what is your definition of the word 'intelligence'?

Question

and how and in what way does your interpretation of that term reflect or mirror you as a person and the type of intelligence that you encompass yourself? what i do know is that intelligence comes in two forms according to antonio gramsci: critical and technocratic. technocratic intellectuals serve in the interests of the state and the industry whilst critical emphasises personal and often social responsibility and one's own views. do you consider yourself to be critical or technocratic? if so, why?

Answer 1

Apparently you are very keen about the subject under inquiry and very specific in your questioning, which is already very informative and somewhat interesting. I agree that this is how intelligence can be categorized if there are some specific purposes in view; technocrats, in my understanding, are the highest minds available to a state to build various specialised infrastructure upon which a nation’s progress and prosperity depends. When intelligence is defined like this then it can be seen that technocratic intelligence is in fact a form of personal intelligence, highly formulated and specifically developed, and with some higher purposes I mind - for the benefit of the state. But the point is that even when someone is intelligent in this sense, one has to be personally intelligent or critically intelligent at the same time, for howsoever intellectually impersonal and specific we could be in our roles in society, we are basically and most generally human beings to start with; we all are endowed with very personal critically intellectual abilities to various degrees.

So, I can speak only of critical intelligence in the following lines, as that will bring in matter of more general interest in view without losing the sight of the entire matter of your question. If we look carefully we find that intelligence is everywhere; I find general nature very intelligent, flower-bearing plants, for example, are intelligent as they perform their function most efficiently and beautifully; I also see intelligence in the formation of a bubble, the most efficient design in nature that the entire universe is structured upon. The fact of the matter is that just like other abstract things in existence, like balance, beauty, justice and harmony, intelligence stays invisible until it is made visible by some formation or an action. How would for example someone know if we are intelligent if we do nothing? The intelligence stays within us unrealised and unexpressed until we make it visible by intelligent acts. Intelligence can be, like love for example, perceived and it can also be expressed - intelligence is in fact is an essential ability of human mind that we see as brilliance both in form and function in life in general.

The question of ‘technocratic intelligence that serves in the interest of the state’ versus ‘critical intelligence that emphasises personal and often social responsibility, and one’s own views’ is just a matter of purposeful development of the later into the former. We all are socially and personal responsible, but to realise this we need to be intelligent enough to start with; then we need to be good enough to live responsibly in our personal life and in a society with the rest of the people. Our entire life is in fact a realisation – process of turning abstract into real and actual – of our intelligence to the best of our individual capabilities and capacities.

Intelligence at a personal level should work on behalf of the individual to make his or her life a simple, happy, comfortable, fair and most preferably charitable living. For if an intellibence has no good purpose to acquire then it simply is not intelligence just metal ability to perform random or directionless acts. I can for example critically evaluate my own performance to see that howsoever bright I am in doing certain thing in my life, I am not benefiting myself as much as I should, or may be I am in a situation where my talents are going to waste, or even proving to be harmful. We need to think about all these things when we actively utilise the abilities of our mind. And when we are able to do just that to the best of our ability and benefit, we then can move into impersonal ranges of the world where our intelligence can have wider and much more affective applications, or ways of realisation. See also:
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnCgE_N55OZwvNcGJ5YLGdMgBgx.?qid=20070108211222AA86rHU&show=7#profile-info-7dcebb0c07b236ceb102705145843dc9aa

Answer 2

intelligence is the ability of the mind to function in doing its prescribed characteristics and this referes to the rate it does this. the mind can be trained through various activities to increase this capacity. examples of the characteristics include memory, creating, imagination, anlysis, reflection etc. people can be good in one or more aspects than the other. Every person has intelligent, but in general, when we say so and so is intelligent, we are talking in comparison to others about his degrees of using the faculty of the mind. People cannot be solely put in categories as totally technocratic or critical as mentioned. this is because humans are very complex. You can find out that one cannot be technocratic without also being critical. because, to serve the interests of the state and industry, one has to be critical. there is need of a balance in these things. In that case I consider that one has to be critical first inorder to be able to serve well the interests of the state and industry. These interest have to be for justice and the common good. If not, then one has to work towards it even if it means going against the state.

Answer 3

I see no difference between Critical and Technocratic. Technology can be made to provide better social resposibilty, just as better social responsibility can increase technology. They both are scientific, technocratic, and critical and promote progress.

Intelligence is simply the ability to think. Animals can think, but do not so at a level as humans. Humans brains are more complex, so it can be said that they are more 'intelligent'. So, I would argue that one's intellegence depends upon the level in which one thinks (or can think) as humans are to animals.

It's important not to mix adaptable genes with intelligence. Sometimes animals/species already have the built in genes sufficient for their survival that require little or no intelligence. True intelligence is the ability to survive in places which your genetic makeup haven't already given you an advantage - because that is where thinking comes into play.

Answer 4

A person can be intelligent on a particular subject or subjects. However, they can still be stupid or slow when it comes to everyday life, for that you need common sense. A person deals with life successfully using common sense not intelligence although they may be regarded by some as using intelligence. In this sense they could be intelligent in the subject of everyday life. I regard myself as critical.

Answer 5

Intelligence is a property of mind that encompasses many related mental abilities, such as the capacities to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. In common parlance, the term smart, metaphorically used is frequently the synonym of situational and behavioral (i.e. observed and context dependent) intelligence.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_%28trait%29

Answer 6

There are 7 basic levels of intelligence 1.body 2.technical
3.emotional 4.intellectual and another 3 higher levels which ordinary humans cannot grasp but we know they exist by their manifestations in the forms of telepathy,
and similar powers .
my definition is that it is the potential of men's ability to develop himself given the right experiences and true knowledge

Answer 7

Good question:
Ability to learn, retain, and use information.
Off the top of my head.
i am critical out of those choices. I have no interest in the state or what it does. The state has no fundamental meaning or truth. In fact I want to leave "the state" and live on an island.

Answer 8

Intelligence is the ability to select from an accumulation of criteria the best solution to any given situation at any given time.

Answer 9

i think intelligence, if we can even begin to define it, is composed of the ability to formulate complex thoughts, of creativity and imagination and of memory

the amount of knowledge attained cannot justify someone's intelligence

I find very few people to be intelligent, the rest are completely average, I'd fall under that too

stupidity is not a lack of intelligence though, it's something in itself and is partially due to ignorance

Answer 10

Memory and common sense I've known many so called intelligent people with not an ounce of common sense unfortunately