Thanks to Scott for this interesting science:
http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/09/researchers-search-for-genes-behind-intelligence-find-almost-nothing/
From the end of the article after these words I would add: “it seems that your intelligence is likely to be the product of a huge collection of minor genetic effects, combined with a very large helping of your environment”…….AND your emotional capacity to tap into the Network.
How would you define emotional capacity in humans? As a function of sociability complexity?
You have to participate as one of the researchers to get some say on what it says.
BTW, maybe finding evidence of this ‘Network’ would be a good place to start. So far there is only brain.
A systems logic can be deduced from the behavior of dogs. “We are all netted.”
Social complexity would be a reflection of a high emotional capacity. But it would be the same as for an animal, the capacity to maintain a state of suspension through projecting the e-cog into others and simultaneously maintaining the subliminal beam of attention on the deep gut (grounding). This then allows the external negative to inflect the state of suspension without collapsing it into an instinct, habit, or in humans, a thought. But we need to add that when a thought supports a state of suspension, then even that mental state enfolds into the state of resonance and can accelerate the human mind to the highest emotional capacity.
The article doesn’t give a definition of intelligence….what is being measured for, which is frustrating? Useful dialogue relies on the reader assuming the same definition as everyone else in the discussion! Could it be the ability to do well academically? (left brain dominated?) Ability to survive in difficult circumstances (right brain dominated?)? Yes, I agree with Kevin, environment is very important – as the science of epigenetics is showing. And could Kevin’s words “your emotional capacity to tap into the Network” be the same as ‘Emotional intelligence’ as described by Daniel Goleman in “Emotional Intelligence & Working With Emotional Intelligence”? EI is now considered as important as IQ in Human Resouce Departments looking at staff recruitment and development. Again – what do we mean by intelligence? Grrrr!
Could high emotional capacity in humans be described as ‘congruence’ – where the human is self-aware of his own emotions and how they are contributing to his’her feelings in any given moment, including when interacting with others. Someone who has lower emotional capacity would have less self-awareness?
Oh – and I would like to add – I believe that when a person becomes more congruent, their ability to have a productive partnership with their dog increases, which is my particular interest 🙂
I feel emotional intelligence is a state of being aware of the system’s point of view, a vantage point from which one can compare with their own particular point of view, and then the points of view of others to build a very comprehensive picture. So for example when I state that emotion goes from predator to prey, that the mother’s attraction to her young is predicated on the predator/prey dynamic, at first one confronts their own particular point of view and such a statement seems difficult to accept because it goes against the Charge that is ingrained in so many words, maternal = nurturing = compassion for the helpless and predator and prey seem to fall into a completely different domain and thus the nature of behavior is so fractured and compartmentalized. Since emotion is a universal operating system of consciousness, it avails us of the most complete means of understanding nature and escaping the specific effects that the Charge exerts on our mind, I feel this is the best understanding of emotional intelligence. The problem with Goleman despite the overall value of his elevating emotion to the top tier, is that he’s basically talking about the psychology of emotion and in this view he believes there are such things as negative emotions which need to be controlled. He’s still weighting the intellect over the heart which I believe is antithetical to the very notion of emotional intelligence. In fact I don’t believe there is much if any mention of Heart in his writings.
I like your description of ‘a state of being aware of the system’s point of view’ That is how I see it as well. Indeed, its a while since I read Goleman and I have to agree with you that having an opinion that ‘negative emotions..need to be controlled’ isn’t helpful, as they are all just information.
I understand the resistance you talk about with the prey-predator model. To help me accommodate that resistance in myself I have been playing with the idea that the prey-predator model is a subset of emotional beings need to ‘connect and flow’ and the ultimate point of connecting and flowing is growth (or evolution). I’m still playing with the idea so apologies if this sounds clunky(my way of developing thoughts involves sharing outside of my head!). To try and elaborate ….so connect and play,(to ground energy and to increase emotional? capacity) connect and nurture (to support new life), connect and fight (to discharge ungrounded energy?) or connect with your dinner (prey-predator, basic need). Re-framing it that way helps me get over my resistance to the prey-predator image that I think you are referring to.