The 5 types of minds of the future according to Howard Gardner

Howard Gardner describes to us in his works the 5 types of minds that we should all cultivate, train and define to achieve a more ethical future, a future marked by an active commitment to life, innovation or conflict resolution. These minds of tomorrow are our responsibility in the present, an active commitment in which we can all be protagonists.

Most of us We know Professor Gardner for his research on cognitive abilities and for having formulated the theory of multiple intelligences. Admired by many and criticized by many others for believing that his studies are based more on intuition than on empirical data, there is something that no one can underestimate in this psychologist and researcher at Harvard University.

Howard Gardner invites us to create new and interesting spaces for reflection. If at the time he proposed that we leave aside the paradigm of single intelligence to open the way to other types of intelligence related to the demands of life, later, with his book “The 5 Minds of the Future” he achieved something equally interesting. , something equally valid.

We have reached a point in our evolution where it is necessary to become aware of a fact. The world presents more and more challenges, challenges for which we must be prepared in order to generate a positive impact in our reality.. Such a company, such a purpose requires in turn that we re-define ourselves, that we train 5 types of minds ready to create the future we need…

The 5 types of minds of the future according to Howard Gardner

A good part of Howard Gardner’s books cross the line of science and psychology to delve into philosophical reasoning. with which to invite us to understand a little more how our reality has changed, how our consciousness advances in relation to an increasingly demanding social context.

Curiously, faced with a scenario that is sometimes so unpredictable, so demanding and variable, The bases of our education remain the same as those of the last century. This subtle irony that many may question Gardner about is exemplified in our children of the present, in those little ones that we now educate with methods that have not evolved much and that will hardly adapt to the demands of the future.

The need not to fall into pessimism is clear, however. We have good education professionals and although the methods of educational innovation arrive in dribs and drabs, little by little we will make our way towards those new demands that are on the horizon of tomorrow. However… We’ll arrive on time?

Gardner tells us that possibly not, since this journey through the 21st century is very treacherous, and therefore the changes on our part have to come now, in the here and now. The dizzying evolution of reality itself, especially social reality and technological reality, imposes the need to train a type of mind that is more connected, more awake, tolerant of complexity, challenges and challenges… They would be the following.

1. The disciplined mind

The disciplined mind is one that applies adequate habits and techniques of analysis, understanding, self-knowledge and constant reflection on a daily basis.It is capable of approaching a problem from different approaches to obtain more information and proposed solutions. This type of mind does not settle on the acquisition of knowledge through mechanical memorization, but rather strives to understand and create meaningful knowledge. At the same time , this approach to thinking becomes more sophisticated over time, because it is evaluated, because it introduces new techniques to think and learn better.

2. The synthetic mind

If there is something that we all know, it is that the information that reaches us on a daily basis is sometimes very disparate and comes from numerous sources: several voices clarifying the same fact, putting a magnifying glass on different details. One of the 5 minds of the future is the one where the person is capable of providing coherence and synthesizing each new data and stimulus that comes to them.

The ability to synthesize is achieved through prior analysis, through interest and the ability to contrast information, and to apply a critical sense. and finally, to give a coherent and logical narration to everything learned.

3. The creative mind

Let’s admit it, a creative mind is a freer mind, more open to experience, more receptive to everything that surrounds it and more committed to innovation and not to remaining clinging to rigid schemes, to outdated approaches.

Howard Gardner reminds us that the future moves faster and faster and that we do not always have time to adapt to each oscillation, each change, each new demand.The creative mind is one that goes one step furtheris the one that is not left behind because it looks to the future and feels part of it because it knows and has arguments to defend that it has a lot to contribute.

4. The respectful mind

It is imperative that our society lives in the inviolable principle of respect, of knowing how to live together, of knowing how to tolerate and appreciate everything that is part of our daily settings and environments.

No future will be possible if we do not educate in respect, if we do not understand what coexistence is and we do not actively promote it. This is another of the 5 types of minds of the future that Howard Gardner most defends in his books for a very specific purpose: If we do not know how to coexist on this planet, meaning (our own and that of humanity) will dissipate and we will give shape to a hopeless future.

5. The ethical mind

As we see, beyond those minds skilled in cognitive processes, trained in a critical or analytical approach, aimed at producing innovative and challenging information, There is an essential aspect that we cannot leave aside: ethical values.

A society without the pillar of ethics does not make sense, it is not valid, it is not human, it is not logical. Because Intelligence without a framework of integrity and ethical-moral principles is of no use to us in that dream for a more dignified future. for everyone, a tomorrow that, in the end, is better than our present…

In conclusion, We definitely recommend reading “The 5 Types of Minds of the Future” by Howard Gardner.. Whether we agree or not with his theory of multiple intelligences, it is worth saying that few cognitive psychologists have encouraged us to see the pillars of our education differently, in turn inviting us to generate new methodologies.

So let’s think now about how to train these 5 types of minds. Let us at least be aware of the need to generate changes and take responsibility for something essential: We all have our share of responsibility when it comes to creating a better future.

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