Intelligence has long been regarded as a central and unique characteristic of humans, and yet ‘intelligence’ has always been a problematic term. Since it came into (pseudo-) scientific use towards the end of the 19th century, it has not been possible to define the term clearly. Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of this, its use is currently expanding rapidly. Towards machines in the form of artificial intelligence, and a growing number of non-human organisms whose higher cognitive functions are being analysed.

The question of intelligence is not only of interest within various scientific disciplines, but far beyond them. It directly or indirectly concerns the relationship of humans to the world and their position in it. The change in the concept of intelligence accompanies and reflects the constant change in the self-perception of different societies. This means that our understanding of intelligence is inevitably culturally characterised and has political consequences.