The Unfinished Question: A Philosophical Interrogation of Intelligence Beyond Mind, Measure, and Machine

By Mawphniang Napoleon

What is intelligence? After a century of scientific study, we still don't know.

THE UNFINISHED QUESTION challenges everything you think you know about intelligence. Through twenty-one provocative chapters, philosopher and researcher Mawphniang Napoleon takes readers on an intellectual journey that reveals intelligence as far more mysterious, diverse, and profound than IQ tests could ever measure.

This groundbreaking work explores intelligence beyond the confines of the mind-examining how bodies think, cultures shape cognition, suffering transforms understanding, and wisdom emerges from lived experience. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, and contemplative traditions spanning from ancient Greece to modern science, the book interrogates our deepest assumptions about what it means to be intelligent.

Rather than offering simple answers, this philosophical interrogation invites readers into genuine inquiry through Socratic questioning, revealing:

Why our measures of intelligence capture only a sliver of human capability

How intelligence is distributed across communities, tools, and ecosystems

The relationship between intelligence, consciousness, and creativity

What artificial intelligence reveals about ourselves

Why wisdom cannot be separated from intelligence

Written for anyone who has ever wondered whether intelligence tests truly measure what matters, THE UNFINISHED QUESTION is essential reading for students, educators, researchers, parents, and anyone seeking a more humane understanding of human cognitive capacity.

The question remains unfinished. The inquiry begins with you.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GKXXWJM7
• ISBN13: 9798246407318
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"