Intelligence is a broad term which has various meaning attached to it, in all the languages of the world. Philosophers have been trying to understand and explain the meaning of the term ‘intelligence’ since centuries, and each one of them has come up with their own exemplification of the term. For example, Einstein terms intelligence, not as the occupation of knowledge, but it is more of imagination and creativity. Socrates, on the other hand, believes that intelligence is the self-knowledge of claiming that one knows nothing. Moving from philosophers, people have considered understanding the meaning of the term from scientists and psychologists as well. Many definitions of the term have been derived from an understanding of the human brain, which is the primary organ involved in determining a person’s intelligence. While philosophers have tried to derive a definition of intelligence from a social or personal point of view, neuroscientists and psychologists have tried to discover what reason lies behind the higher smartness of some brains from others. Mankind has very conveniently divided human beings as intelligent and dumb, whereby these two terms are again, very diverse. Intelligence is measured and observable; it is obvious and can be depicted through a person’s actions. Not only is this depiction direct and straightforward, but it is also indirect and covertly explained. Intelligence is observed through actions and words as well as ideas and thoughts. Uniqueness in thoughts is also associated with intelligence. Taking a historical view of the situation, there has been a constant mindset that promotes the definition of intelligence as how much information a person holds and how much they actually know about something, as opposed to the view that it is actually how well a person can process that information in their minds. In my opinion, intelligence is simply the ability inherent in people and living beings, in order to learn from their experience, their surroundings and the ability to apply their learned knowledge for adaptation to various situations they face. While the point of the view of the world generally lies in finding out how intelligent a person is by carrying out tests for intelligence, there are many theories regarding intelligence and how it is portrayed in human beings. Moreover, the definition of intelligence is closely related to the way people view intelligence according to a practical application and demonstration of the term in everyday life and affairs.
Firstly, intelligence is unanimously recorded and agreed upon as processing. This processing is the way in which human beings understand and record things in their minds and then develop an understanding of how to use them in their everyday life. As per my understanding of the definition, intelligence is inherent in living things. It means that every person, animal and even plants and insects possess intelligence. It can be seen by the way they behave and respond to the world, which shows that they have the ability to understand matters and to carry themselves in the world. It is obvious that from the beginning of life, infants and babies begin to show signs of intelligence. They observe what they see, hear, feel and experience, and that information is absorbed in their minds. Infants, for example, cry out when they need something. They would cry when in pain, when hungry and when they need someone to hold them. If the use of language is considered intelligence, then it is also true that their non-verbal language use is also a vivid sign of intelligence. Similarly, this goes for all other creatures and beings on Earth who use one or the other form of communication in their earliest years, although no one teaches them to use those signs for communication. Babies inherently possess the know-how of crying for attaining their needs and so do other organisms. Therefore this makes intelligence an inherent phenomenon. This is also true for when an individual grows and becomes a child and rapidly learns everything from firsthand experience. While much of the ways of the world are taught to young individuals, they also learn most of it by firsthand experience of the world around them. Joseph F. Fagan III writes about this as his own personal experience and opinion that the world is adamant on determining intelligence based on how much information a brain can carry, irrespective of the ability of a mind about how it processes that information (Fagan 168). He writes that this is the same viewpoint that disburses the right to determine intelligence by finding out the intelligence quotient or the IQ of human beings. The measurement of the IQ is also based on same-age and peer versus peer ideology. Moreover, the measurement of the IQ is based on how many answers are correctly answered by these individuals, which increases their ranks on the scale of intelligence. However, if this is true about intelligence, then it would mean that the rest of the individuals scoring not too well in the test are either unintelligent or ‘dumb’ as compared to the rest. Yet, they perform all other tasks as efficiently as the rest of them, and they might be better than them in sports or other activities. Hence, where do these capabilities land them on the scale of intelligence? The IQ test, according to the author, is not a test of what capabilities a person has learned on their own or what they know inherently (Fagan 169). Rather it is a test of what has been taught to them over the course of their life. This notion carries the debate further into the discrepancy that the definition of intelligence followed by taking IQ tests leads to the varying levels of intelligence between whites and blacks and various other ethnicities. It only creates more differences without taking into account the inherent differences in learning abilities between different individuals.
According to V.V Bingham, intelligence is a term which is used to define the capability of an organism in problem solving (Legg and Hutter). 4). As per my understanding of the definition of intelligence, it is the ability of an organism in applying the gathered experience from the surrounding and using it to adapt to the environment and surrounding. Therefore, as the author mentions above, intelligence is the capacity that an organism has when it comes to problem solving and adaptability with the environment. Going back to the example of infants, babies know they need to adapt to their environment in their own way. They will copy their parents, siblings, and caretakers, eventually, everyone else that they interact with and then learn how to adapt to the world they are living in. Having the ability to copy their parents’ speech and continuously trying to perfect it is also a sign of adaptability as these individuals try to indulge in the world and make their own room in it (Legg and Hutter). 4). Intelligence is judged by the parameter of how far an individual can go when it comes to making themselves a regular part of the world and merging with the rest of the society they belong to. This requires not only adaptability but also the capacity of solving problems and figuring out solutions. For ‘normal’ children, it can be said that they do not have a hard time adjusting since they are born with more likely traits of their parents and they do not find it difficult to solve problems and become one with the society. On the other hand, the less intelligent or ‘special’ children and individuals have a harder time in problem-solving. It would be inappropriate for many people to consider that special children or individuals with mental retardation should be called unintelligent because they do not have any control over their mental capacities and lack the option of pushing themselves to work on their problem-solving skills. However, if this difference is not established, then it can become quite difficult to ascertain the definition of intelligence. Because if intelligence is associated with both individuals- normal and special, then it could create much discrepancy in understanding how these individuals solve their problems and what benchmark ascertains the level of problem-solving. Furthermore, when it comes to mentally disabled or retarded individuals, there is a big question of considering their measurement of intellect and intelligence. Their intelligence cannot be gathered from IQ tests as they are unable to perform on written tests (Fagan 169). Therefore, this viewpoint is best tested when it is believed that intelligence is processing. There are several differences when it comes to taking IQ tests such as the inability to understand, the language difficulty and technical problems in understanding. Such limitations are problematic in helping deliver efficient results for determining the intelligence quotient for special individuals. Therefore if this exists, then intelligence can be taken as a way of processing information around an individual. As it is the case with people with special needs, they tend to have frequent problems with language and might not be very effective in verbal communication. This problem is solved by testing their condition when they are introduced to new situations such as new activities, new people, etc. and their reaction to the novelty helps to determine their intelligence. In a relatively controlled environment, people with special needs such as autistic children and mentally disabled adults are equally able to respond well to situations which are new to them. They might not be very proficient. However, they respond nevertheless to new situations and surroundings. Even in a case of finding out the intellectual decline in such people with the passage of time and increasing age, intelligence is related to processing and understanding of the surrounding and environment in order to adjust with and adapt to one’s society. Hence, it is convenient to say that wherever IQ tests may fail the common person in enabling them to find out what intelligence is, the idea of thinking it is mere processing of information, can help to find out a lot about intelligence even in people that might seem incompetent against normal people.
A definition of intelligence given by Howard Gardner relates that intelligence is the ability to effective problem solving and to create different products and items that are of value to one culture or multiple cultural settings and people (Legg and Hutter). 4). As a person holding much knowledge of intelligence and the creativity of the human mind, he holds the opinion that an intelligent person is one that is able to hold a good place amongst the society and is able to convince society of their opinions and ideas. This applies to my opinion on the definition that intelligence is the ability to apply one’s knowledge and understanding in different situations and to learn from one’s experience. While a more conceptual definition of intelligence that is applied to schools and institutions is the IQ test, the more social dimension of the issue is when a person can make their mark in the society or take a stand and become a normal individual that knows how to take their part in the social process (Legg and Hutter). 4). Provided that intelligence helps people to solve their problems, this can help to prove that intelligence is an inherently present trait. Intelligence helps people to survive in the world despite all the odds. There are individuals that are born homeless, orphaned and many of them are never provided the rest of the abilities that make other privileged humans, ‘intelligent.’ On the other hand, they are able to survive in society, grow up to learn various things, and some even possess the ability to help themselves in life by earning a living and doing well for themselves. Such people are thus, adapting to their environment and learning from societal exposure. These are the people who use their intelligence to cope with the fast-paced world. Not only is this true for humans, but it is also equally applicable to animals as well. Animals, be they wild or tamed, learn to adapt to their surroundings. They are able to live amongst other animals and are equally capable of living amongst human beings as well. This is the adaptability part of intelligence that enables every intelligible creature to adjust to their surroundings.
Intelligence is not just limited to one place, people or society, rather it transcends borders and escapes boundaries and sooner than it can be noticed, it can influence multiple people all over the globe (Fagan 170). Intelligent people have a way of getting to others and spreading their influence. Intelligence can help people get united over one thing that is produced by one mind in one area, and that can spread all around making it a successful product for worldwide use. There are so many inventions that have reached every person and society all over the world, and they have helped to make the world and its people carry out their day-to-day functions with ease. Undoubtedly it is owed to taught knowledge and information that helps people to invent things. However, not every learned man or woman is an inventor and creator of material things. There are only a few who are able to make their mark in the world with the help of their inventions and are able to create great things which help various people. People from different cultures expect and experience difficulties in making use of every invention and product because of the different in language and difficulty in understanding. Thus it is up to human intelligence to come up with a way of either learning a dominant language or coming with a method for translation. This can help to create convenient for many people who might be interested in that same product and wish to spread its influence as well (Legg and Hutter). 4). An example of such intelligence is the spread of the English language. In order to establish influence and to make the world more inclined to the West, the western world put down emphasis on the English language as a purveyor of success and intelligence for the world. Therefore people all around the world take English as the common, international language that helps to unite people and help them understand one another. This is a mindset that helps people think they are intelligent enough and know enough to do well in the world and also that they have earned a better chance at adaptability.
Conclusively, it would be correct to state that my opinion regarding the definition of intelligence is that intelligence is simply the ability inherent in people and living beings, in order to learn from their experience, their surroundings and the ability to apply their learned knowledge for adaptation to various situations they face. These viewpoints have been supported by evidential support from the works of many others who have worked in the field of understanding intelligence and putting forward various definitions of the term. First of all, intelligence is agreed upon as a process and the means of processing in the human mind. Intelligence is an inherent trait, and it is present in every individual and living being in the world. Without any prior instructions, the mind can work to function in infancy. It is impossible that people do not begin to learn how to do things. According to Joseph F. Fagan III, it is the processing of the mind that determines intelligence. He explains how the world takes the normal testing method of IQ tests as the harbinger for intelligence. However, these are not true for those who are mentally retarded or disabled and have difficulty in processing the learned information. As V.V Bingham states, intelligence defines the problem-solving capacity of the mind. It is the ability of an organism to adapt to the environment and to adjust to their surroundings. This is something that cannot be learned by studying and doing IQ tests. It is learned by experience. Moreover, intelligence is the ability of an organism to make its way in the society by exploring their possibilities and doing the best they can by making products and crossing barriers which help them become more distinguished individuals. This is proposed by Howard Gardner, who posed intelligence as the ability of effective problem solving and making innovative goods for the world. It means that intelligence crosses barriers and profits the world and every person is intelligible as intelligence is inherited and not exactly learned.
Work Cited
Fagan III, Joseph F. “A Theory of Intelligence as processing implications for society.”
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 2000. 168-179. Web. 22 July 2016.
Legg, Shane, and Marcus Hutter. A Collection of Definitions of Intelligence. 2006. 1-11. Web. 22
July 2016.
