Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Written in response to Branton Shearer’s (2026) paper on existential intelligence and existential reasoning, this paper argues that due to the lack of evidence of neural specialization and a developmental trajectory, pondering existential questions is best understood as philosophical thinking, rather than a distinct intelligence. The paper reflects on the status of existential thinking within the author’s framework for multiple intelligences. It traces the criteria originally used to identify the author’s seven intelligences, the later admission of naturalist intelligence, and the provisional consideration of pedagogical and existential intelligences. The paper explains why the labels “spiritual” and “religious” intelligence have been deliberately avoided and distinguishes existential intelligence from wisdom. The paper distinguishes existential thinking from the “synthesizing mind,” which is a capacity that draws on several existing intelligences and is a focus of the author’s later work.
Recommended Citation
Existential intelligence: A survey across the ages--as well as my ages!
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