Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century

Twenty-one (21) years ago, a Harvard University developmental psychologist, Howard Gardner, wrote quite an interesting book called "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences". He thought that he was writing the book to enlighten, in the main, conventional psychologists, not state-funded public school educators such as classroom teachers and school administrators. In that book, he suggested a novel notion: that the psychological construct 'intelligence' should be formally measured in many more cognitive avenues than simply through dry statistical analytical lenses of widely accepted logical/linguistic IQ-type formalized tests, tests standardized for most schooling systems. More precisely, he questioned the mainstream belief that human beings throughout the world could have only a single 'mode of representation' about life; instead, he suggested that a more pluralistic viewpoint for measuring cerebral capacities ought be addressed -- a variety of intelligent ways of thinking. Or to put it another way, Mr. Gardener, suggested that our human intelligences ought to be arranged in a 'vertical' way, as a number of almost different faculties, rather than 'horizontally', as a set of 'g'eneral skills. This viewpoint was in direct contrast to many of the traditional language and logic theorists of that (1983) time who believed (and many continue to do so, today, in 2004) that there was only one kind of general intelligence, or 'g': that we either has a much of it or not that much, and that there was virtually very little that we could be do about that. In Frames, Gardner theorized a master list of seven basic human intelligences to represent these other types of modes, including the widely accepted linguistic - verbal and logical - mathematical, and visual - spatial, bodily - kinesthetic, musical - rhythmic, and the two most criticized but equally important of all of his intelligences, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Frames was well received by those within the educational arena. The book was reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages, including Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. His work was selected by five (5) major USA book clubs. To this day, it "is still his best-known and most influential book" (Eberstadt, 1999, p. 7). In other words, Frames has become Gardner's claim-to-fame work. In his second 1999 book, Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century, Gardner once again acquaints his followers with another first rate book that continues the argument he made in earlier books, that there are multiple forms of intelligences. Although "he introduces the possibility of three new intelligences (but canonizes only existential intelligence and naturalist intelligence)" (book jacket, inside front cover), Gardner, feels that what is MORE important is how people make use of MI to carry out daily tasks prized in the culture. This latter statement was well summarized

Since there are already five reviews, I just wish to add my endorsement of an excellent and timely book. For those who are not conversant with the MI (multiple intelligences) theory, this is the best updated and succint introduction. We get an understanding of the thinking processes of the author in breaking out of the straitjacket of intelligence defined by traditional I.Q. tests while maintaining stringent criteria in accepting what would come under the concept of intelligence. It is fascinating to see how he tentatively comes down to eight and half intelligences! In view of a whole industry of MI products and materials, quick MI profiles... enthusiasts must first read Chapter 6, "Myths and Realities about Multiple Intelligences". I personally fully share the ideal of developing understanding and the uniqueness of each person based on individual differences. We are given some clues. There is still an immense challenge in the implementation, esp. in having enough teachers with such competence for schools with large classes of 40 and above.

In this book, Gardner clears up some of the big mixups of MI theory and does a great job in clarifying questions any student of MI might have. For example, Gardner asserts that each of the 9 intelligences is used only when one is fashioning new products or solving problems. Perhaps the greatest treasure in this book is the introduction of two new intelligences: existential intelligence and naturalist intelligence. This book is also different from other Gardner books I have read in that it seems more "wise": a good deal of Gardner's 20 years of experience after writing Frames of Mind has been distilled in this new book. I do suggest reading Frames of Mind first, though: you'll probably save yourself some headache by getting a good grasp of MI first. All said, I thought this book was great and suggests even more great things to come from Howard Gardner.

Intelligent Pictures in our MindsAlmost two decades ago, a Harvard University developmental psychologist, Howard Gardner, wrote Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, a book he believed he was writing predominantly to enlighten mainstream psychologists, not educators. In that book, he proposed a novel notion: the psychological construct 'intelligence' should be formally measured in more ways than simply through the dry statistical analytical lenses of the widely accepted logical and linguistic IQ-type formalized tests, tests so standardized for most schooling systems. Gardner questioned the classical belief that human beings could have only one 'mode of representation' about the world; instead, he suggested that a more pluralistic viewpoint for measuring mental functioning ought to be addressed - a variety of intelligent ways of thinking.In Frames, Gardner theorized a master list of seven basic intelligences to represent these other modes, including the widely accepted linguistic-verbal and logical-mathematical, and visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical-rhythmic, and the two most criticized, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Frames was well received by those in the educational arena and the wider community at large. It was translated into Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. It was selected by five book clubs. Frames became Gardner's claim-to-fame.In his second 1999 book, Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century, the 'father' of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) once again acquaints his followers with another first-rate book that continues the argument he made in earlier books, that there are multiple forms of intelligences. Although he 'canonizes' two additional intelligences, naturalistic and existential, he feels that what is more important is how people make use of MI to carry out daily tasks prized in the culture. This latter statement was well summarized during a recent interview when Gardner said "The fact that we have the same intelligences means that we can communicate with one another. But the fact that we represent things mentally in numerous symbolic systems to one another means that we are not necessarily going to construe things in the same way or see the same options."The strength of the book lies in its core, the next three chapter describing and justifying "the ways in which MI theory can be applied to scholastic and "wider world" settings. Gardner's line of reasoning is persuasive, not because of the extensiveness of the information he includes, and his realization that certain mainstream institutions may encounter difficulty implementing his "multiple approaches to understanding", but because his script, as always, is vibrant and lucid enough to hold our interests more than a monotonous statistical analyses of a psychometric theory of intelligence would, yet firm and advanced enough that he can be ta