Istvan Magyari-Beck: Pioneer of Creatology and Creativity Science

István Magyari-Beck

(1 October, 1941, Budapest, Hungary – 18 August, 2022 Budapest, Hungary) (aged 81)
Citizenship: Hungary
Occupation: Psychologist, educator, Professor and researcher in creatology, psychology, and management.
Specification: Creatology, Psychology of Creativity, Economic Psychology.
Unique distinction: Istvan Magyari-Beck is a pioneering figure in the field of creatology, establishing it as a distinct scientific discipline and a holistic approach to understanding and fostering creativity.
Fields of Interest: Creativity, Innovation, Economic Psychology, Economics of Culture, Work Psychology, Organisational Psychology, Theory of Education, Hygiene of Culture, Political Sciences.
Gender: Male.
Quote:
“All my life I have been searching for what and how to understand, explain and evoke the paradigm of creativity, in which fundamental cultural values play a major role. In this way, I have always worked on the same theme in a myriad of different ways”.

Achievements and contributions:

Social and professional position: Professor Emeritus of the Corvinus University of Budapest, founding President of the Cultural Economics Section of the Hungarian Economic Society, Honorary President of our Cultural Economics and Demography Sections
The main contribution (Best Known for): Istvan Magyari-Beck is best known for his pioneering work in creatology, the interdisciplinary study of creativity, which integrates insights from psychology, education, and other fields to understand and enhance human creativity.
He was developing the first comprehensive framework and methodology for studying creativity as a scientific discipline.
His prolific research and teaching have been centred around the psychological aspects of economics and the economic aspects of culture, which he has integrated into creatology.

Major Contributions to the Psychology of Creativity, Education,
Culture and Social life 

1. Introducing the concept of Creatology as a Science Discipline:
Magyari-Beck developed the theoretical frameworks and research methodologies for basic and applied creatology. and the conceptualization of creativity as a multi-dimensional construct.
He took as a basis the claim that the most important facts of creativity are the creative products and started the research on the level of cultures, civilizations and their history.
Creatology as a new discipline was born „officially” at the International Sociology of Science Conference in Budapest, Hungary in 1977. The presented paper was: „About the Necessity of Complex Creatology”. In 1979, this paper appeared in the book “Sociology of Science and Research”.
1. Creative product. He defined creative results on the level of culture: “ A creative product on the level of cultures is new for a whole culture result, which is ethically acceptable in that culture; raises or/and solves the existential problems of the culture in question and by this it contributes to a further development – or survival – of that culture.” (Magyari-Beck, 1976).
2. Creatology Matrix. Magyari-Beck developed the Creatology Matrix (Magyari-Beck, 1984, 1990) as the basis of the taxonomy of Creatology and presented it in this original form – with 12 squares.
The Creatology Matrix is a two-dimensional logical space where the dimensions are levels and aspects of creative units. There are four levels of creative units in the Creatology Matrix: culture/civilization, organization, group and – finally – person. There are three aspects of creative units in the Creatology Matrix: ability, process and product.

Тable 1. The Creatology Matrix

Levels/Aspects  Ability  Process  Product
Culture and Civilization  Creative Culture and Civilization  History Creative
Product on
The Level of Culture
Organization  Humanistic Organization Research,
Development,
Introduction,
Production,
Sale
 Innovation
Group  Team Group Problem
Solving
Personality  Creative Personality Individual Problem
Solving
Subjective Creation

3. Paradigm. Creatology Matrix is not only the basis of Creatology’s taxonomy but it is the paradigm of Creatology as well. the paradigmatical problem of Creatology is: How to reconcile – in theory and in practice -the contradictions among and within the seven fundamental notions of the two dimensions of Creatology Matrix.
4. Elaborated Creatology Matrix. He noted, that in all sciences, it is an everyday practice to use qualitative and quantitative approaches to any pieces of scientific information, it would be wise to indicate them on Creatology Matrix. Thus, it is possible and desirable to divide every square of the above matrix into four sub-squares following the simple rule of 2 x 2 = 4, where every “2” is a subdivision shown in Тable 2.

Тable 2. Sub-squares of the Creatology Matrix

Factual Qualitative Studies  Normative Qualitative Studies
Factual Quantitative Studies  Normative Quantitative Studies

Thus, the Elaborated Creatology Matrix includes 48 sub-squares, among which there are many empty ones. This state of affairs gives a lot of possibilities for research. This Matrix can function not only as the frame of records concerning the past but as the basis of projects to be worked out in the future, as well.
5. Creatologe Pyramid. The contemporary model of Creatology is represented by a Creatologe Pyramid, which accommodates the Concept of creative product at the top, the Creatology Matrix of 12 squares in the middle and the Elaborated Creatology Matrix of 48 squares at the base.
The framework is not only the most comprehensive among the frameworks of creative studies offered in literature but it is extremely flexible as well. “Firstly, it is a container of a great number of already known and discussed in scientific life pieces of knowledge. Likewise, this Pyramid contains also a great number of empty niches for discovering and applying a huge number of new facts and relationships. In this respect, Creatology introduces itself as a postmodern science open in every direction. On the other hand, the framework itself – represented by definitions, matrixes and the pyramid – is “made of steel”, which prevents the discipline from falling into unrelated to each other pieces”.

2. Applied Creatology
While the basic science of Creatology deals with filling in the factual columns of the Creatology Matrix, be they qualitative or quantitative, the applied science of Creatology does the same as regards the normative columns.
These are such areas and subjects as anthropology in economics; economic psychology and behavior (Magyari Beck, 2000); pedagogical axiology (2003); economics of culture, the language theory of art (2006); creativity at work.

3. Creativity as a new paradigm for economic psychology
Magyari-Beck explored the nature of human beings in economics, considered the relationship between creativity and economic behaviour, and studied the concept of innovation and creative products. He also extended the sphere of his investigations to include such topics as Anthropology in Economics, Economics of Mentalities, Economic Theory of Abilities, Economy of Culture, Economic Mentalities, Economic Fundamentalism and its Consequences, Work and organizational values, Creativity in the organization, Creative teams.
Anthropology in Economics. Magyari-Beck noted, that the most characteristic of and elaborated by the economics picture of man is that of the homo oeconomicus. The culture as the means of survival emerged not genetically, but – in the absence of adaptive genetic programs – creatively. Therefore it is the creative paradigm, which illuminates human behavior in economics as well (Magyari-Beck, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2003).
Creative Team. This term means the group of people, who, in the process of common problem-solving, communicate in an informal way within unstructured circumstances. No authority, no rules – except for the directives of human morality – no oppression, but friendly relationships between the members are the main characteristics of creative cooperation in teams. As a result team is the framework of spontaneous thinking and conversation, by way of which the deepest problems and solutions – accessible to the members of the team – emerge (Magyari Beck, 1984).

3. Integration of cultural values into creativity research and study of cultural influences on creative processes
Cultures are all necessarily creative otherwise they have two characteristics: the level of creativeness and the direction of creativeness. The more creative a culture is the more durable it can be. Behind the creativity of every culture, one can find the knowledge of its basic existential problems by its members. When this knowledge disappears the dynamics of creativity also ceases. In some cultures, science dominates the picture, in others art or philosophy and so on. In the circle of “scientific” cultures, it is also possible to discover a kind of division of labour. This is also true for the cultures of art.
The specialization of cultures depends on the nature of their basic existential problems. In the so-called modern, pan-economic view, the economy subordinates culture calling it a special commodity, which as a rule enhances one’s emotional life herewith the culture as a commodity has also its exact price. But a large part of the culture – especially within us – cannot be sold on the market as a commodity, which seriously questions the validity of pan-economic model.
The Language Theory of Art. Human beings speak at least two categories of languages: the modern verbal-type languages and the old pre-verbal prehistoric languages, which contain dance, vocal music, body language, drawing and so on. The latter proved to be the sources of art after the verbal language occupied the central position in the human communication (1982). The necessity to preserve prehistoric languages came from their ability to express contents, which verbal language cannot. The existence of hidden at first sight knowledge in arts plays a tremendous role in the development of personality (2006).

5. Hygiene of Culture
Magyari-Beck proposed the topic “Hygiene of Culture” to the international scientific community of the University of Budapest in 2011. Hygiene of Culture was considered as the “Strong” version of Cultural Ecology. He believed that it has every reason to grow into an actual self-contained scientific discipline.
The concept of cultural hygiene is to ensure the vitality of society, and the vitality of Man, and also to enable the conditions reproduction of culture, its mechanisms and organic organizations beyond any time limits. The concept is based on the idea that No creature can survive in solitude, its attribute is creativity, and it builds its own meta-system that contributes to the preservation of itself.
Creativity and health are attributes of life in the Universe. In order to preserve culture and, even more importantly, human survival, it is necessary to develop human competencies in relation to the surrounding reality.
These include both creativity itself and basic positive psychological attributes such as poise, optimism, – trust, empathy, curiosity, a sense of their own importance and prospects of their life path, and a sense of their own competence.

6. Humanistic Organization
For a Creatologist “humanistic” and “creative” are synonymous. There are three types of organization: bureaucratic, organic and humanistic. In humanistic organizations, the “rules of the game” come from employees. They contribute to the professional and economic results of the organization via using the best of their human capital. For the staff, the outer leader is the task itself, and the inner leader is their own conscience. Two conditions seem necessary for building a humanistic organization: the excellence of labour force, and mechanization and automation of work’s subhuman elements (Magyari Beck, 1997).

7. The concept of creativity in religions
Magyari-Beck noted, that the God of religions is not only a great Creator but also a distributor of creativity among mankind. This vision predicts the advent of a new divine democracy organized by a better and morally improved mankind. He believed that religion stimulated the development of philosophy.

8. Integration of creatology with educational practices
Magyari-Beck emphasized the importance of fostering creativity in educational settings and advocated for integrating creativity into mainstream educational curricula.
He developed and implemented training programs to enhance creative thinking and foster creativity. One of his areas of research interest was Pedagogical Axiology. He believed that the values make us self-reflecting, conscious creatures. The presence of values in human behaviour indicates the necessity for creativity not only of freedom but the limitations as well. The sub-discipline, which deals with the nature and nurture of these limitations, that is valued, is called Pedagogical Axiology (2003).
Magyari Beck’s main subjects and topics taught: Economic psychology, Economic mentality, Psychology of personality, Pedagogical values, Cultural Economics, Creatology, Creativity and innovation, Arts Marketing and Creatology, Applied Epistemology, Art Theory and Art Education, Language-theory of art.

9. Contributions to the methodology of creativity research
Developed an interdisciplinary approach to studying creativity Integrated insights from various fields to create a holistic understanding of creativity. He has been urging the integration of creativity studies with other disciplines such as sociology and anthropology. A number of disciplines can contribute to the studies in Creatology: the science of culture, sociology, history (general, of art, sciences, technology and so on), theory of organization, innovatics, economics, psychology, brain science, philosophy, ethnology, anthropology, politology, education (Magyari Beck, 1990, 1994, 1997).
Systems View of Creativity: He proposed a systems approach to understanding creativity, considering individual, environmental, and sociocultural factors, that leads to the сonceptualization of creativity as a multi-dimensional construct.

Honours and Awards:

1. For Outstanding Work, Hungarian Ministry of Education, 1982.
2. Certificate of Appreciation, New York State University College at Buffalo, 1987.
3. The International Man of the Year 1997/98, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England.
4. Commemorative Jubilee Medal on the Occasion of the 50. Anniversary of the Budapest University of Economic Sciences, 1998. Budapest University of Economic Sciences.
5. International Man of the Millenium, The International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England, 1999
6. Felsőoktatási Dolgozók Szakszervezete Emlékplakett (Plaquette from the Trade Union of Employees in Higher Education, Hungary), 2002. 2002.
7. Pedagógus Szolgálati Emlékérem (Plaquette for Serving in Education), Minister of
8. Education and Culture of Hungarian Republic, 2007. Pedagogical Service Medal of the Minister of Education and Culture in 2007.
Member New York Academy of Sciences.
Istvan Magyari-Beck has been honoured with the “Eminent Scholar Award in Creatology” by the International Society for Creativity and Innovation for his outstanding contributions to the field.

Major works

He is the author of 20 books (3 of them in English), and 232 scientific papers (162 of them in Hungarian, 64 in English, 1 in Polish, 2 in Russian, 1 in Esperanto, 1 in Italian, 1 in Latvian).

Books
1. Culture and the Market (An Essay on Culture and the Drugs Called Culture). A Special Issue of “Society and Economy” 1993. 5. pp. 19-107.
2. Economic Psychology. An Introduction to Economic Psychology Based on the Creative Paradigm. Ebook, Budapest, Hungary, 2009.
3. Creatology. Brief notes on a Possible new Science of Creativity. Corvinus University of Budapest, 2011.

Articles
1. Magyari Beck, I. (1976) Kísérlet a tudományos alkotás produktumának interdiszciplináris meghatározására (An Attempt to Define in Interdisciplinary Way the Product of Scientific Creativity). Akadémiai Kiadó (Academic Publisher), Budapest.
2. Magyari-Beck, I. (1979) About the Necessity of Complex Creatology. In: János Farkas (ed.) Sociology of Science and Research. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest. Pp. 175-182.
3. Magyari Beck, I. (1982) Alkotáselméleti (kreatológiai) tanulmányok (Essays on the Theory of Creation /Creatology/). Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
4. Magyari-Beck, I. (1984) What is Creatology? In: Klein, S. (ed.) Person to Person. Background material to the cross-cultural residential workshop. Szeged. Organized by the Center for Cross-Cultural Communication and the Hungarian Psychological Association, Szeged, Hungary, July 1-7, 1984. Pp. 191-202.
5. Magyari-Beck, I. (1990) An Introduction to the Framework of Creatology. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 1990. 3. P.p. 151-160.
6. Magyari-Beck, I. (1996) Creativity as a New (and Perhaps the Basic) Paradigm of Economic Psychology. Society and Economy, 1996. 1. Pp. 142-154.
7. Magyari-Beck, I. (1999) Creativity and Economic Behaviour. A Hungarian View. Society and Economy, 1999. 4. 9-24.
8. Magyari Beck, I. (2000) A homo oeconomicustól a homo humanusig (From the Homo Oeconomicus to the Homo Humanus). Aula Kiadó, Budapest.
9, Magyari-Beck, I. (2003a) Creative paradigm as a basis of understanding and generating economies and economic knowledge. In: “The Information Society – Studying its institutions interdisciplinary”. EAEPE conference, Maastricht University, November 7-10, 2003. CD Proceedings.
10. Magyari Beck, I. (2003b) Érték és pedagógia (Value and Education). Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
11. Magyari Beck, I. (2006) Kulturális marketing és kreatológia (Cultural Marketing and Creatology). Semmelweis Kiadó, Budapest.
12. Magyari Beck, I. Creatology From 1977 To 2007. The First Thirty Years of the New Science of Creativity. Society and Economy, 2007. 3. pp. 343-361. And in: ARCA (www.arcafolyoirat.hu) 2008. 1.
13. Magyari Beck, I. Uniting Force Of Heterodoxy. (www.arcafolyoirat.hu) 2009. .
14. Magyari Beck, I. Personality as a Product of Man’s Creativity (www.arcafolyoirat.hu) 2009. .
15. Magyari Beck, I. A Mathematical Metaphor of the Relationship between Learning and Creativity. In: Creative Personality (Collection of Scientific Papers) VIII. Scientific Institute of Creativity RTTEMA, Riga, 2010. pp. 370-376
16. Magyari Beck, I. What is the Goal of Education in the 21st Century? A Creatological Approach. In: Creative Personality (Collection of Scientific Papers) IX. Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy. Riga, 2011. pp. 220-227.
17. Magyari Beck, I. „Dimension Number „N”. Unfinished Narrative about Simplicity and Complexity” In: The Phenomenon of Loneliness. Actual Questions of Hygiene of Culture. Collective monograph. Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities press. Saint-Petersburg, 2014. ISBN 978-5-88812-533-5. p. 42-51.

Career and personal life:

Family background: Istvan Magyari-Beck was born into a family, which fostered his early interest in creativity and human development. He was the son of Vladimir Beck and Vladimirné Beck Magyari-Beck.

Education background: István Magyari-Beck completed his higher education between 1961 and 1968 at the Eötvös Loránd University and at the Leningrad State University:
1. Budapest University of Eötvös Loránd, Faculty of Humanities. Pedagogy and Hungarian Studies, specializing in Hungarian language and literature, pedagogy,
(1961 -1963)..
2. Saint Petersburg State University Leningrad State University, St. Petersburg, Psychology (engineering psychology) (1963 -1968).
3. Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Academic degree Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Candidate of Science of Psychology (1980).
4. Budapest University of Eötvös Loránd, Faculty of Humanities. Doctor of Humanities (1982).

Career Highlights and Professional Work Experience:

1. Institute of Psychology at Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Research Assistant, (1968-1969).
2. Institute of Economy and Organization of Architecture Design, Research Fellow, Assistant Research Fellow (1969-1973).
3. Centre for Postgraduate Education at the Ministry of Architecture, Senior Fellow, Lecturer (1973-1975).
4. The Corvinus University of Budapest
• University Lecturer (1975-1981).
• Associate Professor (1981-1991).
• Full Professor (1991 – 2007) (Head of Department of Education 1992-1993).
• Professor Emeritus (2007 – 2022).
5. National Institute of Public Education (OKI),
Consultant (part-time) 1990-1993.
Senior Fellow (part-time) 1993-1995
6. The New York State University College at Buffalo, Alex Osborn Professor (1991-2022).
7. Consultant for Creative Learning Solutions, a leading educational consultancy firm (1990-1995).
8. Hungarian University of Craft and Design, Consultant at the Rector (1998-1999).
9. Secretary, Higher Education Employees’ Trade Union (2000 – 2002).
10. Director of the Center for Creativity Studies, Eötvös Loránd University (1995-2022).

Scholarships and Invitations:
British Council, UK (London, Bath, Birmingham, Aberdeen, universities and colleges) 1983.
Soros Foundation, the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Utrecht, universities and colleges) 1985.
IREX, USA (Providence, Buffalo, Chicago, universities and colleges) 1987-1988.
Soros Foundation, USA (Buffalo, Stanford, universities and colleges) 1991.
Spencer Foundation, USA (Chicago, The University of Chicago) 1991.
Tempus, Austria (Linz, Johannes Kepler University) 1994.
Paris, France for a Scientific Discussion about Hungarian Conditions after 1990, 1996.
Cyprus-Hungarian Cultural Agreement, Cyprus (Nicosia, University of Cyprus). 1998.
Kellogg Foundation, USA (Atlanta, Nashville, Vanderbilt University) 1998.
Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Germany (Nürnberg, München, Bonn, Cologne) 2001.
Széchenyi Professor Scholarship: from January 1st, 1999-2002.

Invited Presentations at Colleges and Universities Outside Hungary:
Aston University, Birmingham, UK 1983.
New York State University College at Buffalo, USA 1987.
The University of Chicago, USA 1988. 1991.
Institute for the Guidance of Personnel Management LTD, Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion University, Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Beer Sheva, Israel 1991.
New York State University at Buffalo, New York State University College at Buffalo USA 1991.
Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria 1994.
The University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland 1995.
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA 1998.
St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, 2012.

Personal life:

Istvan Magyari-Beck married Married IstvánnéBeck Konrád, July 15, 1964. They had one daughter.
Dr. István Magyari-Beck, passed away on 18 August 2022, at the age of 81 and was laid to rest at the St. Margaret of Árpád House Parish in Budapest-Pestszentlőrinci.

Personality: István Magyari-Beck was known for being innovative, analytical, and passionate about the study of creativity. He was highly respected for his innovative thinking, meticulous research approach, and deep commitment to fostering creativity in individuals of all ages. He believed in the transformative power of creativity for individuals and society.

Interests and Avocations:
gardening, music, reading, travelling, excursions.
He is also a passionate advocate for the preservation of traditional Hungarian folk arts.
He was fluent in Hungarian, Russian and English.

Links:

Creatology, Dr. Magyari Beck István,  prabook.com, inco.hu, mkt.hu