelo, Peter I, Catherine II, Goethe, Paganini were 25 years older than the mother; the welfare of parents (D. Simonton, V. Goertzel, M. Goertzel), inharmonious relations between and dissimilarity between parents (D. Manfield R. Albert, M. Ranko), divorce and early loss of one of the parents (J. Aizenstadt).

b). Theory of education. According to this theory, genius is primarily determined by the content and quality of education and training, a system of special pedagogical influences aimed at the awakening and development of creative abilities. As early as the 18th century, Helvetius asserted that talent and its highest form-genius are in no way dependent on heredity: everything that a person becomes is determined by the upbringing and training that he receives in the process of living in society.
Favorable environmental factors and specially organized educational influences carried out from an early age can contribute to the formation of unique abilities and the achievement of creative success in future creative activity. Among such favorable, creatine-like conditions, the formation of positive values, the cultivation of high self-esteem and self-confidence, positive individualism and independence, the ability to overcome difficulties, the encouragement of love of freedom, autonomy, independence of thought and action, openness to experience and flexibility, increased attention to abilities and stimulating the interests of the child, the definition of talent as the highest value and organizing principle in the family, high expectations in relation to the child, the presence of the ideal role model, creative orientation and level of education of parents, the creation of a rich stimulus and minimally regulated environment, social reinforcement and frequent success experiences (D. Simonton, M. Chikszentmihayi, Y. Renzulli, Pressi). V.P. Efroimson believed that the formation of a genius requires the creation of optimal conditions for the development of individual talents, the presence of favorable social conditions for self-realization: social need, social order and the demand for outstanding achievements, the formation of solid value systems (impres- sion) in early childhood recognition, promotion and granting of freedom of creative expression.

at). The influence of the Master. The presence of a model for imitation of the creative personality of the teacher, his direct and indirect influence, play a crucial role in the formation of a future genius. A productive creative dialogue with a real or remote Master for centuries has often contributed to the awakening and development of the talent of many prominent people. At the same time, the role of the teacher is reduced not so much to the formation and honing of mastery, as to the awakening of the creative “I”, to the birth of the pupil of the dream and the great goal of life. Practically every genius creator had his own Teacher - a person who with particular force influenced their personal and creative growth, a person whose life served as a model, an ideal for their advancement. Many great personalities had great teachers — mentors, whose main function was paternal care, principled criticism, empathy, mentoring, talent development, and the transfer of skill. According to K.A. Eriksson, mentors-mentors play a crucial role in achieving mastery of geniuses, since many of their skills are implicit, implicit, that is, geniuses are difficult to explain in words and express how they do what they do. UAlexard the Great was Aristotle's mentor, Leonardo had Andrea Verrocchio, Bach had Dietrich Buxtehude, Beethoven Joseph Haydn, Gauguin and Cezanne Camillo Pizarro.

d). The presence of the school and its leader. The history of culture contains clear evidence of the exceptionally favorable influence of scientific, artistic, sports schools on the development of genius. So, E. Reserford was a teacher of such great scientists, including Nobel Prize laureates, as G. Mosley, J. Chadwick, J. D. Cockroft, M. Oliphant, V. Geitler, O. Gan, P. L. Kapitsa, Yu. B. Khariton, G. A. Gamov. “The first condition for receiving the Nobel Prize is to have a good teacher,” said P. Samuelson. The presence of a creative leader also plays a big role in art - for example, five actresses and actors won six Academy Awards - Oscars for their performance in the films of Woody Allen.

d). Nearest professional environment. The secret of the existence of entire constellations of geniuses that were concentrated and born in Athens, Bagdat, Rome, Paris, St. Petersburg lay in a special, creatogenic, stimulating environment created by close communication of geniuses, the possibility of free discussions, common interests, the exchange of talents, mutual stimulation, mutual reinforcement. and mutual talent. At the same time, the main factors of genius formation are “concentration and competition of talents” (A. Reibmaer), the existing cultural and creative values ​​of society, the relevance of creativity and the resonance encountered by the works of genius in the social environment.

3.1.3. The theory of self-education claims that at the heart of genius is a passion for self-education, self-education and self-improvement. The decisive influence on the formation of a genius is exerted by independently acquired knowledge, formed spiritual and cultural values, creative abilities, a creative position and a method of interaction with the world. Genius, by definition, S. Coleridge, this is the "ability to grow."
The theory of self-education and raising competence is based on the fact that in their youth many geniuses professed "the cult of self-development and spiritual self-improvement". They spent a huge amount of energy and time on self-education, on the gradual and continuous growth of knowledge, on the development of the most outstanding works of culture. Brilliant personalities persistently honed their skills, created their own methods of self-expression and approaching the truth. In addition, a special place in the self-education and self-education of a genius is his spiritual perfection. At the same time, a genius, “due to a certain mysterious process, is becoming better adapted to the perception and manifestation of the inner and divine nature of man’s super-soul” (E. Blavatsky).
Unusual passion for self-education and the accumulation of experience accompanies genius throughout his life. In this regard, the theory of self-education can be viewed as an integral part of a broader, accumulative theory of genius.
a) The accumulative concept asserts that the vital activity of a genius appears as a way of “gathering” the knowledge and experience of mankind, as the accumulation and “synthesis of particles of an ideal” (Vl.Soloviev). At the same time, a distinctive feature of a genius is the organization and subordination of all the wealth of knowledge gained to his will and purpose.
So R. Merton described a peculiar science permeating the “Matthew Effect” “Everyone who has will be given and multiplied, and the one who has not will be taken away ...” (Matthew 25:29), consisting in collecting, accumulating and phased improvement of knowledge. The essence of the accumulative theory was well expressed by I. Newton, who said: “I saw so far because I stood on the shoulders of giants.” “I owe my works not to my own wisdom, but to thousands of objects, thousands of people who lend me material” ( I. V. Goethe ). “Great people are more marked by the scale of their accomplishments than originality. The greatest of geniuses is most indebted to others. Any originality is relative, and every genius is associated with the past and borrows from the past (R. Emerson). Thales and Pythagoras, before laying the foundations of Western philosophy, visited Africa and Asia, Egypt, Memphis and Babylon, studied and absorbed their philosophy and culture. D.Symonton also argued that geniuses are more likely directed not toward the future, but into the past: they simply generalize, synthesize, bring the works of their predecessors into a unified system. Accumulative and perfectionist aspirations are inherent in genius not only in his youth, but throughout his life. Before the death, Goethe wrote: “I feel the urgent need to improve in myself and, if possible, to concentrate everything that is still in me”.
At the same time, self-development, a conscious increase in competence, manifests itself in the creation and formation of its own creative method, in honing and improving its skills. In this connection, as early as the 17th century, F. Bacon asserted that it was the correct method that was the greatest transforming force, repeatedly increasing the capacity and power of man over the forces of nature, and that it was the effective method that was the shortest path to truth and the best guide to future discoveries. and inventions.

3.1.4. The theory of impressioning (from. Eng. Impress –express, leave a mark) explains the awakening of a genius in a person as a result of experiencing a bright impression, a deep emotional shock, an unexpected encounter with a miracle in childhood or at a later age. The term “Impression” was introduced by V.P. Efroimson, who understood by him the early, life-determining impressions of childhood, which act in a particularly sensitive period, turn out to be very persistent, subconsciously acting in the next life and that determine the character and direction of the person’s life and creativity . At the same time, the result of social impact largely depends on the age and selective susceptibility of the individual to such an impact. В этой связи решающую роль в становлении гениальности играет детско-подростково-юношеский этап развития в который формируются ценностныые критерии, установки, устремленность и самомобилизация. Нейропсихологической основой данного феномена выступает механизм импринтинга (от англ. imprint - запечатлевать), который, в своем высшем проявлении, заключается в мгновенном преобразовании внутреннего мира человека, тотальной трансформации структуры личности, в открытии новых сложных каналов восприятия, в рождении мечты и идеала, в пробуждении человека и в достроении его личностной структуры до целостности. Состояние импрессинга содержательно соотносится с экзистенциальными феноменами пограничной ситуации и пограничного состояния. Пограничные ситуации возникают в период тяжёлых жизненных испытаний, в моменты глубочайших потрясений и особенно на грани между бытием и небытием, перед лицом смерти. Глубокое переживание пограничной ситуации позволяет личности вырваться из сферы обыденности и неподлинного бытия, просветить и сплавить экзистенцию с трансценденцией. Продуктивное и мужественное преодоление личностью пограничной ситуации приводит к тотальной трансформации ценностей, прозрению, духовному катарсису, обретению творческого смысла существования , раскрытию своей ее подлинной сущности и творческой свободы (К. Ясперс). В пограничном состоянии переживается “мужество отчаяния”, совершается онтологическое самоутверждение личности, обретение подлинного Я и пробуждение у нее идеи Бога (П. Тиллих).
Гении, пережившие импрессинг, практически одними словами описывали состояние озарения, переживаемое ими как невыразимое, вечное счастье и океан радости, как внутреннее преображение, просветление, духовное пробуждение личности, как обретение нового планетарного, творческого видения мира.
Состояние импрессинга, яркого и глубокого эмоционального потрясения, пробудившего их высшее, гениальное Я и властно определившее их подвижническое, творческое жизнеосуществление, пережили Мухаммед, Жанна Дарк, Данте, Жан Поль, Ж. Ж. Руссо, Рене Декарт, У. Уитмен, Ф. Достоевский.

3.1.5. The culture-based theory asserts that genius gives rise to the Spirit of place (German Orgege) and the Spirit of Time (German Zeitgeist), the originality of the urgent needs and demands of a certain historical stage of cultural development, the cultural and creative atmosphere of the era. At the same time, cross-cultural strategies are based on the Ortgeist concept and emphasize cultural factors that correlate with the indicators of creativity and genius.
The transhistorical study of creative genius is based on the concept of the Zeitgeist, and uses the historical period as the unit of analysis (D. Simonton, V. Cassandro). Culture, as the highest fully open integral system that contains the objective, social, symbolic and inner worlds, defines the generation and development of genius as an impact on the personality of a peculiar cultural and creative context created by the current state of development and the level of development of art, science, society and personality .
According to this theory, the formation and formation of genius is determined not so much by socio-economic as cultural-historical determinants, objective historical patterns of cultural development, the underlying trends in the functioning and formation of scientific and artistic systems, schools and directions. So, A. Kreber, having studied the dynamics of the emergence of geniuses in the most diverse spheres of culture, came to the conclusion that brilliant people represent the realization of coherent patterns of growth of cultural values.
The most important characteristics of “creatorogenic” generators of epochs are: free access to cultural means and openness to various cultural stimuli, wide access and high level of education, development of democracy and tolerance in society, diversity and interpenetration of cultural movements, interaction of creative individuals, government stimulation of creativity, the presence of a system of rewards and rewards, the presence of cultural role models, the harmonious merging of empiricism and analysis (S. Arieti, D. Simonton, J. Gowan, M. Olson).
A. Creber wrote that creative geniuses are concentrated mainly in the periods of the golden and silver centuries, and creativity flourishes and fades in accordance with the growth, saturation and depletion of cultural patterns. At the same time, the alternation of "golden" and "dark" periods of history, characterized by different concentrations of geniuses, depends on its own logic and laws of cultural development.
According to A. Weber, great spiritual and historical geniuses such as Confucius , Buddhaand Socrates are born in periods of "axial time", in turning epochs in order to rethink the previous historical period, to create new philosophical and religious movements and cultural trends, giving rise to a new historical turn of development. So, at the turn of the cultural and historical stages, Dante, who was the last titan of the Middle Ages and the first genius of the Renaissance, worked, and in turn, at the turn of the Renaissance and New Age, he created his scientific concepts F. Bacon.
S. Arieti also wrote that socio-cultural factors influence creative activity to a greater extent than biological structures. Thus, the periods of ancient culture, the Renaissance, the American revolution prove that creativity does not arise by chance, but is determined by the factors of culture. Groups and flashes of geniuses, - V.P. Efroimson, - were formed in one place as a result of social continuity and communication of geniuses with each other, thanks to the fact that their work met with understanding and "demand" not only among amateurs, but also from the people. The whole secret, the author wrote, was in the stimulating environment.

А. Кребер, М. Чиксентмихайи, Д. Саймонтон, Дж. Гоуэн, М. Олсон считали, что «золотые» эпохи в истории человечества закономерно порождали целые «созвездия гениев». Попытки осмыслить феномен “кластеров”, созвездий гениев, уже в самом начале нашей эры предпринял римский историк Гай Веллей Патеркул (19 до н.э. – 31 н.э.). Он обратил внимание, что все великие греческие трагедии были написаны почти одновременно Эсхилом, Софоклом и Эврипидом. В то же время расцвет греческой философии связывается с именами Сократа, Платона и Аристотеля, которые в одно и то же время жили в Афинах.

According to the Roman historian, this phenomenon is explained by the creative contest between the creators. One of the geniuses sets the tone and acts as a model. The rest want to surpass it, and when perfection is achieved and all relevant opportunities are scooped out, development is channeled through other channels. In turn, A. Creber believed that Italian literature was born along with the work of three giants - Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Thus, many “failed” geniuses and talents were suppressed by actual values ​​that exist in society, that is, they were born earlier or later than the epoch necessary for their realization.

The first constellations of geniuses, the founders of entire philosophical and religious movements, which included Zarathustra , Buddha , Lao Tzu , Confucius , Thales, Pythagoras, broke out at the turn of the 7th and 6th centuries BC. The unusual concentration of geniuses differed: “the age of Pericles, where geniuses of world rank gathered at the table: Anaxagoras, Zeno, Protagoras, Sophocles, Socrates, Phidias” (VP Efroimson), the “golden age” of Chinese art in the VII century of our era, the era of the Arab revival in the VIII-XI centuries, the time of the titans of the European Renaissance, the era of Enlightenment, the brilliant commonwealth of great artists, writers and composers in France in the 30-40 of the XIX century: Hugo, Balzac, Stendhal, Heine, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Delacroix, flourishing art in Russia and France at the end of X IX century, powerful scientific schools of the XX century ..

Following Guy Vellay Paterkul and A.Kreber, you can continue the list of “great triples” and in each period of the culture's heyday highlight three geniuses who appeared in unexpected and surprising ways at the same time, in one specific area of ​​culture. Such “triumvirate geniuses” include: Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo - painting; Bach , Handel, Vivaldi, and also Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven - music; Hugo, Balzac, Dumas and Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoevsky - literature; Kant, Hegel, Schelling –philosophy; Einstein, Bohr, Born – Physics, James, Freud, Jung - psychology.
The formation of a genius is a path, an ideal trajectory, which at each time stage is drawn by an optimal interaction of the individual with the world, parents, teachers, the closest professional environment, with an ever-increasing role in this interaction of the creative personality itself. Just as culture organically includes the highest manifestations of all phenomenal worlds, so the cultural-genetic theory absorbs the most essential positions of all genetic theories and, first of all, close to it — sociogenic. Thus, in the literature, the influence of independent systems in the form of a socio-cultural theory, in which cultural and historical determinants still play a decisive role, is often combined (D. Simonton, M. Chikzentmhayi). At the same time, along with sociocultural, it is possible to distinguish anthropocultural, symbolic and cultural (M.Chiksentmikhai) and subject-cultural approaches to formation and formation.

S.L. Markov