Intertwining "Multiple Intelligences" and "Good Work"

By Howard Gardner

Close to forty years after I first began to write about the concept “Multiple Intelligences,” the topic still dominates my mailbox, with questions arising each day, often from scholars, researchers, or educators in remote corners of the world. And while nearly every question has been posed before, I try when possible to provide a succinct and useful response.

But I am also frustrated. Rarely if ever does a questioner talk about the uses to which the several intelligences are to be put. The assumption: It’s desirable in and of itself to discover what intelligences a person has and/or what intelligences can be cultivated; and that their uses (presumably benign) will take care of themselves.

Alas, that’s not the case. For decades, I have sought to make the point that intelligences are morally and ethically neutral. One can use the same intelligence for benign or malignant ends. The examples are familiar. Both Nelson Mandela and Slobodan Milosevic had plenty of interpersonal intelligence. Mandela used his interpersonal intelligence to inspire his fellow citizens as well as human beings around the world; Milosevic used his interpersonal intelligence to foster ethnic hatred and ultimately genocidal endeavors. 

By the same token, both Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Joseph Goebbels had considerable linguistic intelligence (in German). Goethe used this talent to write great prose and poetry; Goebbels used his linguistic intelligence to create the vilest forms of propaganda. And one could make the same point about each of the remaining intelligences—musical, spatial, bodily, naturalist, logical—though it’s quite difficult to delineate a malignant use of intrapersonal intelligence—perhaps masochism.

I propose a new set of “rules of the road.” From now on, when I am asked about “MI,” I will respond, “To what uses do you propose to put the intelligence or intelligences in which you are interested?” By this “move,” I hope to nudge people towards considering the values that they are seeking to promote (and, at least by implication, those values that they would spurn or work hard to abolish). And perhaps, once they reveal what they would like to achieve with a battery of intelligences—or, for that matter, through activation of a specific intelligence—then we can consider how best to achieve that goal. Or, if the goal seems pointless or destructive, we should engage the correspondent in a discussion of ends and means.

Of course, once one begins to discuss what is good, and what is not, we enter the domains of values—an area which scientists (as well as many non-scientists) are wary of. It’s okay to minimize the issue of values when one is discussing atoms or genes—but that neutrality can be pushed too far. After all, atoms can be split to produce energy—and that energy can be used for benign or malignant purposes. So too, we can now create and manipulate genes—again, for positive or questionable purposes.

And so, as we touch upon these issues, we enter a domain that my colleagues and I have been working on almost as long as the study of intelligences: what it means to be good, and what it means to do good. This is the province of what we now call The Good Project. We have sought to identify the three components (the three Es, represented as a “triple helix”) of good work: good work is technically Excellent; it is personally Engaging; and it is carried out in an Ethical manner.

By the same token, we have identified the three components of good citizenship.  Once again, the good citizen is excellent—he or she knows the laws; is engaged—cares about what happens in the society; and, again tries to carry out duties in an ethical way.

What of the spheres in which “goodness” is manifest? For thousands of  years,. individuals have pondered how to deal with others in their immediate circle—what we have termed “neighborly morality.” The key tenets of neighborly morality are captured in the Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments and other fundamental sayings, proverbs, tales and, in recent millennia, texts that arise and circulate within an identified community.

But over this period, societies have become more complex, Human relations have become increasingly transactional and are carried out over long distances. In this changed and increasingly global environment, it’s important to delineate a new set of roles—which we call the role of worker/professional and the role of citizen. It becomes important to define the rights, but also the obligations, of those who spend a fair amount of their lives in a community of workers or a community of citizens. To encompass this terrain, and to complement neighborly morality, we have coined the phrase “the ethics of roles.”

Even carrying out neighborly morality can be difficult. And once one contemplates the newer roles of worker and citizen, a determination of what is ethical, and what is not, constitutes a considerable challenge. There is no formula for ascertaining the ethical—in fact, an issue becomes an ethical one precisely because it does not permit of an easy, formulaic solution.  

To make progress on tackling this terrain, on tackling specific ethical issues, we find it useful to delineate—in rough order of activation and application—several Ds:

• Dilemma (recognized as such initially or pointed out by a knowledgeable individual)

• Discussion or debate about the dilemma, how best to articulate and approach is resolution

• Decision (and resulting action or inaction)

• Debriefing, about what happened, and whether the dilemma could have been handled more effectively, and how to handle a similar one when it arises in the future.

It is easiest to think of the deliberative process as involving language. But one can also contemplate ethical dilemmas as they are portrayed in works of art—for example, dramas or documentaries or even scrolls or paintings. And of course, these are matters of the heart, as well as of the head.

Deciding what is good, and then pursuing the good, have never been easy. And in the time of the Internet, digital media, social networks, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and the like, it is harder than ever. Misinformation is more rampant  than ever before, and it is often more widely circulated and more easily accepted than is well-researched, reliable information.

But unless we want to toss a coin, or disregard “the good” altogether, we have no choice but to marshal our strongest resources, seek to delineate and defend what we believe to be good, and then achieve it.

And perhaps—and this is my fondest hope—we can mobilize our several intelligences to determine both what is good and how best to realize it.

© 2020 Howard Gardner

What Is A Profession? A Tip

By Howard Gardner

Early September 2019. My wife and I have a free day in Zurich. From a menu offered by our hosts, we decide to take two tours. In the morning, we elect to tour the old city by foot—visiting buildings, gardens, squares, historical landmarks, and shops both old and contemporary. We have a terrific guide, who provides a splendid tour. She is filled with information about the city, past and present. She displays and draws on maps from different historical eras, speaks several languages, and tolerates the range of questions from our group—whether appropriate or foolish, terse or verbose.

After a light lunch, we proceed in the afternoon to our second tour: a walk through the art museum. There, after a brief introduction from an administrator, we pass through several selected galleries—spanning the art world from the middle ages to the contemporary era, from jewels to paintings, from Swiss artists to ones from different corners of the world. Again, we have a terrific guide, who provides an excellent tour. Armed with art books, she makes appropriate references to works that are not in the collection, and also to artists from other art forms. She impresses us with her ability to shift languages, invoke diverse terminology, and draw on appropriate examples from a range of art forms.

We express our gratitude to the guides, who welcome our approbation. But then, a crucial difference emerges. With respect to the first guide, we ask whether we can offer her a tip. She graciously says that the tip is not necessary, but she happily accepts the tip and places it in her hip pocket. A few other members of the tour follow suit.

With respect to the second guide, we do not make a similar gambit. Indeed, it does not ever occur to us. Rightly or wrongly, we believe that the guide would be insulted, and others in our small touring group would question the appropriateness of the gesture.

Why this differentiation? And is it appropriate?

The short answer: the guide in the art museum presents herself as a professional, in her dress and demeanor. She is introduced to us by an administrator at the museum, who calls her “Doctor,” and who describes her educational background. And she treats members of the tour—whose backgrounds as educators are known to her—as peers.

In contrast, the guide of the city simply appears without introduction and is dressed informally. She does not indicate anything about her educational background, nor does she signal any knowledge of the identities of the tourists. And the book of maps to which she occasionally refers appears to have been assembled by herself.

In the cultures with which I am familiar, we tip individuals who serve us, and we don’t tip individuals who present themselves as peers and whom we regard in that way. Just as my wife and I, as professors, would not expect a tip were we to lead a delegation from Colombia or China around campus, so, too, the guide in the art museum might feel belittled if we offered her a tip—though not, perhaps, if we invited her for coffee after her job has been completed.

But is this right? Just because we distinguish traditionally between “service worker” and “peer,” should we? If the competence and essential performance are identical, should we make a distinction based on social labels?

I have no desire to cause an upheaval of the social order—even if I could. (There’s enough of that going on in the world these days!) But there’s a lesson that can be drawn from our experiences in Zurich.

It may well be the case that professions, as we know them, are disappearing from the work landscape. So many roles that used to be carried out by trained professionals are now carried out by paraprofessionals, if not by “bots” or other artificial intelligence devices. To be sure, there may well be physicians and physicists for a while longer; but even these individuals may be trained quite differently—perhaps no longer going to professional schools, perhaps no longer placing a few letters of the alphabet before or after their proper names.

What do I hope will remain? A sense of what it means to be a professional: to be well educated, to treat all individuals with dignity, to be proud of the work role that you have adopted, and—most crucial—to recognize ethical dilemmas, to ponder them, to try to do the right thing in difficult circumstances, and, whatever one decides, to seek to learn from one’s mistakes and to do better the next time. Traditionally we expect this kind of deportment from those who are called professionals; but I would like this set of attributes to be expected equally from both of our guides, and therefore, to be able to think of and treat them equivalently.

I would be saddened if we lost a sense of professionalism.

Global Citizens Youth Summit Students Share Ideas on Good Work

by The Good Team

The second annual Global Citizens Youth Summit was held at Harvard University in August 2015, bringing together rising high school seniors from 14 different countries. Founded by Yumi Kuwana, the Summit is an intensive program designed to foster a world-wide civic outlook and to encourage the next generation of leaders to do good. Several of the Summit’s lectures focused on the three E’s of the Good Project (excellence, ethics, and engagement).

Kuwana invited us to come to her session on “Excellence.” During the discussion, she focused attention on the need to cultivate qualities such as self-esteem, resilience, empathy, and integrity in order to thrive in a multicultural world. Asking students to offer their ideas on the meaning of “excellence,” Kuwana stressed the importance of developing a disposition of perseverance while remaining open to continuous learning.

We spoke with four students about their experiences at the Summit and learned about their insights on leadership and Good Work. Please see, in an edited version of our discussion, selected quotes from the young scholars.

Q: After today’s session, which of the 3 Es (engagement, ethics, and excellence) did you find most compelling? Why?

“Excellence, because it can be difficult to remain excellent in challenging situations. I also find ethics to be compelling because it may be hard to hold true to your values as well.”

“I liked learning about all of the 3 Es. One thing I would add to the discussion is that ethics varies based on your culture or doxa (shared beliefs with others), and that through comparison across cultures, we can see the varying norms that shape societies under the surface.”

“Ethics was most compelling for me because there are many ethical problems in the world, and I am very curious about that. There are some Korean people living in Japan because of the former colonization efforts, but sometimes these Koreans are disoriented by Japanese society. Many Japanese young people are interested in this and other ethical problems.”

Q: Tell us about a memorable experience from your own life that you think connects with Good Work themes.

“I see engagement in the way my father loves having children and has a passion for his family. I have over twenty siblings (which is not entirely unusual in Somalia, where I am from), and I see serious engagement in the way that my father cares for us.”

“There is one committee member of my school’s student union who really embodies engagement. He is always able to mobilize other members to take action on specific issues and to bring lots of people together in discussions that incorporate multiple viewpoints.”

“In my own education, I’m used to passively listening to lectures from my teachers. The Harkness method of teaching that was used in this program has motivated me to strive for more.”

Q: What kinds of projects do you do in your own life that reflect Good Work?

“I worked at an orphanage center in Somalia, tutoring children. The military officials who are charged with overseeing the orphans are usually not very caring, but because I showed concern for them, the children came to trust me.”

“I am very active in figure skating, which gives me a sense of accomplishment outside of academics. By striving for excellence and feeling a sense of engagement in this hobby, I find that it easy to stay involved even when there are times I feel like quitting.”

“The organization of our school carnival was a project that required excellence and engagement from me and my peers. This was open to the entire school community, and in order to ensure that everything ran smoothly, we had to put in long hours of effort filling out paperwork, inviting local businesses, and setting up booths. The event was a success because of our dedication.”

Q: Tell us about a mentor that you have or someone that you look up to. What makes this person admirable? Do they exemplify Good Work?

“I look up to Jonathan Starr, a former hedge fund investor who started a school with the goal of providing a better education to young Somalis. Everything was provided to me as a student there. With Mr. Starr as a mentor, I see how he gave me a valuable opportunity to tap into my potential, which I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to access.”

“I have a friend a year older than me who is going to Oxford this year. He is gifted at math, and his commitment to the subject demonstrates excellence and engagement. I am grateful for his encouragement, pushing me to do better at my studies and to be more involved in extracurriculars.”

“My father is a doctor, and I really respect him and the way he interacts with patients. Even if he gets a call in the middle of the night, he makes sure to be available, consulting with other doctors over the phone. He works hard and is still very modest, which for the Japanese is an important virtue.”

Q: What does leadership mean to you? What are the characteristics of a “good” leader?

“A good leader understands what his or her people need and the best ways to satisfy those needs. Leaders also set positive examples and create a legacy for themselves, understanding the responsibility they have to show people there is something ‘better’ for which to aim.”

“Good leaders should have the capability to organize people and be forceful commanders with the strength to make difficult choices while still remaining aware and thoughtful. They commit themselves to serve the will of the community. However, good leaders are not necessarily good people (as outlined in Machiavelli’s The Prince).”

“Leadership isn’t only about the ability to talk in front of large groups of people; leaders are ideally good listeners. On a wider scale, I think “global leaders” must understand other countries’ histories and perspectives and respect the traditions of others. I was born and brought up in Japan, so I have only known Japanese people, but when I look around the room at my fellow scholars, I see that I have friends and connections from all around the world.”

Q: How do you think you will take what you learned about Good Work and apply it to your life and work?

“My long-term goal is to help Somalis create a more stable government. It takes time to understand your capabilities, but this program has brought me a step closer to realizing how I can use my leadership skills to help those in my country.”

“I learned how beneficial discussions are to the understanding of multiple viewpoints. In Hong Kong, where I am from, it is taboo to ask ‘stupid questions’ in school, but the sessions at this summit have given me the confidence to ask for clarification if I don’t understand something that is being said in the classroom. I also learned more about life as a whole through the 3 Es; I feel that I now can recognize the effects of culture on our beliefs and how stereotypes can influence thoughts and actions. I will be more curious and seek to learn more in the future.”

“I want to be a diplomat and work globally, and what I learned in this summit will definitely be applicable in that line of work. The biggest thing I learned is to have a broader perspective and to be less judgmental of others, particularly those who come from different backgrounds. Before coming to this program, all I knew about some countries was what I had read in a textbook, and I automatically made certain assumptions about “developing” or “poorer” countries. However, by listening to the stories of the other scholars who come from these places, I see things in a different light. I should have more respect for those countries and those people. Here, we have had many conversations in order to share our ideas and diverse experiences.”

Click here to learn more about the Global Citizens Initiative.

Head of School Chris Fortunato’s Commencement Address at Blair Academy

by Danny Mucinskas

On May 21, 2015, Head of School Chris Fortunato delivered a speech at the Commencement exercises at Blair Academy in Blairstown, NJ. Offering reflections and words of wisdom for the graduating senior class, Fortunato’s comments resonated with several of the Good Project’s guiding values, including the importance of purpose, the power of personal principles and ethics, and the vital need for people to do good work that advances our communities and society.

Read the full speech below. (Note: the text has been edited for brevity.)

As I have the privilege of standing before you, our Class of 2015, one last time together, I admit I’m feeling parental, experiencing the range of emotions that no doubt your parents and families are feeling today. I am proud of you, because you’ve accomplished so much; but more so because you are simply very good people. I am sad, because now at the end of my and Mrs. Fortunato’s second year, we have grown to know many of you–you’ve spent time with our own children, and you have brought joy to our lives, and we’ll miss that more than you know. I also feel as hopeful as I have ever been in my life, because you are all becoming exactly what the world needs for it to become a better place, no matter what you choose to do. I found myself, over the last couple of nights, struggling to find the right words that encapsulate this range of feelings that I and our faculty have, to do justice to how much I admire you, how much you’re loved in this community, and how excited we are for you to take on your futures and to live your stories.

I posed the question: How do I sum up the stew of somewhat conflicted feelings we are experiencing as we deliver you into the next chapter of your lives? And I found what I was looking for, what I wanted to say to all of you–and it’s this–“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard!” The words come from author A.A. Milne and were voiced by one his title characters–an unassuming young leader by the name of Winnie the Pooh.

Of course, your varied and wonderful voices will echo in our heads and hearts long past your graduation. They have grown strong individually and collectively over your years at Blair. It has been our pleasure for us to hear them, help them grow and celebrate them even when they are quiet ones. There are moments when your voices rose in ways public and not so public that were simply so true to who you are and what you care about that they will forever stick with me, with all of us.

I am grateful to all of you personally as well, for as I have spent the last two years discovering Blair, you have taught me about this community, our culture, what we must always preserve and what things new we might explore. You’ve helped me develop my own voice, no doubt a work in progress, as your Head of School.

As you look ahead, change is all around you. It will in fact be one of the few constants in your life, in all of our lives. But I have also discovered and wish to share with you another observation, if not a piece of advice–the greater the frequency and speed of change, the more important it becomes to recognize and hold on to those things that must remain steady and true. Things such as these:

-Your principles define who you are and they can never be taken away from you. They impact every decision you will make. You will filter every challenge, opportunity, relationship and conversation through those values. So, as you march through life, please keep asking yourself–what matters most to me, what are the things for which I stand? Do this often, so you can know yourself and help others know the real you. Don’t steer away from this exploration of your values, of who you are and who you are NOT, even if others judge you or don’t understand, even if it at times it frightens you, even if you change your mind. And you will change your mind, which is entirely okay. It is part of growing up. Some people might fault you for being inconsistent or impermanent–I will, however, honor you for your trying to find your way, your true north.

-Another thing I also know to be true is the Blair bubble we so often talk about. People have been talking about it since long before you or I stepped foot on this campus. It endures and always will, but the best thing about the Blair bubble has never been what it keeps out but rather what it keeps in, what it keeps close and what it nurtures–curiosity, resilience and, most importantly, friendship. And here’s the thing: The real Blair bubble, the one that really matters, is not the one you leave behind as you leave campus. In fact, it’s the one you take with you. Inside it is the best of what you’ve experienced and what you’ve become, and it lives on in the good work you’ll do and in the people whose lives you’ll enter. Spread the bubble beyond this campus, and go out and make the world more like the best of what you’ve experienced here.

-Finally, throughout your time at Blair, you have heard the following, and I want it to be the words with which you close your time with us. Life is about love. Don’t ever forget that. It’s about love. Love of learning, of living, of family and friends. It is the reason, ultimately, that most of us do what we do, strive to be successful, make a difference and accomplish things that are important. It’s the reason we push ourselves past our limits, take risks and dare to share our stories. And you are, indeed, loved by the people here today–your parents, relatives, friends, faculty and your Head of School. Carry that with you in times of joy and hardship. And share it. That’s the real secret. Discover what you love in the world and share your world with those you love.

Blair Academy Class of 2015, we honor all that you’ve achieved and congratulate you!

2015 Commencement Speech Highlights

by The Good Team

Each year, graduations and the speeches that they bring provide us with words that encourage reflection on the questions that the Good Project seeks to explore: what does it mean to be a good worker, good person, and good citizen? We again feature quotes from a range of commencement speeches that have taken place at institutions of higher education in May and June of 2015. The quotations selected and presented here focus on various Good Project ideas, including finding balance in the digital world, the 3 E’s of ethics, excellence, and engagement, responsibility, values, and professionalism.

“But in addition to taking pride in your work, you should always ask yourself if you could be doing more — and by more, I mean doing more to help others. It’s precisely because you are so talented that you should never be completely satisfied until you have satisfied yourself that you have done all you could. For that to happen, you need to set your own internal expectations and do things that you know are right, even when no one would blame you for failing to act. This is just as important in your personal life as it is in your professional life. There will be chances, large and small, to help others who are closest to you, even when you are not expected to do so. No one will blame you, for example, if you can’t make it to your child’s presentation in an elementary school class because it’s in the middle of the day and you have to work. But if you can figure out a way to be there, go, because you know it’s the right thing to do.” – Dean James Ryan, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“As someone who runs a 24/7 digital media company and who uses every form of social media ever invented, I hope I have some street cred when I urge you to build boundaries, introduce digital detoxes into your life, and learn to regularly disconnect from the jumble and the cacophony and make time to reconnect with yourself. There will be many profound and fulfilling relationships ahead of you, but the relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you’ll ever have. And, like any relationship, it can’t be taken for granted — without care and attention, it will atrophy and, ultimately, break down.” – Ariana Huffington, Vassar College

“Graduates, your values matter. They are your north star. And work takes on new meaning when you feel you are pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, it’s just a job, and life is too short for that. We need the best and brightest of your generation to lead in government and in business. In the science and in the arts. In journalism and in academia. There is honor in all of these pursuits. And there is opportunity to do work that os infused with moral purpose. You don’t have to choose between doing good and doing well. It’s a false choice, today more than ever.” – Tim Cook, George Washington University

“You have to be willing to venture outside of your comfort zone. Being at ESPN and being in sports was my comfort zone. You have to be willing to venture outside of that. And don’t get in the habit of saying no. I said no for so long, about being in news, that I didn’t even mean it anymore….Don’t worry about the fear factor..Everybody in here has felt it, will feel it. If you wait for it to pass, you’ll be sitting on the sidelines for a very long time. And what I’ve found is, when fear knocks, let faith answer the door…I do not know what it is you want to do, I don’t know your hopes and dreams, only you know that. But I do know you have put yourself in a position for great things to happen to you….This is the moment you have dreamt about, and you have made it possible. So you already have that formula for success. Whatever it is you want to do…remember what you did to get here to this very moment.” – Robin Roberts, Emerson College

“People with vocations don’t ask: What do I want from life? They ask: What is life demanding me to do? What gap is there in my specific circumstances around me that demands my skill set? It’s not found by looking inside you for your passion. People have studied this. Eighty percent of you don’t have a passion. It’s found by looking outward, by being sensitive to a void and need, and then answering the chance to be of use. A calling, like being a teacher or a nurse or a scientist, comes with certain rules, obligations, and standards of excellence. These customs structure the soul and guide behavior and become deeply woven into the identities of the people who practice them. A teacher’s relationship to the craft of teaching is not an individual choice that can be renounced when the psychic losses exceed the psychic benefits. Being a teacher is who she is.” – David Brooks, Dartmouth College

“And at the end of the day, by staying true to the me I’ve always known, I found that this journey has been incredibly freeing. Because no matter what happened, I had the peace of mind of knowing that all of the chatter, the name calling, the doubting — all of it was just noise. It did not define me. It didn’t change who I was. And most importantly, it couldn’t hold me back. I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values — and follow my own moral compass — then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own. So, graduates, that’s what I want for all of you. I want you all to stay true to the most real, most sincere, most authentic parts of yourselves. I want you to ask those basic questions: Who do you want to be? What inspires you? How do you want to give back? And then I want you to take a deep breath and trust yourselves to chart your own course and make your mark on the world.” – Michelle Obama, University of Tuskegee