The term « intelligence » is borrowed from the Latin intellegentia, which evokes the action or faculty of knowing (connaître), understanding (comprendre), comprehension (entendement). The term derives from intellegere (-inter "between" and -legere "to pick, to gather") which refers to the capacity of the mind to choose, to appreciate and to understand (Rey, 2000, p.1855). According to this meaning, the term is used today to evoke the capacity to organize an understanding of reality and the ability to adapt the conduct of an action. The word also refers to a second meaning that evokes a more or less secret complicit relationship, characterized by a good understanding with another person or a thing (ibid.) One refers for instance to the fact of being in intelligence with a close person or with nature. On the basis of these meanings, the following sections explore the use of the term intelligence to refer to the understanding and the regulation of rhythmic phenomena, experienced or observed.
A capacity to comprehend the organization of reality in thoughts or in acts
The meaning attributed to the word « intelligence » in philosophy, and later in psychology, suggests one to envision the phenomena it relates to as being associated with a mental function organizing reality in thoughts or in acts. The term thus evokes the « whole of the psychological and psycho-physiological functions contributing to knowledge, to the comprehension of the nature of things and the meaning of facts... » found in human beings. It also suggests an aptitude for knowing, the development of intellectual capacities or the act of understanding with ease or having a thorough knowledge of something (Trésor de la Langue Française Informatisé, 2021, para. I.A., my translation). According to these meanings, the notion of rhythmic intelligence evokes the ability to know, understand and have a representation of the rhythmic dimensions inherent to any organized, experienced or observed phenomenon. Nevertheless, recognizing the mental dimension of a form of intelligence does not presuppose that it should be reduced to individual psychological processes. As it appears through the notion of collective intelligence, the capacity to understand rhythmic phenomena can also emerge from shared processes of elaboration, requiring the involvement of several people in the understanding of a phenomenon that would be difficult to apprehend individually. Furthermore, rhythmic intelligence should not be reduced to the treatment of strictly discursive (language) or logical (deduction) representations. It should also be envisioned, in congruence with research conducted on multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983), through different concrete or symbolic modalities of apprehension of the real, such as those expressed through music, in space, through movement, on an affective or relational level.
An ability to adapt to the requirements of a situated action
As the definition of the term suggests it, intelligence refers not only to an ability to think, but also to the « mental function of organizing reality into acts ». It thus suggests « [the] aptitude to apprehend and organize the details of the situation, to link procedures to be used with the goal to be reached, to choose the means or to discover the original solutions that allow adaptation to the demands of action. » (Trésor de la Langue Française Informatisé, 2021, para. I.B, my translation). In the common sense, the term thus evokes « [the] ability to take advantage of circumstances, ingenuity and efficiency in the conduct of one's activity. » In this sense, rhythmic intelligence, like other forms of intelligence, refers to a capacity for adaptation and problem-solving that involves not only "science and consciousness » (Morin & Le Moigne, 1999), knowledge and reflexivity, but also an ability to feel and act in order to influence the rhythms that make up the physical, living and human environments in which it is exercised, in a deliberate, strategic and critical manner. The notion of rhythmic intelligence can thus be conceived in relation to the research conducted on « complexity thinking » elaborated by Morin (1990/2008) and on the « intelligence of complexity » evoked by Morin and Le Moigne (1999). From this point of view, it can be envisioned as a capacity to establish connections and relations (reliance) that is exercised in a deliberate and pragmatic way in a given environment, based on the exploration and linking of the dynamics and processes through which phenomena identified as complex are organized, while at the same time maintaining a critical awareness of the limits of human understanding.
An ability to relate, understand each other and be in harmony with others and the surrounding world
Finally, the term intelligence refers to the mutual understanding that is established between people who know and relate well with each other. The word thus evokes « [the] action of getting along, of understanding each other [or the] result of this action » (Trésor de la Langue Française Informatisé, 2021, para. II, my translation). It refers to forms of tacit agreement or relationship, with people or things, that may suggest some form of connivance, or harmony. From this perspective, rhythmic intelligence can be conceived as the means or product of an organized, and therefore rhythmical, process of mutual accommodation and understanding that would contribute to the development or nurturing of special relationships with others. Similarly, it suggests an ability to enter into resonance, through processes of synchronization, with phenomena, natural or social, that are likely to increase the quality and understanding of the lived experience.
An attempt to define rhythmic intelligence
On the basis of these elements, we can consider the notion of rhythmic intelligence as a function based on the individual and collective ability to know, understand and represent the rhythmic dimensions inherent in any organized, observed or experienced phenomenon. It implies concrete or symbolic modalities of apprehension of the real, which integrate and go beyond discursive and logical aspects. Rhythmic intelligence also supposes a capacity of adaptation and problem-solving which implies an ability to feel and act, in order to influence the rhythms that make up the physical, living and human environments in which it is exercised, in a deliberate, strategic and critical manner. More fundamentally, it refers to a capacity to establish and explore the relations and the connections that characterize the dynamics and processes through which rhythmic phenomena, identified as complex, are organized, while maintaining a critical awareness of the limits of human understanding. Finally, rhythmic intelligence can be envisioned through the function it fulfills in the development of privileged relationships within a given environment. It thus presupposes an ability to enter into resonance with others and with natural or social phenomena, likely to increase the quality and understanding of the lived experience.
References
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books.
Rey, A. (Ed.). (2000). Intelligence. In Le Robert - Dictionnaire historique de la langue française (pp.1855-1856). Paris.
Trésor de la Langue Française Informatisé (2021). Intelligence. Accédé le 25.1.2021 à l’adresse: http://atilf.atilf.fr/tlf.htm
Morin, E. (1990/2008). On Complexity (S. M. Kelly, Trans.). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Morin, E., & Le Moigne, J.-L. (1999). L’Intelligence de la complexité. Paris: L’Harmattan.
