Genius or Charlatanry? - A psychobiographical reinterpretation of the life and works of Buckminster Fuller

Within the history of modern architecture, R. Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) is hailed as a visionary futurist and polymath. While he is best known as the inventor of the geodesic dome, he is also appreciated as an important pioneer of ecological design and a front-running ecological thinker in general. Fuller's many titles include academician, architect, cartographer, designer, ecologist, economist, engineer, historian, inventor, mathematician, mechanic, philosopher, physicist, poet, systems theorist, and world planner. Indeed, he is often referred to as the Leonardo da Vinci of the twentieth century. He was a prolific author and lecturer and was granted numerous honorary titles, patents, and awards. However, within the literature, Fuller also appears as a rather controversial figure. During his career he was occasionally accused of charlatanry and crackpottery, and to this day such accusations have not been entirely dispelled. In fact, such comments surfaced once more following the publication of Fuller's latest biography, in 2022 – most intriguingly, considering its author's assertion that Fuller was, indeed, a genius. Although two previous studies, in 1973 and 1999, have attempted to debunk accusations of Fuller's possible charlatanry, their analyses remain insufficient. The present study proposes the hypothesis that Fuller was, in fact, a charlatan. Furthermore, it presents an auxiliary explanatory hypothesis that he suffered from grandiose narcissism. The latter hypothesis effectively positions the study in the field of psychobiography. To test the principal hypothesis, the study analyses not only the extent to which Fuller's works and theorizations were original and valid, and his other claims legitimate, but also the degree to which his actions exhibit characteristically charlatanic traits. To test the auxiliary hypothesis, the study assesses the alignment of his personality traits, vulnerabilities and personal history with the theoretical understanding of grandiose narcissism. The main, underlying objective is to provide a credible interpretation of Fuller's life and works as well as to understand his actions and personality. The role of the later Fuller scholarship in the creation of his lore is also investigated. The theoretical context of the study derives from the history of charlatanism, the philosophy of pseudoscience, the psychology of deceit, and an integrative approach to narcissism. The study's point of departure is Fuller's published texts, accompanied by the secondary literature on Fuller. From the leads identified in these works, the study then progresses according to its problem setting. The study findings support both hypotheses. In his working life, Fuller seems indeed to have been a charlatan whose career was mainly based on fabrication, misappropriation, pseudoscience, pretense, and imposture. The study suggests that his actions and behaviour are best understood via his fractured and grandiose personality, which, in turn, may have developed due to the complex trauma that he experienced in his childhood and youth.