To me the most fitting word for intelligence is "control". Yes, you got it right: by control, I mean putting safety, usefulness and discipline ahead of other things. Yes, it also covers artificial intelligence, and they are a step ahead of us by their remote controls (just kidding :)... Let me explain, what I mean by control,
Eusocial insects such as ants, mites and honey bees have always been a great source of inspiration for me especially extreme altruism, the high level of discipline and social harmony/order in them which have no parallel in other organisms and that is why they are called eusocial. E. O. Wilson introduced a new field in biology (Sociobiology) by studying these insects and has called them, " super-super organism". These extremes in social behaviors are inherent as they don't have the large brain sizes to rationalize things. They mostly behave as they are programmed. The way they build their homes (nests), divide their labor and manage their large society appear as work of high-intelligence but this intelligence is not the way we used to perceive intelligence like individual responses. The element of order is so high in their society that we can imagine a nest as a single brain with each individual functioning as a neuron.
It is not that just eusocial organisms have adapted the extreme social order as a way of survival. Humans have also shown interests and imagined them as utopias. Some of very notable thinkers have devised their utopias in very great details. Utopias of Plato and Karl Marx for example still resonate today. All attempts to create such highly ordered societies as utopias have failed. Humans always have been in trouble to balance between individuals and society. I am not claiming that humans are not intelligent as the story of human intelligence is explained in terms of their steady control over forces of Nature, from control over fire, control over animals by domestication, domestication of grasses as major sources of food by selective evolution of them, control over water for irrigation ......... to control over atomic power to generate electricity... All indicators of human intelligence points on control over other things and others.
Despite of great advances in controlling over forces, humans have not been successful to devise ways to control their own behaviors. The controls by means of social constructs, such as culture, religion and laws have fired backed so far as we find humans are in constant state of struggle to counter them. All these wars and human rights movements are examples of failure in controlling human behavior by means of social constructs.
The purpose of this short introduction was to pave the way for the introduction of "emotional intelligence". I feel like, though the phrase is out there and we may also talk about it at times, but we haven't accepted it as really something as sign of intelligence. When we hear emotional intelligence, we feel a little bit skeptic because emotions is not there to control the forces of Nature. But in the process, we forget that the emotional intelligence is real and that is to control our Nature. We don't need any specialists to tell us that we have an innate sense of decency and "overly-done-reacted-expressed" things make us feel not good and some even disgusting. To me, that innate sense of decency is the emotional intelligence that put our emotions in control and help us to understand and deal in decent manners others' emotions.
I found it really surprising and even shocking that drawing negative images and demonizing of political opponents (1,2) works more efficient than showing your programs and solutions in the democratic process. We cherish democratic processes and democratic parties for their acceptance of others, not for rejection of others. I found it really disturbing that the negative advertisements turn into long lasting negative behaviors in smaller communities that most of the people know each other. The side effects of negative ads may not be very visible on a country scale but I think that "emotional intelligence literacy" is much needed in smaller communities that cherish democratic process but can't afford its negative side affects.
Eusocial insects such as ants, mites and honey bees have always been a great source of inspiration for me especially extreme altruism, the high level of discipline and social harmony/order in them which have no parallel in other organisms and that is why they are called eusocial. E. O. Wilson introduced a new field in biology (Sociobiology) by studying these insects and has called them, " super-super organism". These extremes in social behaviors are inherent as they don't have the large brain sizes to rationalize things. They mostly behave as they are programmed. The way they build their homes (nests), divide their labor and manage their large society appear as work of high-intelligence but this intelligence is not the way we used to perceive intelligence like individual responses. The element of order is so high in their society that we can imagine a nest as a single brain with each individual functioning as a neuron.
It is not that just eusocial organisms have adapted the extreme social order as a way of survival. Humans have also shown interests and imagined them as utopias. Some of very notable thinkers have devised their utopias in very great details. Utopias of Plato and Karl Marx for example still resonate today. All attempts to create such highly ordered societies as utopias have failed. Humans always have been in trouble to balance between individuals and society. I am not claiming that humans are not intelligent as the story of human intelligence is explained in terms of their steady control over forces of Nature, from control over fire, control over animals by domestication, domestication of grasses as major sources of food by selective evolution of them, control over water for irrigation ......... to control over atomic power to generate electricity... All indicators of human intelligence points on control over other things and others.
Despite of great advances in controlling over forces, humans have not been successful to devise ways to control their own behaviors. The controls by means of social constructs, such as culture, religion and laws have fired backed so far as we find humans are in constant state of struggle to counter them. All these wars and human rights movements are examples of failure in controlling human behavior by means of social constructs.
The purpose of this short introduction was to pave the way for the introduction of "emotional intelligence". I feel like, though the phrase is out there and we may also talk about it at times, but we haven't accepted it as really something as sign of intelligence. When we hear emotional intelligence, we feel a little bit skeptic because emotions is not there to control the forces of Nature. But in the process, we forget that the emotional intelligence is real and that is to control our Nature. We don't need any specialists to tell us that we have an innate sense of decency and "overly-done-reacted-expressed" things make us feel not good and some even disgusting. To me, that innate sense of decency is the emotional intelligence that put our emotions in control and help us to understand and deal in decent manners others' emotions.
I found it really surprising and even shocking that drawing negative images and demonizing of political opponents (1,2) works more efficient than showing your programs and solutions in the democratic process. We cherish democratic processes and democratic parties for their acceptance of others, not for rejection of others. I found it really disturbing that the negative advertisements turn into long lasting negative behaviors in smaller communities that most of the people know each other. The side effects of negative ads may not be very visible on a country scale but I think that "emotional intelligence literacy" is much needed in smaller communities that cherish democratic process but can't afford its negative side affects.
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