Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

529 Pages·1983·3.016 MB·English

by  Howard Gardner

eduCATION “Timely, wide-reaching and in many ways brilliant. . . . [Gardner’s] effort to bring together
the data of neurology, exceptionality, development, and symbolic-cultural skills is not only
ailed by educators throughout the world, Howard Gardner’s theory
H G heroic but makes extremely evocative reading.”—The New York review of Books
of multiple intelligences has been applied in hundreds of schools
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since Frames of Mind was first published in 1983. Gardner challenges R
the widely held notion that intelligence is a single general capacity possessed d
by every individual to a greater or lesser extent. Amassing a wealth of evidence, N H O wA R d
e
Gardner posits the existence of a number of intelligences that ultimately yield
R
a unique cognitive profile for each person. In this updated edition, the author
reflects on thirty years of work on Multiple Intelligences theory and practice.
GARdNeR
“The value of Frames of Mind lies less in the answers it proposes than in the
problems it poses. They are important problems, and time spent thinking about
F
them will be time well spent.” —The New York Times
Author of Multiple Intelligences
“Because of [Frames of Mind] Gardner is both lionized and exploited as one r
of the most famous educational theorists in the world. His notion of multiple
a
intelligences—including the idea that musical, athletic, and other talents are
separate from, but as important as, high SAT scores—has inspired scores of m
books, journal articles, conferences, and lesson plans for public schools.”
—The washiNgToN PosT
e
“Mention Howard Gardner’s name to a growing cadre of educators and the
s F r a m e s
response verges on the reverence teenagers lavish on a rock star. The cult

of Gardner began . . . with his book Frames of Mind. . . . Teachers say he has
o 6.125 x 9.25
liberated them from one-size-fits-all pedagogy and given them a framework to
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help children develop individual strengths—as artists, scientists, or just good

citizens.” —Newsweek M i n d
M of
BASIC
HOwARd GARdNeR is the John H. and elisabeth A. Hobbs PB
Professor of Cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of
i
education and Senior director of Harvard Project Zero. The recipient of a
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MacArthur Fellowship and twenty-seven honorary degrees, he is the author of
The Theory of
more than twenty books. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. d
FINISH
Multiple Intelligences
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Frames
of Mind
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OTHERBOOKSBY
HOWARD GARDNER
The Quest for Mind (1973; second edition, 1981)
The Arts and Human Development (1973)
The Shattered Mind (1975)
Developmental Psychology (1978; second edition, 1982)
Artful Scribbles (1980)
Art, Mind, and Brain (1982)
The Mind’s New Science (1985)
To Open Minds (1989)
The Unschooled Mind (1991, 2011)
Multiple Intelligences (1993)
Creating Minds (1993)
Leading Minds (1995)
Extraordinary Minds (1997)
Intelligence Reframed (1999)
Good Work(2001)
Changing Minds (2004)
Five Minds for the Future(2007)
9780465024339-text_gardner 1/11/11 1:07 PM Page iii
F ra m e s
o f M i n d
The Theory of
Multiple Intelligences
HOWARD GARDNER
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
New York
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Copyright © 1983, 2004, 2011 by Howard Gardner. Introduction to second
paper edition (tenth-anniversary edition) copyright © 1993 by Howard
Gardner.
Published by Basic Books,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this
book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
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Typeset in 10.75 point New Caledonia
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gardner, Howard. Frames of mind.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Intellect. I. Title.
BF431.G244 1983 153 83-70765
ISBN-13 978-0-465-02508-4 (cloth)
ISBN-10 0-465-02508-0 (cloth)
ISBN-13 978-0-465-02509-1 (paper)
ISBN-10 0-465-02509-9 (paper)
ISBN-13 978-0-465-02510-7 (second edition paper)
ISBN-10 0-465-02510-2 (second edition paper)
2011 paperback edition ISBN: 978-0-465-02433-9
2011 e-book ISBN: 978-0-465-02434-6
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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For Ellen
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CONTENTS
Multiple Intelligences: The First Thirty Years ix
Introduction to the Tenth-Anniversary Edition, 1993 xxvii
Preface,1983 xlvii
Note on the Project on Human Potential,1983 li
PART I
BACKGROUND
1 The Idea of Multiple Intelligences 3
2 Intelligence: Earlier Views 13
3 Biological Foundations of Intelligence 33
4 What Is an Intelligence? 63
PART II
THE THEORY
5 Linguistic Intelligence 77
6 Musical Intelligence 105
vii
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viii Contents
7 Logical-Mathematical Intelligence 135
8 Spatial Intelligence 179
9 Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence 217
10 The Personal Intelligences 251
11 A Critique of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences 293
12 The Socialization of Human Intelligences 315
Through Symbols
PART III
IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS
13 The Education of Intelligences 347
14 The Application of Intelligences 385
Notes 413
Name Index 453
Subject Index 459
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MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
The First Thirty Years
In the years since I published Frames of Mind, I have often been asked
how I first got the idea of—or for—the theory of multiple intelligences.
Probably the most truthful answer is “I don’t know.” However, such an
answer satisfies neither the questioner nor, to be frank, me. With the ben-
efit of hindsight, I would mention several factors, some remote, some di-
rectly feeding into my discoveries:
As a young person I was a serious pianist and enthusiastically involved
with other arts as well. When I began to study developmental and cogni-
tive psychology in the middle 1960s, I was struck by the virtual absence of
any mention of the arts in the key textbooks—in the face of numerous
discussions of scientific thinking. An early professional goal was to find a
place for the arts within academic psychology. I am still trying! In 1967 my
continuing interest in the arts prompted me to become a founding mem-
ber of Project Zero, a basic research group at the Harvard Graduate School
of Education begun by a noted philosopher of art, Nelson Goodman. For
twenty-eight years (1972–2000), I was the codirector of Project Zero, and
I am happy to say that the organization has continued to thrive under new
leadership.
As my doctoral studies were drawing to a close, I first encountered the
writings of Norman Geschwind,1 a notable behavioral neurologist. I was
fascinated by Geschwind’s descriptions of what happens to once-normal
or -gifted individuals who have the misfortune of suffering from a stroke,
This introduction replaces a previous introduction that appeared in earlier editions of
this book.
ix