Back to Hippocrates? Information-Based Approach to Subjects’ Qualities, their Statistical Estimations, and Evolution

In the framework of the systemic-informational approach, a typology of elements’ behavior was derived, one of its bases being “neural force.” Every element (subject) can be ascribed either to ‘weak’ or ‘strong’ type (or certain intermediate degree). To measure this feature in application to creativity, two sources of empirical data were used, first dealing with 22-parametric description of 40 outstanding painters (of the 15th – 20th centuries), the second with 10 most important parameters of 200 ones. Both sets of primary data were based on calibrated expert estimations (up to 18 art historians). Several methods of information processing resulted in the ‘index of neural force’ of each painter, this index being capable of practical application in cultural studies, as well as in psychological and sociological investigations.

Keywords: Psychology; Systemic-information approach; Statistics; Neural typology; Painting creativity; Expert estimations; Principal component analysis; Indices