Existential Intelligence: For the Kids Who ask “But What is the Meaning of Life?”
You know that student who somehow turns every lesson into a philosophical debate? The one who, in the middle of your carefully planned history lecture, suddenly asks “but does anything we do really matter in the grand scheme of the universe?”
That’s your existential intelligence learner, the kid who is big-picture smart.
These students don’t just want to know what happened, they want to know why it happened, what it means, and how it connects to the bigger human experience. In the right setting, they’ll become deep thinkers, philosophers, and visionary leaders. In the wrong setting? They’ll spend your entire lesson mentally dissecting the illusion of time itself instead of learning about the American Revolution.
What is Existential INTELLIGENCE?
Existential intelligence is the ability to think deeply about life, the universe, and philosophical questions. People strong in this intelligence excel at:
Asking big-picture questions (“Why are we here?”)
Finding meaning and patterns in human history and experience
Understanding morality, ethics, and deeper life concepts
Making connections between disciplines (history, science, philosophy, and religion)
Thinking about long-term consequences and the broader impact of decisions
These are your future philosophers, ethicists, writers, social justice leaders, and deep thinkers, or, at the very least, the ones who will keep their friends awake at 2AM discussing the simulation theory.
Signs You Have an Existential Learner in Your Classroom
They question everything (“Why does society even function this way?”)
They love discussing ethics, morality, and philosophy
They see patterns in human behavior and history
They are drawn to literature, philosophy, religion, and/or social justice
They can spend hours debating an idea just for the sake of understanding it better
Teaching Strategies for Existential Learners
These students thrive on big ideas and deep discussions. Here’s how to keep them engaged:
Encourage philosophical discussions
Existential learners want to explore meaning, so let them. In history you can ask what lessons we can learn from past civilizations, for example, while in science it’s all about exploring ethical debates in genetics, AI, and environmental policy. Meanwhile in literature, discuss the philosophical themes behind classic works. The more big questions you incorporate, the more engaged they’ll be.
Connect learning to the bigger picture
They don’t just want facts, they want to know why those facts matter, keeping this in mind, relate historical events to modern day issues, show how scientific discoveries have shaped humanity, and encourage them to see learning as part of a larger journey of understanding. They’ll lose interest if lessons feel meaningless, so always tie concepts to the bigger picture.
Use ethics and moral dilemmas as teaching tools
Nothing lights up an existential learner’s brain like a good ethical debate. In history you may discuss the morality of war and leadership decisions, in science, debate topics like climate change, bioethics, and AI would be winners, and in literature, analyze characters’ moral choices and their consequences, or lack thereof. These students will argue both sides of an issue just to explore it more deeply, so let them!
Let them explore open-ended questions
Some students need definitive answers, but existential learners thrive in gray areas, so give them projects where there’s no single “right” answer, let them write personal reflections or philosophical essays, and encourage research on historical, cultural, or ethical topics that interest them.
Encourage connection between subjects
Existential learners don’t see subjects as separate silos, they see connections across disciplines. Tie history to philosophy with questions like “what can we learn from past mistakes”, connect science to ethics by inquiring if human DNA should be altered were we to have the technology and discuss literature through a sociological lens why opening the door to discussions like what a text tells the reader about human nature. The more interdisciplinary the learning, the more meaningful it will feel to these students.
What if They Struggle in Other Areas?
While existential learners thrive abstract, big-picture thinking, they might struggle with:
Strictly factual memorization, as they wont see the meaning behind remembering dates so long as they understand broader historical patterns.
Highly structured, repetitive tasks, worksheets wont work for them
Following standard classroom routines, their brains are off contemplating the nature of reality
How to support them:
Show them how details connect to the bigger picture
Let them debate and discuss concepts before testing on them
Give them some control over their learning, like independent research projects
Final Thoughts
Existential learners are the deep thinkers, philosophers, and visionaries of the world. They ask the big questions, challenge societal norms, and push humanity to think critically about its future.
The challenge? If a lesson feels meaningless, they’ll mentally check out, probably planning a TED Talk in their heads instead of listening to your lecture. The key? Make learning relevant, big-picture, and meaningful, because they’re not just here to learn facts. They’re here to understand the universe itself.
With that, we’ve covered all of Gardner’s multiple intelligences! This series has shown how every student has unique strengths, whether they’re word smart, number smart, picture smart, body smart, people smart, self smart, music smart, nature smart or big-picture smart.
Want to make learning more engaging? Use a mix of these strategies, because no two students learn the same way and all students have a mix of all of these intelligences in a spectrum.
