• an identifiable core operation/set of operations
• a distinctive developmental history, along with a definable set of expert 'end-state'
performances
• an evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility
• support from experimental psychological tasks
• support from psychometric findings
• susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system.
I examined these problems in a little book I wrote on Gardner’s theory in 1998 called
Do Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences add up? Here I will simply summarise
some main arguments. I begin with specific items. For convenience, I begin with two
of them taken together.
‘an identifiable core operation/set of operations’
‘A distinctive developmental history, along with a definable set of expert 'end-
state' performances’
The interconnectedness of these two can be illustrated by linguistic intelligence. This
has as its 'core operations' a sensitivity to the meaning of words, to order among
words, to the sounds and rhythms of words, and to the different functions of language’
(1983:77). These core operations are seen at work 'with special clarity' in the work of
the poet. Linguistic intelligence also possesses a distinctive developmental history,
culminating in expert „end-state’ performances like those of the poet. Other
intelligences illustrate the same point.
Gardner's theory of intelligence is developmentalist. Developmentalism is the theory
that the biological unfolding between two poles from seed through to mature specimen
that we find in the physical world is also found in the mental world. In his criteria,
Gardner acknowledges the two poles in the mental case. At one end, there are
allegedly genetically given capacities. At the other end is the mature state, the
'definable set of expert "end-state" performances'. Gardner is interested in the really
high fliers in each area - people like famous poets (linguistic); famous mathematicians
(logic-mathematical); famous musicians (musical); famous visual artists; famous
dancers, mime-artists (bodily/kinaesthetic); famous politicians (interpersonal); writers