Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

This article investigates the concept and construct validity of the proposed existential intelligence (Gardner, 1999). Thinking about fundamental existential issues such as death and the meaning of life is a valued human cognitive activity, but does this qualify as a distinct form of intelligence with coherence, structural integrity, measurability, and independence according to Gardner’s criteria? A more accurate framing for this construct may be existential reasoning—a type of cognition that seems likely to be a precursor to, subcomponent of, or parallel with the construct of wisdom. Data from the Scale for Existential Thinking (Allan & Shearer, 2012) are reviewed. Neural indeterminacy, definitional vagueness, and conceptual confusion are identified as problems that limit existential intelligence’s measurability and thus disqualify it from meeting the criteria for an intelligence as defined by Gardner (1983). Existential intelligence is compared favorably to broad horizonal capacities such as common sense and wisdom. Practical applications for existential reasoning in everyday life to promote personal well-being are detailed.

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