Daniel Goleman’s book ‘Emotional Intelligence’ was a best seller and probably struck a chord inside contemporary thinking. He argues that conventional ideas of intelligence tend to be around linguistic and rational ability; that there are some people not considered conventionally intelligent but who are gifted at working with feelings, both their own and those of others. Goleman’s suggestion is that we could all do with upping this quotient some.

He says there could be many types of intelligence. I speculate there might fundamentally be two types: analytical and relational. Analytical would be the conventionally understood type associated with academic and intellectual life, otherwise referred to as left-brain activity. Relational would cover the synthetic or creative abilities which involve how things connect up, the behaviours more associated with the right brain. It would incorporate emotional intelligence but also musical, artistic, personal and practical skills. For the latter category to flourish, first it has to be identified and given a higher value. Daniel Goleman has helped do that.