Howard Gardner Under Fire: The Rebel Psychologist Faces His Critics (Paperback)

by Ph.D. Jeffrey A. Schaler (Editor)
Key Phrases: historiometric studies, eminent creators, eminent creativity, New York, Project Zero, Howard Gardner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A lively and thoughtful presentation of Howard Gardner's ideas along with well considered criticisms of them by leading scholars." -- Jerome Bruner, Author of Acts of Meaning

"This examination of Gardner's wide-ranging and influential ideas provides a dazzling intellectual banquet." -- Mindy Kornhaber, Co-author of Multiple Intelligences: Best Ideas from Research and Practice

Product Description

Howard Gardner is most celebrated for his conception and development of the theory of Multiple Intelligences, which has revolutionized educational thinking. Gardner has also made outstanding original contributions to the study of leadership, creativity, child development, and humanly-fulfilling work.

Prior to Gardner's Frames of Mind (1983), there was little sustained theoretical opposition to the reigning paradigm of IQ, in which it is supposed that intelligence is a single concept known as 'g', exhibiting itself in scholastic attainment and detectable by a narrow range of puzzle-solving tests. Gardner transformed the discussion of intelligence and education by making a powerful case that there are several forms of intelligence, some of which express themselves in activities not traditionally considered academic.

In Creating Minds (1993), Gardner provoked a Gestalt switch in public understanding of creative genius, by analyzing the lives and achievements of seven diverse personalities from Einstein to Picasso, each of whom founded a new "system of meaning." With Project Zero, Gardner directed research into children's artistic development, yielding many controversial conclusions and providing new ideas for educators. Gardner's GoodWork Project is a broad empirical investigation of the experiences of professional workers in a range of occupations, seeking the conditions most conducive to work which is "good" both ethically and technically. His Changing Minds (2004) applied findings from cognitive psychology to explain how people's deep-rooted convictions can be changed.

All these and other topics are explored in this volume, by way of a debate between Gardner and his critics.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 476 pages
• Publisher: Open Court; 1 edition (November 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812696042
• ISBN-13: 978-0812696042
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #905,174 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye at the Center of the Storm, March 22, 2008

By	J. Paige "paige me" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well balanced presentation of the arguments generated by the man and his work. Most critiques were appropriately about Gardner's theory and not personal attacks. Most. Unfortunately, Gardner has been long reviled/credited with statements and applications of his theory that he did not make. It was heartening to see that he has been presented a forum in which to clarify some of these issues. Academic territory is jealously guarded with a seeming scarcity mentality. There should always be room for new ideas, and healthy discussion clarifies and hones the theory. Considering the nature of some of the challenges to which he responded, I thought the man remained open, honest, and considered in his responses.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much criticism - here refuted., March 5, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

HOWARD GARDNER UNDER FIRE: THE REBEL PSYCHOLOGIST FACES HIS CRITICS is for any college-level reader in either psychology or education who already have some gasp of Gardner'' contributions in these areas. Before Gardner's FRAMES OF MIND there was little opposition to the paradigm of IQ: his works changed how intelligence was perceived and measured, and generated much criticism - here refuted.