A fter the publication of Frames of mind, I was often asked to
summarize the main points of the theory.Of the various ver-
sions that I concocted, a brief "unbuttoned" talk given in 1986
at the 350th anniversary of the founding of Harvard University has
proved the most popular; it appears here as chapter I. Around the same
time my colleague Joseph Walters and I also prepared a number of more
formal summaries of the theory; I have reworked one of these papers to
form chapter 2. Taken together, these two essays serve as a comfortable
introduction to the major claims and arguments that constitute the
theory of multiple intelligences.

Once the theory became known, many thoughtful individuals raised
questions about its principal claims, as well as its educational implica-
tions. Walters and I responded to some of the most common questions
in one piece, and, at other times, I answered questions put to me by
Helen Weinreich-Haste, and by several other interviewers (see appendix
C). In chapter 3, I present a collection of these recurring "issues and
answers," grouped under the following topics: terminology; the theoret-
ical status of MI theory; the fine structure of each intelligence; the
relationships among the various intelligences; the relationship between
intelligence and critical thinking; the relationship between intelligence
and artistry; the possibility of additional intelligences; the possible exis-
tence of different intellectual profiles in different groups; and sundry
educational considerations.

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