Existentially Gifted

The term gifted implies a set of domain-specific abilities that surpass those of one's same-age peers. The evaluation of ability through a measurable and comparable assessment is commonly considered intelligence. As such, those who are considered to be existentially gifted can be said to have high existential intelligence. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is the only current intelligence theory that has applied the term intelligence to existential concerns. There has been [Page 341]considerable effort to delineate a discrete “existential intelligence” factor that includes a spiritual-philosophical component. Gardner has advanced the most widely accepted definition of existential intelligence: “the capacity to locate oneself with respect to the furthest reaches of the cosmos—the infinite and infinitesimal—and the related capacity to locate oneself with respect to such ...