Creative thinker (8)
I believe the answer is:
theorist
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">creative thinker</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for theorist that I've seen before include "Speculator" , "Abstract reasoner" , "Expert in established hypotheses" , "Thinker" , "An expert in abstract principles" .)