Intelligence is a term that people use in different ways, with no universally accepted scientific definition. Broadly speaking, it refers to the higher faculties of mind – understanding, reasoning, learning, creativity, problem-solving; the capacity to recognize patterns, plan and make decisions; also using language to communicate. When something seems like a disaster, it is an opportunity to wake up one’s intelligence, because there is an emergency, a turning point where people can put their minds together to move from the impossible to the possible, from nothing to something to find a solution.
We could consider today’s global situation as a failure of intelligence. We certainly have an abundance of technological achievements which embed much intelligent thought and activity, but they are not optimized for human or planetary welfare, often just the opposite. Why has that happened?
Here are four points to consider:
- Intelligence is confused because of the way the human brain evolved.
- Intelligence is misdirected because it is divorced from wisdom and moral values.
- Intelligence is used destructively because we are not obedient to Nature.
- Intelligence is blocked by fixed assumptions.
Source – Excerpts from article by Dr Alan Hunter – New Era, New Dimension – Prabuddha Bharata May 2021 Issue page 31-32.