On Inspiration And Its Stimulation Mechanism

The word“inspiration” originated from ancient Greece. Due to its positive effectand significance for literary creation and scientific innovation, both domestic andforeign scholars have never stopped their researches on it, which has experienced along-term transformation from the immortal-endowed theory to the materialism.Inspiration, in essence, is an instantaneous thinking that the cognitive subject, based ontimelessly painstaking study and practice and stimulated by some accidental factor orsub-conscious information, accumulates enriched experience and knowledge, andsuddenly clears and settles down the unsolved issues. Thus, suddenness, instantaneity,and ingenuity are the three outstanding features of inspiration. As an importantthinking of scientific innovation, inspiration is the core stage when innovative thinkingis formed and is the most importantly non-logical form. This thesis, from theperspective of inspecting inspiration through the law of cognition and the law ofscientific discovery, finds that there are three principles and regular patterns forinspiration production, i.e. the logical and non-logical complementation principle, theopportunity-implicative principle and the merged consciousness and sub-consciousnessprinciple. Analyzed from the process of cognition, inspiration stimulation is the resultof cognitive subject’s long-term accumulation and arduous exploration, based on thefull preparation of quantitative changes. To produce inspiration needs necessarilysocial and historical conditions, in addition to the knowledge that an individual shouldacquire. Furthermore, to overcome the ambiguity and the fragmentation of inspiration,one needs to make a logical analysis of the implications brought out by inspiration, andto improve the achievements implicated by inspiration. Inspiration seems to approachwithout casting a shadow and leave without leaving a trace. However, inspiration, asan objectively thinking pattern, follows some regulations. There are some effectivemethods of stimulating inspiration, such as working with perseverance, alternatingtension with relaxation, nourishing spirit and being quiet (i.e. pleasurable andclear-minded), dreams epiphany, benign hints, catalytic induction, and tracking record.This thesis, based on the study of principles and regular patterns of inspirationproduction, puts forwards some feasible methods of stimulating inspiration, so as tobetter play the roles of inspiration in scientific innovation.