Have you ever wondered when you compare yourself to friends or family, that your family members or friends appear to excel in different areas than yourself, and yet also appear to lack in development of other areas in contrast to yourself? Or have you ever wondered what it is that causes young children to still believe in mythical tales of Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy? Or why a religious fundamentalist may strongly believe that Moses literally parted the Red Sea? Where as you for some reason attempt to explain these mythical ideas with some sort of logical rationality? Well, one of the main reasons for this is to do with what Howard Gardner originally termed Multiple Intelligences, and the great thing about the theory of multiple intelligences, is that they help us to better understand and embrace the differences amongst various people. It reminds us that we are all intelligent in our own particular way, and just because we may not excel in maths or an IQ test, this by no means justifies a belief that we are not intelligent. So let’s now take a brief look at Multiple Intelligences and just how they affect us and how they shape our reality and view of the world.

Lines, levels and stages of development

When Howard Gardner originally came forth with the theory of Multiple Intelligences, he originally identified seven different Intelligences contained within each individual, these seven intelligences were:  Spatial, Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Kinaesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal, later on he added in an eighth intelligence; Naturalist.

Since then, there have been many other researchers such as Abraham Maslow, Clare Graves, Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Sri Aurobindo, Jane Lovinger, Ken Wilber, Carol Gilligan, Jean Gebser, Erik Erikson, Robert Kegan and James Fowler to mention just a few, all of whom have discovered and fully researched other areas of development, growth and intelligences. Unfortunately for many of these researchers, they fell into the trap of believing the particular line of development they were specifically researching, could explain human behaviour and development. That was until more recently, and it is now recognized that in order to have a more Integral perspective of life, we need to take into account all the various lines of development, as they are all telling a unique yet similar story to how the human mind operates. By being aware and having a basic understanding of the many various intelligences and lines of development, we are able to have a better understanding of our own and others strengths and weaknesses. Within each line of development or within each individual intelligence there exists different levels or stages, each level transcending yet still including it junior previous level, each new emergent level arises through the previous junior level, meaning that each new level of development is more inclusive and has more depth than the previous level. It is not possible to ever skip a stage or level of development, in order to get to the higher level you must first pass through the lower level. An Organism cannot come into existence without first being a cell, just as a cell cannot come into existence without it's junior molecule.

Below is a list of various Multiple Intelligences, Lines and Levels of development. The following list is by no means a fully comprehensive list of all the various intelligences. Beside each intelligence or line of development is a very brief summary. For further information on any or all of these lines, I recommend either contacting myself or doing your own further research in the areas that resonate with you.

Cognitive

The Cognitive live of development was first recognized and developed by Jean Piaget, and it is said by many to be the most important of all the intelligences, as no other line of development or intelligence can usurp one’s cognitive ability, so it is believed that all other intelligences are dependent first upon cognitive development. Cognitive development  begins at birth and as we grow and develop new stages of cognitive ability emerge, with each new level transcending and including the junior stage. Cognitive development begins at the sensorimotor level and moves onto the pre-operational level, then onto the concrete-operational level and formal-operational, with the very highest level of cognitive development currently recognized being called Vision-logic.

Spatial

The spatial line of development deals with one’s ability to visualize with the mind's eye, so to speak. One component of spatial development is the ability to correctly visualize a three dimensional object when it is represented in two dimensional space. Research shows that generally males outperform their female counter parts on standard spatial ability and developmental tests. Research also shows that spatial development can be improved through training, and that there is a holarchichal sequence of transcend and include to such development. Those with high spatial development and this type of intelligence include artists, chemists, engineers, designers and architects. A spatial person is also good with puzzles.

Linguistic/Language

This area has to do with words, spoken or written. People who develop good linguistic skills tend to be good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words and dates. Those with a high verbal-linguistic intelligence often learn foreign languages very easily as they have high verbal memory and recall and also have an ability to understand and manipulate syntax and structure. Careers that may suit those with this intelligence include writers, lawyers, policemen, philosophers, journalists, politicians, poets and teachers. In life we move from preverbal to verbal and in the higher realms of development to transverbal.

Logical-mathematical

This area has to do with logic, reasoning, abstractions, and numbers. It is often thought that people with this intelligence would naturally excel in mathematics, computer programming and other logical or numerical activities, but a more accurate definition places less emphasis on traditional mathematical ability and more on reasoning capabilities, scientific thinking and investigation, and the ability to perform complex calculations. People with high Logical-mathematical development generally score high on IQ. Tests. Careers which often suit those with this intelligence may include scientists, physicists, mathematicians, logicians, engineers, doctors, economists and philosophers.

Intrapersonal

This area has to do with introspective and the ability to be able to self-reflect. People with high intrapersonal intelligence are intuitive and typically introverted. They are excellent at discerning their own feelings, desires, inspirations and motivations. This refers to having a deep understanding of oneself; what are your strengths/ weaknesses, what makes you unique, can you predict your own reactions/ emotions.
Careers which generally suit those with this intelligence include philosophers, psychologists, theologians, lawyers, and writers. People with intrapersonal intelligence generally prefer to work alone.

Interpersonal

The Interpersonal area has to do with how we interact with others. Generally speaking people who have a high interpersonal intelligence tend to be extroverted, and they tend to be more aware and sensitive to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations, and they have good ability to cooperate with others in order to work as part of a group. They communicate effectively and may be either leaders or followers. They typically learn best by working with others and often enjoy discussion and debate. Careers that suit those with this intelligence can include sales, politicians, managers, teachers, and social workers.

Kinaesthetic (body movement)

Kinaesthetic intelligence is the ability to have control of one's bodily motions and the capacity to handle various objects skilfully, this includes a sense of timing, and a clear sense of the goal of a physical action, along with the ability to train responses so they become like reflexes. Generally people who have good bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence learn better by involving muscular movements and are generally good at physical activities such as sports or dance and they often learn best by doing something physically, rather than by reading or hearing about it. Those with strong kinaesthetic intelligence seem to use what might be termed muscle memory. Careers that generally best suit those with this intelligence include: athletes, dancers, musicians, actors, surgeons, doctors, builders, police officers, and soldiers.

Musical

Musical Intelligence has to do with sensitivity to sounds, tones and rhythms. People with a high musical intelligence normally have very good pitch, and are able to sing, play musical instruments, and compose music. Language skills are also typically highly developed in people whose base intelligence is musical. Careers that suit those with this intelligence include instrumentalists, singers, conductors, disc-jockeys, song writers and composers.

Naturalist

This area has to do with nature, nurturing and relating information to one’s natural surroundings and the ability to categorize and draw upon certain features in the person’s environment. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include naturalists, farmers, and gardeners.

Self identity (Ego)

The Self Identity line, sometimes also called the Ego line of development has to do with one’s ability to provide a reference point for the self to recognize through self awareness discrepancies between one’s own behaviour and what conventional society considers the norm or acceptable. Various researchers of this intelligence give nine or ten different stages of development, that go from Symbiotic/Infancy to Impulsive and then onto self protective to conformist and to self aware or conscientious to individualistic to Autonomous to the Integrated or construct aware level and then to Ego aware and finally onto Transpersonal awareness.  

Needs

One of these Multiple intelligences was what Abraham Maslow termed a ‘hierarchy of needs,’ these needs begun out at what Maslow termed the basic Physiological needs. These physiological needs included such things as food, water, shelter, sex, breathing and so forth. Once we have the basic physiological needs met and they have been satisfied or satiated, then the next higher level of Safety needs begin to emerge, where we now want to protect and keep safe ourselves, our food, shelter, water and loved ones, and once our safety needs are met the needs for belongingness and love begin to emerge, and as these particular needs are fulfilled and satiated, the next emergence of needs arise, which are the self esteem needs, where we now want to receive recognition for ourselves and what we have accumulated. Once these self esteem needs are met then the emergence of self actualization needs appear and from here we see that the next level is Self Transcendence or Spiritual needs.

Values

The Values line of development is indicative of the things we place the most value on in life. The values line of development is closely linked with the Needs line of development because that which we believe is most missing, becomes that which we need and therefore place a value on. Clare Graves recognized and created a system called Spiral Dynamics to explain the various developmental stages one’s values evolve through; in more recent times Don Beck and Christopher Cowen have done a lot of work to further develop Spiral Dynamics. Spiral Dynamics uses different colours to assist in the description of each stage, which it calls a MEME. These MEME’s are: Beige (Survival), Purple (Kin Spirits), Red (Power Gods), Blue (Truth-force), Orange (Strive Drive), Green (Human Bond), Yellow (Flex-Flow), Turquoise (Global View).

Moral

Our internal morals and external ethics are a by-product of our values. We morally react to whatever we perceive as being supportive or challenging of our values. Through various researchers it is recognized that 50 percent of the time our morals are consistent with whatever level of moral development we have achieved, the other 50 percent of the time they will oscillate above and below that level based upon our perceptions of challenge and support. Our morals move from egocentric, where it’s all about me, to ethno/sociocentric, where I now care for myself, my family, my tribe, my state or my nation, to world-centric where I now care about all of humanity regardless of race, creed, colour or sex. Each level is more inclusive that its previous junior level and therefore has more depth and less span.

Aesthetic

Aesthetic intelligence is one’s level of ability to interpret and describe images of Art and beauty, whether it be paintings or three dimensional objects. The stages of Aesthetic development progress in sequential order of Accountive to Constructive to Classifying to Interpretive to Re-Creative.

Psychosexual

The Psychosexual line of development was first brought to awareness by Sigmund Freud who recognized that during a person’s development from childhood to adulthood, that personality and sexual behaviour matured through a series of stages, Freud claimed there were five stages of psychosexual development which unfolded throughout an individual’s life. These five stages which started out at birth according to Freud were the Oral phase (birth to one), the Anal phase (1 – 3 years), The Phallic phase (3 – 6 years), the Latency phase (6 to puberty) and the Genital phase (puberty onwards).

Faith

Faith or the belief in something without empirical evidence also progresses through various stages of development according to James Fowler. Fowler identified seven stages that faith progresses through. 1)Undifferentiated, 2) Magical, 3) Mythic-literal, 4) Conventional, 5) Individual-reflexive, 6) Conjunctive and 7) Universal Commonwealth.

Emotional

Emotional Intelligence or Emotional development also moves through different stages throughout our lives. It is our ability to adapt to a changing environment, how we see and act upon the world, and the development of other various other intelligences and developmental lines that play a major role on how we handle and express our emotions.

Somatic

Somatic development is the development of the human body, from a pluri-potent cell through to the magnificent body you posses now. Somatic development starts out in the womb, and from the birth of the neonate to the infant to the child to the pubescent teenager and young adult to the fully grown adult, our bodies go through various developmental stages.

Worldviews

Jean Gebser originally developed what is called the World-views line of development to explain how a member or members of a social culture viewed and interpreted the world. Jean Gebser initially described five levels, since then other researchers have taken Gebser’s fifth level and broken down into two levels so that we now have six different worldviews, these move from 1) Archaic to 2) Magic to 3) Mythic to 4) Rational to 5) Pluralistic to 6) Integral. Some researchers explain these six levels simply as pre-rational, Rational and Trans-rational, or Pre-modernity, Modernity and Post-Modernity.

Spiritual

There are various views on Spiritual development, and that is because Spirituality means different things to different people. So the development of that would look different depending on what you consider spirituality to be. So spirituality could be depending upon your beliefs a separate line of development. Another way to look at it however is, at the higher levels of all the other lines we have what might be considered by some a spiritual outlook on life. The lower stages of each line are less encompassing and therefore we have more limited perspective of things and as we evolve we take on wider perspectives in each of the lines, these wider perspectives giving a fuller, more comprehensive perspective of the world we live in, we move from a more fundamental view of our world to a more universal perspective of our world. At these higher levels of development we see that the Seer, the Seeing and Seen are ultimately One. Depending on how one defines Spirituality, Meditation has been shown in many studies to bring one more in-tune with their own inner being and allowing the practitioner to experience various Spiritual or mystical states of consciousness.

Psychographs

A Psychograph is a graph that allows us to look at the various lines of development or intelligences of an individual. The one thing to remember here is that not all lines of development occur simultaneously, a person can have high cognitive development, yet very low interpersonal intelligence or even lower moral development, another person might have great spatial ability, great emotional intelligence but lack kinaesthetically, Aesthetically and Somatically. So a psychograph allows us to map out our own development or the development of others. This can assist us in how we deal and communicate with others.

Conclusion

All stages of development are present from birth, and each stage can only emerge in a sequential order once the previous stage has been experienced and integrated. Life essentially moves from being Unconscious to Conscious to Supraconscious, or from Pre-personal to Personal to Transpersonal, Pre-rational to Rational to Trans-rational, from egocentric to ethnocentric to worldcentric, as we grow, develop and evolve we are able to take on larger more inclusive perspectives in each of the various intelligences and lines of development. Unfortunately for the majority of people development in the majority of lines appears to slow down or cease to move on once they reach late teens or early twenties, then their appears to be a new spurt of development for many at approximately 40 to 50 years of age, and unfortunately for the majority they never transcend past the levels of rationality, conformism, concrete operational levels of development. Research however shows it doesn’t have to be this way, and there are specific methodologies and techniques a person can use to progress through these lines of development at a quicker pace also enabling them to transcend into the deeper, higher levels of being.
 
Being Integrally informed according to Integral Theory’s leading expert Ken Wilber, allows an individual to capitalize on one’s already existing strengths, whilst simultaneously empowering one’s weaker areas. Integral Theory does not claim it is necessary to have to empower all lines of development, but by understanding where your own unique strengths and weaknesses are, and where the strengths and weaknesses of others are, you have more control, more clarity and more certainty to take control of your destiny.

Here at The Manny Molecular Project it is our vision and our desire to work with you and assist you in your own evolutionary development, to help you integrate yourself at whatever stage of life you are currently at, and to assist you in the integration and transcendence of that level to empower you to become all that you can be.

To learn more about awakening to your full capacities and awakening the higher levels of your own being click on the link provided to organize a one on one consultation. We recommend the 'Empowerment Session' for assistance in your evolutionary development.