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Alyssa Amari: Synthesis and Reflection
In chapter fourteen of //The Multiple Intelligences//, Armstrong discusses the possibility of a ninth intelligence. Currently it is an “unofficial” intelligence because it does not meet Howard Gardener’s criteria and qualifications for an intelligence. This intelligence is named the existential intelligence. Howard Gardener defines the [|existential intelligence] as “a concern with life issues”, or “the capacity to locate oneself to the furthest reaches of the cosmos”. In other words, it is someone who frequently questions things like, who are we? What does life mean? What is death? What is Love? It is viewed as philosophical, religious, or spiritual, but Gardener disagrees with this and believes that it can be used in many different ways, especially in the classroom. The existential intelligence can be addressed through integrating content designed to help students think more deeply about the existential dimensions of what they are studying. It can be used in math when discussing things such as infinity or zero, it the expressions of famous artwork pieces, in history for religion based wars, and also in literature where authors write in a way that forces readers to [|think existentially]. Everyone viewed this chapter differently; some were nervous and uncomfortable about trying to implement this intelligence into their differentiated teaching strategies, and some thought it was a fantastic idea. Many thought that the existential intelligence was useful in teaching certain areas of their subject matter, especially those of you with English majors. Most people thought that they would like to incorporate the existential intelligence into their teaching, whether it be to understand text, learn more about the bible in relation to famous literature, use it to provoke existential and deeper thinking, discuss famous wars, or talk about the origins of science topics. It is seen as an important intelligence to recognize, but many are apprehensive due to its religious references and how it could make students uncomfortable.

Megan Millette
In chapter 14 of MI, Armstrong reveals how Howard Gardner always thought there was a ninth intelligence known as existentialism. This idea is that existentialism is “a concern with ultimate life issues” (Pg. 182). It is not really a perfect fit into the other eight intelligences which is why is hasn’t been incorporated with the others. However, you can see how it does seem to fit in some aspects of the content areas of a school classroom. Armstrong believes the best way to integrate existential intelligence into the curriculum is by “integrating content into the curriculum that helps students think about existential dimensions of whatever they are studying” (Pg. 185). For instance, in science there is plenty of room for existential intelligences to be incorporated in the curriculum because science is full of unanswered questions. Existential themes can be brought into math when discussing concepts like zero, infinity, etc. in history existentialism fits well because there were many wars fought over religious views. Geographic landmarks were also changed due to religious views thus bringing existential intelligence into geography classes. Many artists used existential view to make their artwork and many students can do the same in their artwork as well. Armstrong reflects on how many great works of literature must deal with existential views. This caught my eye since I plan on being a teacher of literature. This part informed me of the need to include some form of existential intelligence in my classroom. One way Armstrong gave me to do so is by addressing what pieces used existential themes and then have my students talk about these ideas in relation to other course objectives.

Lauren Scheidegger
Chapter 14 of __Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom__ by Thomas Armstrong was all about the existential intelligence. This is an “unofficial” intelligence. The core of an existential thinker is “the capacity to locate oneself with respect to the furthest reaches of the cosmos. . .” in the words of Gardner (182). An existential thinker answers the questions; who are we, what is the meaning of life, what is evil, why is there evil?, and so on. Armstrong then connected existential thinking to all of the core subjects. He brought up that for many major literary works the reader needs to think a little like an existential thinker to gain the full meaning. To respond to this he suggests allowing students to respond to existential themes. This I find to be extremely useful. While I planned on allowing a lot of self responses and writing in my classes I never thought to be sure to cover existential thinking. While I knew major themes in __Moby Dick__ and Shakespeare’s plays I never thought to attach them to a certain intelligence.

While Armstrong suggests including existential thinking in classes he did also warn about some of the dangers of doing so. Existential thinking can branch off into religion quite a bit and talking about religion in most schools settings can be risky. This is something to keep in mind when asking students to talk about deep questions and personal opinions and thoughts. While this does not make me fearful of existential thinking it does make me want informed and aware.

Alyssa Amari
There are eight known and definitive intelligences that we have learned about throughout the book //Multiple Intelligences//. In earlier chapters, Armstrong discussed Howard Gardeners idea of a ninth intelligence call the existential intelligence. This intelligence is defined as the “concern with ultimate life issues”, it is somewhat philosophical, religious, and spiritual. This intelligence fits well with Gardeners criteria for an intelligence; it has cultural value, within developmental history, it is seen through symbol systems, there are prevalent savants of this intelligence, it is seen in psychometric studies, it has evolutionary plausibility, and it has been seen through brain research. Although it is highly unlikely or useful to teach this strategy within instruction, Armstrong provides some suggestions about how the existential intelligence can be taught in different areas of curriculum. I am a somewhat against the idea of the existential intelligence because it seems very different in relation to all of the other intelligences. Although it is possible for people to be very spiritual, philosophical, or be concerned with ultimate life issues I do not feel that it is ethical to address it in my classroom. This intelligence runs along the border of what you can teach in your classroom, or what kinds of things you can discuss. Many parents would be against the ideas that the existential intelligence brings into the classroom and therefore I would be weary to use it in my instruction at all. I do not think that this will not affect my students because it is not as prevalent an intelligence as all of the others.

Lauren Breton
Chapter 14: MI Theory and Existential Intelligence This chapter focused on the possibility of a ninth intelligence: the existential intelligence. This intelligence would enable people to understand themselves and where they stand in comparison to the rest of the universe, as well as the ability to locate oneself to such human conditions as the meaning behind death, falling in love with another person, and the importance of life. Although it would seem that this intelligence was more focused on the religious/spiritual aspect of life, it has a place for both spiritual and non-spiritual roles. As opposed to emphasizing spirituality, it emphasizes the intelligence that it takes to try and understand the ultimate questions of life. The chapter continued on to discuss how the existential intelligence could impact students in different subject areas.

In literature, for example, the necessity of understanding many of the most influential novels in history requires the use of existential intelligence. Because of the huge impact that religious texts have had on some of the most influential authors in history, it is important to be able to understand how religious texts (such as the Bible) play a role in the development of the story. I would hope to be able to incorporate such aspects of the possible existential intelligence into my classroom in order to give students a better understanding of the texts that we are examining. I feel apprehensive, however, about the incorporation of the existential intelligence into the classroom because of the religious aspect of the intelligence. I certainly wouldn’t want to incorporate existential intelligence into my classroom if it was going to upset other students, or become unconstitutional. If it is discovered that this truly is a ninth intelligence, then I would hope to be able to find a way to incorporate aspects of it into my classroom without making my students feel awkward or uncomfortable.

Samy Tracy
The key topic of this chapter is about a new intelligence that Gardner is thinking of including called Existential. The possibility of this intelligence is very vague though. It fits under most categories but would be a little difficult to teach in the classroom because many parents might think that this intelligence’s primary focus is religion, which is not true. The definition that Gardner provides is “‘a concern with ultimate life issues’” (182). This deals with things both religious and nonreligious. It shows how humans have continually addressed religion and nonreligious factors such as the meaning of life, the meaning of death, and profound experiences like love and art (182). To include this in the classroom, in particular an English classroom, Armstrong suggests to focus on how text can always relate back to the Bible. Learning about specific parts of the Bible is different than teaching students about religion from your point of view. An example is //Romeo & Juliet//. If a teacher talks to students about how this play can relate to Adam and Eve in the Bible, the teacher is not saying that Christianity is the superior religion or anything, they are just giving students facts and relating it to things they might be more familiar with. Along with this though, teachers should probably include other religions in their analogies and connections as well, which also deals with Existentialism.

T.J. Hebert
Howard Gardner, the creator of the MI theory, has discussed the possibility of a ninth intelligence deemed existential. It is defined as “a concern with ultimate life issues” and is not related to anything spiritual, religious, or moral. In order for Gardner to add an intelligence it must meet certain criteria, it has to have cultural value, developmental history, symbol systems, savants, psychometric studies, evolutionary plausibility, and brain research. According to Gardner, existential does not completely fit his criteria, however; it is close enough that it should be looked at closely by educators. Many educators are nervous about the possibility of adding existential because it could possibly cause some controversy among communities. This would be a difficult intelligence for me to understand and attempt to differentiate to. I do not look at things in the light of someone with existential intelligence, I simply choose not to think in that matter and it makes me uncomfortable to do so. I would struggle with this and would most likely have to seek outside help in order to have success with someone that is existentially intelligent. I also feel that it will cause controversy for a couple reasons. People will not understand the criteria to be existentially intelligent and I feel that many people will view it as religious or spiritual in some way. Anytime there is a gray area when it comes to religion or the spiritual world, it seems that things get blown out of proportion and taken to the extreme (based on a majority of my experiences).

Rachel Joiner
This chapter was all about the existence of another possible theory of multiple intelligence. This possible ninth intelligence is called the existential intelligence. Howard Gardner describes this to mean a concern with life issues, and the human condition. This intelligence confronts questions such as, the significance of life, the meaning of death, love, and immersion in artwork. This existential intelligence tries to answer such broad questions like who we are, why is there evil, where is humanity heading. Some people who may have this intelligence seem to be concerned with the world and their surroundings. They are connected to life and are searching for meaning. I think this is important to at least be aware of this intelligence, because these are questions I could try to work into my classroom. I may not be able to directly address them, but I can make sure I am occasionally opening the lessons to a broader spectrum where students can feel safe discussing such things. I also think it is important to know, because if I have a student who seems to fall into this intelligence I need to be aware so I can better help the student. The chapter mentions that as a teacher it is not important to directly assess this kind of intelligence, or even try to work it into the lesson, because it can be crossing some lines from legal standpoint. I found this to helpful to use in my classroom, because know I know to not directly address the subject. The book offers help for each subject on how to approach the existential intelligence. The book suggests that religion has played a major role as a motivator for movement, or cause of war. As a history teacher, I could discuss these things with my class in an unbiased fashion and teach them how religion affects these things, without getting into their own beliefs. I found this chapter to be helpful and interesting.

Kevin Lind
This chapter mainly deals with the idea of a ninth intelligence: the existential intelligence. The existential intelligence is mainly concerned with philosophical ideas about life as a whole. I wish I had known about this specific intelligence sooner because it seems to go along with my own education better than any other intelligence. Understanding a deeper idea about how what I am learning has affected the universe as a whole definitely helps me think about the concept. For example, while I was studying John Locke in high school, I learned more by considering all of the future events that happened because of his writings (American Revolution. Without John Locke, America could have potentially turned out completely different).

I can definitely see myself using this style of teaching in my classroom. Ideas about philosophy can be used in many ways to relate to politics and U.S. government. The John Locke example is one of the more obvious ones, but it would not be very hard to relate some teachings back to Rousseau and Hobbes. It could even be possible to go back farther and look at the ways Plato and Aristotle affected the creation of the U.S. government. Thinking about the ways Aristotle’s view of arbitrary power affected the implementation of checks and balances could make for an interesting lesson. This chapter has made me even more excited to become a teacher. Some of this information is the reason I chose this subject matter, so being able to teach it to my students will be incredible.

Emily McGee
Armstrong describes Howard Gardner’s theory of a 9th intelligence: existentialism. The existentialist intelligence describes people’s proclivities toward dealing with ultimate life issues, such as life, death, or love. Armstrong describes this proclivity be means of its cultural value, developmental history, symbol system, savants, psychometric studies, evolutionary plausibility, and brain research. He describes issues in addressing the existentialist intelligences in school, that being controversy in the community due to constitutional separation of church and state, and violating student’s personal belief systems. Furthermore, Armstrong addresses the difficulty in assessing its usages because it is so limiting. Armstrong talks about integrating this intelligence into classrooms however, and I connected to how he advises science teachers to use it. He states the “…core of science is much alive to issues of ultimate concern of life,” emphasizing that it may have been Newton, Boyle, and Einstein’s motivation. He says it is highly applicable in topics concerned with the origins of the universe, life, or subatomic particles; distinctions between life and non-life forms, and technological controversies (such as nuclear warfare). I think it is important to recognize this “intelligence” because certain students will have proclivities in it and will wonder about things in this way. I don’t think any student’s interests or skills should be ignored and for that reason I think existentialism should be involved whenever possible, in a content-sensitive way.

Matt Roy
Chapter 14 focuses on Howard Gardner’s belief in a possible ninth intelligence which he calls the existential intelligence. The existential intelligence is described as the concern with “ultimate life issues” (pg 183). The author outlines how this existential intelligence can possibly meet all of the established criteria for consideration as a multiple intelligence but it seems to be more abstract whereas most of the other intelligences seem a little more concrete which probably explains why existential isn’t one of the full intelligences. The author does mention however that Gardner does joke that he has 8.5 intelligences. The author then goes even further and explains how the existential intelligence could possibly be incorporated into all of the possible content areas. I feel that this chapter is particularly interesting because it highlights the fact that, ultimately, this list is not concrete and set in stone. We will constantly be finding new ways that people learn and many more “intelligences” will be considered. It also warns us that maybe some students won’t fit nicely into the established definitions that have been set forth by Gardner and the Multiple Intelligence theory. There is the distinct possibility that I will encounter students who are more of a hybrid, possessing a bit of a few intelligences without really favoring any of them. When it boils down to it, the Multiple Intelligences theory is really just that, a theory. It is widely accepted and seems to work but it cannot be used as a crutch. It must be used as a tool and we must use our judgment in determining whether or not it is actually effective.

Mike Kahler
This chapter of the MI book speaks of the possible ninth intelligence. This idea of existentialism is not one that fits in the model like the others do, but it does seem to be very important than the other intelligences. Existentialism looks at life on a large scale, and delves into deeper philosophical concepts than the other intelligences. It could be viewed as an intelligence that is based around things that we can’t completely grasp as humans. The idea of infinity is brought up as an example of a way that this intelligence could be incorporated into a math class. As an English concentration these larger concepts find their way into my subject area very frequently. Since writers often think on a very large scale existentialism is one intelligence that falls into my subject area quite naturally. Any novel including the concept of God, or any philosophical ideas will appeal greatly to the existentially intelligent. Discussion of these greater ideas, such as the human condition, is very easy to incorporate into an English class because these themes are constantly present in literature. Although this intelligence is not among the eight that are widely accepted I can see how it can be used effectively in the classroom to get students thinking about their own place in the universe, and what life is truly about. This may seem to be a harsh reality for some, but in order to lead a happy life it is necessary. Existential intelligence is more about life than anything else.

Simone Thiry
There has been mention of including a ninth intelligence, the existential intelligence, but it has not been officially accepted into MI Theory. Existential intelligence has to do with humans’ capability and drive to ask the big questions about life and the universe, and our potential to incorporate deeper philosophies into our world. The existential intelligence is not a religious intelligence, per se, but encompasses religious aspects in relation to the greater whole of a quest for meaning. I agree with the author’s assertion that the inclusion of ‘existential strategies’ in the classroom may be controversial, but I also related to the idea of using existential ideas when they fit appropriately into the curriculum. I have always been personally fascinated by the questions addressed in existential intelligence, and I believe that classrooms and students can benefit from the examination of existential questions in the curriculum. I did not know that existential intelligence was being acknowledged as a separate entity, but in learning about the qualifications of it in this chapter I have been convinced that existential intelligence merits an honorable mention, even if it does not completely fill the criteria that determine intelligences. The theoretical side of math has always been a passion of mine in my own personal quest to create reason from the uncertainty of the universe. I look forward to discussing the existential concepts of mathematics with my future students, because they are some of the most interesting and puzzling mysteries of the subject, and can help the magic of math come alive.

Patrick Hurley
Three other things that MI applies to in schools are: computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling. Using different types of software is a good way to incorporate different types of intelligences. You could use pictures, sounds, videos, text, graphs, etc. to target certain intelligences. This way each student can decide which software they like best so they can use it on different projects. Different cultures have stronger intelligences in certain areas because of the way they live, whether it be on the ocean or in a tropical area. Some cultures value music, sports, dance, nature, etc. These different tendencies need to be considered when educating them. You also need to be sure to use relevant examples so they can relate to the topic. You can use students MI to help figure out what they want to do later in life. Each intelligence will have different things they may want to do. Having them use their intelligences will make it easy for them to figure out what they want to do. These three things are important in the classroom. Career counseling is more of a advisor/guidance counselor thing though. Computer technology will be used all the time, so it is crucial to be able to create projects that are good for all intelligences. Cultural diversity in the classroom is also a big thing. So you will have to adapt lesson plans to make sure you don’t have any information that could be taken as offensive to certain cultures.

Morgan Ware
Chapter 14 talks about the possible ninth intelligence, existential intelligence. Gardner defines the existential intelligence as “a concern with ultimate life issues”. There are many ways to incorporate this intelligence into curriculum, for example as a cultural value, developmental history, symbol systems, exceptional individuals, psychometric studies, evolutionary plausibility, and brain research. This intelligence can run into controversy and that is the reason why some educators are reluctant to address this intelligence. This intelligence matches all of the criteria for intelligences but in an abstract way. I think that this chapter is different in a way that we look at intelligences as not set in stone. They can change as the times change. I do think that it could be dangerous to talk about creation and reading the bible in classes but if the community is okay with it then I think that it should be included in the curriculum. I do not know if I will include it because I believe in the separation of church and state but I think that in order for students to be well rounded they need to understand everything about life and the real world.