Frames of Mind presents Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, challenging traditional IQ tests. Readers find the concept intriguing but struggle with the dense writing. Many appreciate its impact on education and understanding human potential. Some question the scientific basis and classification of intelligences. The book is considered foundational but dated. Educators and psychologists find it valuable, while general readers may find it difficult to engage with. Overall, it's seen as an important work that sparked new ways of thinking about intelligence and learning.
Intelligence is multifaceted, encompassing eight distinct types
Linguistic intelligence: The power of words and communication
Musical intelligence: The rhythm and harmony of cognition
Logical-mathematical intelligence: The foundation of scientific thinking
Spatial intelligence: Visualizing and manipulating the world
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: The mind-body connection
Personal intelligences: Understanding self and others
Each intelligence has unique developmental trajectories and neural bases
Cultural context shapes the expression and valuation of intelligences
Education should embrace and nurture all forms of intelligence
There is persuasive evidence for the existence of several relatively autonomous human intellectual competences, abbreviated hereafter as "human intelligences."
Multiple intelligences theory. Howard Gardner proposes that human intelligence is not a single, general capacity, but rather a set of distinct intellectual competences. This theory challenges the traditional view of intelligence as measured by IQ tests, which primarily focus on linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities. Gardner identifies eight types of intelligence: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, and two forms of personal intelligence (intrapersonal and interpersonal).
Criteria for intelligence. To qualify as an intelligence, a capacity must meet several criteria:
Potential isolation by brain damage
Existence of savants, prodigies, and other exceptional individuals
An identifiable core operation or set of operations
A distinctive developmental history
An evolutionary history and plausibility
Support from experimental psychological tasks
Support from psychometric findings
Susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system
The poet must be superlatively sensitive to the shades of meanings of a word; indeed, rather than shaving off connotations, he must try to preserve as many of the sought-after meanings as possible.
Language mastery. Linguistic intelligence involves a deep understanding and skillful use of language in its various forms. This intelligence is exemplified by poets, writers, orators, and linguists. It encompasses abilities such as:
Sensitivity to the meaning of words (semantics)
Appreciation of the order and structure of language (syntax)
Understanding of the sound and rhythm of language (phonology)
Awareness of the different uses and functions of language (pragmatics)
Development and application. Linguistic intelligence begins to develop in early childhood with babbling and first words, progressing to complex language use in adulthood. It is crucial for effective communication, persuasion, memorization, explanation, and self-expression. In education and professional settings, linguistic intelligence is often highly valued and can be seen in skills such as storytelling, debating, and writing.
Music is controlled movement of sound in time. . . . It is made by humans who want it, enjoy it, and even love it.
Musical cognition. Musical intelligence involves the capacity to perceive, create, and understand musical patterns. It encompasses skills such as:
Recognizing pitch, rhythm, and timbre
Composing and performing music
Appreciating musical structure and emotion
Universal and unique. While musical ability is often considered a specialized talent, Gardner argues that it is a distinct form of intelligence with its own developmental trajectory and neural basis. Musical intelligence can be observed in various cultures and has been linked to mathematical and spatial abilities. Prodigies and savants in music demonstrate the potential for this intelligence to develop independently of other cognitive abilities.
We cannot prove the statement which is arrived at by substituting for the variable in the statement form, "we cannot prove the statement which is arrived at by substituting in the statement form the name of the statement form in question," the name of the statement form in question.
Abstract reasoning. Logical-mathematical intelligence involves the capacity for abstract thought, numerical reasoning, and scientific inquiry. This intelligence is characterized by:
Pattern recognition and analysis
Logical reasoning and problem-solving
Understanding of mathematical concepts and operations
Scientific thinking and hypothesis testing
Scientific and mathematical prowess. This intelligence is crucial in fields such as mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. It develops from concrete experiences with objects in early childhood to abstract reasoning in adolescence and adulthood. Logical-mathematical intelligence is often associated with the concept of "general intelligence" and is heavily emphasized in traditional educational systems.
Central to spatial intelligence are the capacities to perceive the visual world accurately, to perform transformations and modifications upon one's initial perceptions, and to be able to re-create aspects of one's visual experience, even in the absence of relevant physical stimuli.
Visual-spatial processing. Spatial intelligence involves the ability to perceive, manipulate, and transform visual and spatial information. Key components include:
Mental rotation and transformation of objects
Navigation and spatial orientation
Visual arts and design
Understanding of spatial relationships
Applications and development. This intelligence is crucial for professions such as architecture, engineering, surgery, and visual arts. It develops from basic spatial awareness in infancy to complex spatial reasoning in adulthood. Interestingly, spatial intelligence can develop even in individuals who are blind, demonstrating that it is not solely dependent on visual input.
Bodily use can itself be differentiated into a variety of forms. Like Marcel Marceau, one may use one's whole body to represent a certain kind of activity—for example, running or falling—chiefly for expressive ends.
Physical prowess and control. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves the ability to control one's body movements and handle objects skillfully. It encompasses:
Fine motor skills (e.g., surgery, craftsmanship)
Gross motor skills (e.g., dance, athletics)
Body awareness and coordination
Physical expression and mimicry
Diverse applications. This intelligence is evident in athletes, dancers, actors, and craftspeople. It develops from basic motor skills in infancy to complex physical abilities in adulthood. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence challenges the traditional separation of mental and physical activities, highlighting the cognitive aspects of physical performance and the embodied nature of certain forms of thinking.
The core capacity at work here is access to one's own feeling life—one's range of affects or emotions: the capacity instantly to effect discriminations among these feelings and, eventually, to label them, to enmesh them in symbolic codes, to draw upon them as a means of understanding and guiding one's behavior.
Intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. Gardner identifies two forms of personal intelligence:
Intrapersonal intelligence: Understanding oneself, one's emotions, motivations, and inner experiences
Interpersonal intelligence: Understanding others, their emotions, motivations, and behavior
Social and emotional competence. These intelligences are crucial for:
Self-awareness and self-regulation
Empathy and social skills
Leadership and effective communication
Psychological insight and counseling abilities
Personal intelligences develop from basic emotional recognition in infancy to complex understanding of self and others in adulthood. They are heavily influenced by cultural context and play a significant role in social functioning and personal well-being.
We find, from recent work in neurology, increasingly persuasive evidence for functional units in the nervous systems. There are units subserving microscopic abilities in the individual columns of the sensory or frontal areas; and there are much larger units, visible to inspection, that serve more complex and molar human functions, like linguistic or spatial processing.
Neurological foundations. Each intelligence has its own developmental trajectory and is associated with specific neural structures and processes. For example:
Linguistic intelligence is primarily associated with the left hemisphere, particularly Broca's and Wernicke's areas
Musical intelligence involves both hemispheres but shows right-hemisphere dominance for pitch perception
Spatial intelligence is primarily associated with the right hemisphere, particularly the parietal regions
Developmental patterns. The intelligences develop at different rates and may have critical periods for optimal development. For instance:
Linguistic intelligence develops rapidly in early childhood
Logical-mathematical intelligence shows significant development during adolescence
Personal intelligences continue to develop throughout adulthood
Understanding these unique trajectories and neural bases can inform educational practices and interventions for individuals with specific strengths or challenges in different intelligences.
To be sure, certain aspects of language, and certainly many aspects of cognition and symbol use, emerge as a unique human function. It allows us to formulate theories and beliefs about other individuals and to develop a propositional account of our own person, which I have elsewhere dubbed a "metaphor of the self."
Cultural influence. The expression and valuation of different intelligences vary significantly across cultures. For example:
Western cultures often prioritize linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences
Some non-Western cultures place greater emphasis on personal intelligences or bodily-kinesthetic skills
Certain intelligences may be more or less developed based on cultural practices and environmental demands
Cultural symbols and practices. Each culture provides unique symbol systems and practices that shape the development and expression of intelligences. These include:
Language and writing systems
Mathematical and scientific traditions
Artistic and musical practices
Social norms and interpersonal expectations
Understanding the cultural context of intelligence can help avoid ethnocentric biases in assessment and education, and promote a more inclusive understanding of human cognitive diversity.
An educator convinced of the relevance of MI theory should individualize and pluralize. By individualizing, I mean that the educator should know as much as possible about the intelligences profile of each student for whom he has responsibility; and, to the extent possible, the educator should teach and assess in ways that bring out that child's capacities.
Educational implications. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences has significant implications for education:
Recognizing and valuing diverse forms of intelligence
Tailoring instruction to individual students' intelligence profiles
Providing multiple entry points to learning content
Assessing learning through diverse methods that tap into different intelligences
Practical applications. Educators can implement MI theory by:
Offering a variety of learning activities that engage different intelligences
Allowing students to demonstrate understanding through multiple modalities
Creating interdisciplinary curricula that integrate various intelligences
Developing assessment tools that recognize and measure diverse intellectual strengths
By embracing multiple intelligences in education, we can foster more inclusive, engaging, and effective learning environments that prepare students for success in a complex, multifaceted world.