Professor at Harvard University. Dr. Howard Gardner evaluated the relationship between neuroscience and the theory of multiple intelligences. The 5th International Positive Psychology Congress, organized by Üsküdar University with the partnership of Üsküdar University, NPİSTANBUL Hospital, NP Etiler & Feneryolu Medical Center, Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Association and Positive Psychology Institute, hosts experts who work in this field.
He conveyed his best wishes to Turkey.
The honorary guest of the three-day congress was Professor from Harvard University. Dr. It was Howard Gardner. Attending the congress online, American psychologist Prof. Dr. Howard Gardner expressed his sadness about the earthquake that took place in Kahramanmaraş on 6 February and conveyed his best wishes in his interview titled “The Science of Goodness, The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”.
prof. Dr. Howard Gardner said, “On behalf of all humanity, I would like to say: I hope there will be a good recovery. Of course, this recovery will take some time and we will have to work on it, of course, but you know, an important part of building resilience is being able to move on, and this conference will be very important in this context.” said.
Known for his theory of multiple intelligences, Prof. Dr. Howard Gardner said that he and his colleagues have recently focused on concepts such as ethics, morality and goodness. prof. Dr. Howard Gardner evaluated the benefits of the concepts of kindness and kindness in post-traumatic recovery, which is the subject of the congress.
Respect, morality and ethics are different concepts.
Noting that there is a difference between the concepts of respect, morality, morality and ethics, Gardner said:
“Respect is something that includes kindness, it's about being kind to the people around us. But what we call morality, for example, is about how you get along with the people living in your neighborhood. Think of it like the 10 commandments: Don't steal, don't kill, don't lie, respect your family. In other words, you will treat other people as you would like to be treated.”
“What we call ethics is about how you behave in very difficult professional conditions, so you can be a teacher doctor and there may be situations where you may face ethical values.” said Gardner, continuing:
“Let me give an example from teaching, for example, you have 30 students, one of them has very destructive behaviors. You can kick the student out of the class, but won't that student feel banned at a very early age or you can devote all your time to this student, then you steal from the time of 29 students. So there is no simple answer. In positive psychology we need to distinguish between respect, local morals, ethics and professional rules.”
How will the Metaverse affect future generations?
Üsküdar University Founding Rector Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that it is a matter of curiosity how exposure to computer games and the metaverse will affect the brain today, and said that there is a risk that future generations will be exposed to Asperger's syndrome due to poor social relations.
"Maybe the metaverse will help, but staying human won't be easy"
Prof. Tarhan asked his views on this situation. Dr. Howard Gardner said, “What we call a human being is an evolutionary and anthropological question. We have come to this state after thousands of years of evolution. How can we all be a better person, we're all already working on it. What are the characteristics of being a good person? This is one of the points that positive psychology focuses on. How do we develop this side of ourselves? I think the point where I differ from some positive psychologists is: How do we make people more honest, kinder, more ethical? We don't have a golden recipe for that." he said.
Pointing out that this should be discussed, Gardner said, “Maybe computers and artificial intelligence will help us. Maybe the metaverse will help us, but I share your skepticism at this point. It will not be easy for people to stay human, to do good things. In a world dominated by so many computer systems. Girls between the ages of 12 and 15 are most depressed in the US. Then come the boys of the same age. These are young people and the leading cause of depression is the pandemic and social media. It's so hard for girls that they constantly compare themselves to someone else, maybe to 'perfect' girls. Therefore, in the next century, this humanity issue will perhaps be the subject of constant discussion.” said.
“There are data in neuroscience that actually support the theory of multiple intelligences”
Evaluating the relationship between neuroscience and the theory of multiple intelligences, Prof. Dr. “Multiple intelligence theory is actually a critical concept,” Gardner said. If you look at the French school, there is only one intelligence. This can be tested with IQ tests. So there is a point of view that if you are good at something, you are good at everything. There was a school that held the view that if you perform poorly at one thing, you will be bad at everything else. One child may learn languages well, another child may be good at math, another may have good musical skills. I define them as different intelligences.” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of knowledge in the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner made the following evaluations:
“I was also working with patients with brain damage. They are also examples that show that there is no single intelligence, because it can distinguish skills according to damage in various parts of the brain. There is empirical data in neuroscience that actually supports the theory of multiple intelligences, but studies on the brain have improved a lot in recent years. Now, for example, when which neurocircuits receive different stimuli, it can be a picture, a sound… We know how they function differently. In the future, we will likely understand more clearly how different parts of the brain relate to different cognitive abilities. This will perhaps develop the theory of multiple intelligences and cause it to evolve. It is likely that your perception of yourself and your perception of others will change. We are now beginning to understand the intelligence of animals better. We didn't know beforehand."
“My tombstone may read 'Gardner stood against the notion that he was just an intelligence'”
Noting that computer and artificial intelligence systems can do some linguistic tasks better than humans, Gardner said, “We will not only receive information from the brain, maybe we will also evaluate information from other animals. It is stated that artificial intelligence is starting to become even more intelligent and creative. This will perhaps further complicate our knowledge and repertoire. If I die any time soon, it will probably say on my tombstone, 'This Howard Gardner stood against the notion that he was just an intelligence. It's okay for me too, frankly." used the phrases.
"We don't know if AI will develop an emotional construct in the future"
prof. Dr. Gardner also spoke about how he evaluated the developments regarding artificial intelligence and chatGPT application:
“Finally, I recently read Noam Chomsky's article with esteemed colleagues. Chomsky is one of the world's leading intellectuals, but I have to say this: The majority of this article has a perspective that also reflects Humanism. But it seems very simple to me to come to the following conclusion: When people deal with ambiguities, confusion, complex issues, they give an emotional response, and there is a point of view that artificial intelligence does not. I can agree on this, but we can't be so sure. We cannot be certain that this is the case. We write to computer systems, they can solve ambiguous problems. We do not know whether they will develop an emotional structure like a human. We don't know right now. If you ask my opinion about Chat GPT as an instructor, I have to say that I do not fully agree with Chomsky's theory of intelligence.”
“It is more effective to be an example and model for children and young people instead of teaching them the science of kindness”
Regarding the relationship between moral intelligence and consciousness, Prof. Dr. Howard Gardner said, “I don't think there is such a thing in terms of the concepts of intelligence that I have defined. What we call intelligence is a bit more computational system. It can be a language computer, a music computer, or a spatial computer. How we use it has a moral dimension. For example, Hitler is an expert on the German language and used it very destructively. Goethe is a connoisseur of the German language, he used it very constructively. Intelligence is not inherently immoral. You can use it constructively or destructively.” said.
prof. Dr. Howard Gardner said that he believed it would be more effective to be an example and model for children and young people, rather than teaching them the science of kindness.
He will give an online conference from Ukraine
Important scientists will also give conferences on the second and third days of the congress. Prof. from Ukraine Dragomanov University, who will attend online from Ukraine. Dr. Daria Suprun will also give a conference titled "Professional Identity and Social Values: Synergy of Education and Spirituality".
Üsküdar University NPİSTANBUL Hospital Neurology Specialist Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tanrıdağ will also attend the congress with a conference titled “Neuroscientific Foundations of Positive Psychology”. On the last day of the conference, NPİSTANBUL Hospital Specialist Clinical Psychologist Özgenur Taşkın talked about “The Relationship between Self-Compassion and Conscious Awareness” and Üsküdar University's Dr. Instructor Member Fatma Turan will give conferences titled “The Voice of Hope: Silent Goodnesses”.