Two New Intelligences Making Their Debut

Recently, Dr. Gardner expanded these eight, to include two more: Existential Intelligence and Moral-Ethical Intelligence.

Existential Intelligence is a concern with ultimate issues – the larger spiritual concerns of life – such as: What is our life purpose? Where do we come from? Where do we go when we die? How can I make a difference in the world? It also is an ability to pick up energies, and to have access to information, without actually being able to trace back or explain exactly why or how we know these things. It’s an ability to intuitively sense and gather clues from the environment, from people, places, things that are present which contribute to the whole picture. This intelligence is not easily identified or quantified, and therefore is difficult to describe in any concrete sense. Perhaps, in time, as more people become aware of this intelligence, it will become accessible to a clearer understanding, and a description will be available for all.

Moral-Ethical Intelligence Dr. Gardner suggests that it is difficult to come to any consensual definition about this type of intelligence, also. But he argues that it is possible to get a glimpse of it by saying that it is a sense of morality – not necessarily associated with religion – but as a statement about the kind of personality, individuality, will, and/or character that a person has developed. It is focused on the highest realization of human nature.

But not enough is known about these yet, to be able to measure them. So we will focus on the eight that have been formally declared, up to now.