Creative thought is thought that modifies popular feeling and thereby reality.

Evidence

There is a dialectical relationship between historical analogy as myth and the historical present, in which each of them shapes the other in its own image: The myth bestows significance on the present, but at the same time it is molded retroactively according to the needs of the present. — David Ohana, David Maisel , The Origins of Israeli…, 774 (#complicates, via linked claim)

For example, Palestinians fighting to regain land on the West Bank from Israel may be described either as “freedom fighters” or as “terrorists.” It is a fact that they are fighting, but what does the fighting mean? The facts alone cannot decide. And the very language we use—“freedom fighters/terrorists”—is part of the difficulty. Moreover, certain descriptions, even if they appear false to us, can be made “true” because people act on them believing that they are true, and so their actions have real consequences. Whether the Palestinians are terrorists or not, if we think they are, and act on that “knowledge,” they in effect become terrorists because we treat them as such. The language (discourse) has real effects in practice: the description becomes “true.” — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 577 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Ideologies take effect by working along the grooves of existing popular attitudes.; Descriptions can become true because people act on them believing they are true — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 577; The myth shapes the present while being reshaped by it. — David Ohana, David Maisel , The Origins of Israeli…, 774

Related

• The myth shapes the present while being reshaped by it. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Ideologies take effect by working along the grooves of existing popular attitudes. #expands (0.75)
• The myth shapes the present while being reshaped by it. #complicates (0.75) — David Ohana, David Maisel , The Origins of Israeli…, 774
• Descriptions can become true because people act on them believing they are true #expands (0.72) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 577