Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences [ペーパーバック]

Howard Gardner's `Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences' is a fascinating book that helps to explain how and why different people seem to learn in different ways and possess different skills and talents. Gardner's main thesis throughout the text is that there is not one thing called intelligence, but rather several different types of intelligence that work together (or, sometimes, play together) inside each person's overall intellectual development and structure.

Gardner begins his discussion with an overview of the idea of multiple intelligences. The idea of different kinds of intelligence is hardly new, as Gardner concedes, but that idea having been formed, it is rarely carried forward save by the most innovative of teachers and thinkers. Why does a person, for instance, remember particular teachers from elementary or secondary school days rather clearly, while others not at all? Beyond the subject matter and interest, there is a manner of teacher connecting with the student that taps into dominant and active kinds of intelligence, despite the subject matter at hand.

Potential Isolation by Brain Damage
This establishes an autonomy of the function of a particular kind of intelligence from others, thus helping demonstrate uniqueness and separation.

The Existence of Idiot Savants, Prodigies, etc.
That certain kinds of intelligence can be highly developed in some to an extraordinary level also helps demonstrate uniqueness - for instance, rarely is the musical genius likewise a genius in all (or even many) other intellectual areas.

An Identifiable Core Operation or Set of Operations
There must be something that the intelligence processes or does in a particular way differently from others - for example, we process mathematical information and linguistic information in different ways.

Distinctive Development History
Intelligence, even if gifted naturally, has a development line that can be traced from earlier to later proficiency.

Evolutionary History and Plausibility
Intelligence can evolve to higher levels (this is readily seen in science and mathematics); likewise, intelligence can be lost in different arenas.

Experimental Data Support
Intelligences can be isolated and studied - linguistic and spatial abilities are often used as experiments easily documented.

Psychometric Finding Support
While the IQ test is hardly the final arbiter, there are ways of materially charting the relative state of intelligences of people in comparison with one another.

Susceptibility to Symbolic Expression
Intelligences should have a means of symbolic expression and transmission - linguistic intelligence can use words spoken and written; musical intelligence can use written and sound symbols, etc.

Using these criteria, Gardner proposes the following list of intelligences, alerting the reader that while this list is broad and encompasses much of human intelligence, it is not an exhaustive list.

Linguistic Intelligence
Musical Intelligence
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
Spatial Intelligence
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
Personal Intelligence

Most of these items are fairly clear - we know that linguistic intelligence involves language, words, speech, and the understanding and use of such tools. Similarly, logical-mathematical intelligence is fairly well understood. It is on the basis of these two intelligences that most of Western academics is founded and evaluated - even the primary measuring instruments such as SAT tests recognise the difference between mathematical and linguistic abilities by separating out those tests and scoring them differently.

Musical intelligence is likewise understood. It is an intelligence people can tap into for enjoyment even if the sophisticated understanding of theory is not present, unlike the main part of logical-mathematical intelligence.

Spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences are sensed by athletes, dancers, and others who use their bodies in ways that exceed normal abilities. These are intelligences that are closely related. A quarterback or a ballet dancer needs to have both an awareness of body motions and abilities as well as sense of the space involved for the action. However, these are separate intelligences. An architect may have a great sense for spatial requirements and have no real bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.

Perhaps the most difficult to express is the idea of personal intelligence. This is likewise the one intelligence that Gardner concedes he might have the most difficulty with in defining, symbolising, and expressing. It involves an ability to interact with others and with oneself. Perhaps Einstein is a classic example of a savant in logical-mathematical intelligence while being impaired in the personal intelligence arena - not having a good sense of himself and his relationships with others, with time, with place, etc. Religious leaders and diplomatic persons tend to be high in this intelligence.

In the third part of Gardner's book, he explores the education and application of intelligences. Gardner explores the educational systems of many cultures, past and present, to illustrate ways in which different kinds of intelligence are cultivated. A hunter needs good bodily-kinesthetic abilities as well as good spatial abilities honed to a high degree. City-dwellers tend to need linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities to a higher degree.

`As compared with hundred or even thirty years ago, talk about the development of intelligence, the realisation of human potential, and the role of education is very much in the international air.'

The ways in which all kinds of intelligence, including the very-difficult-to-teach personal intelligence, can be cultivated. First is the requirement of recognition of different kinds of intelligence and the ways in which students respond. In my theology class last semester, we had students who were divinity students, counseling students, and church music students. To have required the same pattern of assignment for each of these groups would have been unfair. So, one person turned in an audio tape as accompaniment for her theology paper. Another student framed her theological discussion in terms of a counseling session. These permitted the students to tap into their stronger intelligences while still learning what was valuable from the basic course materials.

This is a valuable book for teachers, pastors, counselors, parents, supervisors, and anyone who wants a clearer definition of what is working inside oneself as intelligence.

While it is an admirable attempt to create a more complex description of human intelligence than the traditional I.Q. measures, Gardner's theory is still pretty crude. He proposes that there are discrete types of intelligence that operate independently of each other--cognition is a lot messier than that, and if one thinks about it for awhile it is impossible to neatly separate different kinds of thinking.

Musicians, for instance, must perpetually employ "kinesthetic intelligence" as well as "musical intelligence" simply to manipulate their instruments or voices. There is also frequent overlapping between "musical intelligence" and "linguistic intelligence"; the great tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, for example, stressed the importance of "playing the lyrics", or using the words of a composition to guide the way he played. Certainly for blues, folk and rap performers it is impossible to separate language from music. Conversely, great writers use musical elements such as rhythm, repetition and assonance in their work. The same elements are an integral part of spoken language (with the addition of performative vocal musical qualities) and it was the ability to use them effectively that made King and Roosevelt such powerful orators.

There are many other examples of how inextricably bound Gardner's proposed modes of thinking are. Einstein stated that in addition to being able to move numbers around and think abstractly, it was his ability to visualize concepts, to "think in pictures", that enabled him to develop his theories.

On the other hand, Gardner also oversimplifies the enormous complexity that involves each type of intelligence he lists. Visual processing, for example, takes place in so many different parts of the brain that one can hardly consider it a discrete operation. Many great painters have been able to master only certain aspects of the visual world--Ingres was peerless in depicting the human figure but needed architectural draftsmen to help him with perspective problems. Language is also dizzyingly complex, involving many diverse neurological functions.

Rather than focusing entirely on the kinds of intelligence needed for specific disciplines--a horizontal model--it might useful to consider a more vertical understanding of cognition. Explicit (conceptual/factual/critical) intelligence is quite distinct from implicit (procedural/intuitive) intelligence--they employ separate parts of the brain and require different approaches to learning. ultimately though, these are also interdependent processes that complement each other. Mathematics requires us to memorize multiplication and addition tables in a mechanical, reflexive way; only when this rote learning is fluid enough can we explore the more conceptually challenging aspects of that discipline.

Gardner also states that people who are gifted in one type of intelligence are usually not gifted in others; there is certainly no shortage of examples that contradict this assertion. Leonardo is the most obvious one--aside from his accomplishments as an artist and scientist, he virtually stopped painting between the ages of 20-25 because he was in such high demand as a musician! Michelangelo, Cellini, Rubens, Blake and Newton are a few other multi-talented giants throughout history who come to mind. More recently, there was an entire generation of rock stars who started off as visual artists during the sixties and seventies--Lennon, Joplin, Bowie, Eno, Ferry, and Byrne were all gifted in more than one mode. It is true that very few people become GREAT in more than one field, but few people become GREAT at anything--that does not mean they are not multi-talented.

My hunch is that the very opposite of Gardner's statement is true: most people who are gifted excel in more than one of his dimensions of intelligence. The human brain is a restless organ and, if encouraged, a creative child will voraciously explore and combine different kinds of thinking. There are examples, such as Mozart, of astonishing highly-specified talents but I think these are not the norm. Ultimately, it is the ability to think metaphorically and see relationships and structures that allows us to create meaningful work in any discipline, even though we might be attracted to particular avenues of expression. What Gardner classifies as "existential intelligence" seems to be a prerequisite for any important artist, writer, musician, philosopher, or scientist.

Finally, self-esteem, identity and other emotional factors are perhaps the most crucial elements in all learning--Gardner's approach to teaching creates the risk of prematurely labeling students as either gifted or limited in particular areas. Many people are told at an early age that they are not good at math, art, writing, etc., and end up permanently stunted in their development. this is the classic "Wizard of Oz" scenario--we get a notion that we are dumb/heartless/cowardly and this becomes who we are until someone tells us otherwise. It is extremely important for teachers to make children aware of what a magnificent, versatile organ the human brain is and how great their potential is in many possible fields of endeavor.

I love this book for two reasons: 1) Howard Gardner explains his profound ideas very clearly; 2) The ideas widened the way I thought about intelligence. Gardner takes something we take for granted (a monolithic logical-mathematical that shapes western civilization) and explains how it is inadequate in describing the mind. He doesn't so much as destroy Piaget's map of the mind as he does go farther and illuminate things that Piaget did not see. It is a fascinating thought experiment to imagine how many different ways civilizations can be shaped by the 7 intelligences: imagine seven different worlds (perhaps designed by Lewis Carroll) that instead of all being dominated by logical-mathematical intelligence, each had their root in one of the seven intelligences. I can't say enough about this book. It will definitely make you think.