Essay
What is Social Intelligence?
The Dynamic Socio-Cultural Tension Between Selves and Others
The tension between individual needs and group dynamics is a perennial struggle that can be particularly acute for those whose life’s work or personal path deviates from the norm.
One striking example is the life of Vincent Van Gogh, the post-impressionist painter whose work is now celebrated as visionary but who struggled deeply with social isolation during his lifetime.
Van Gogh’s passion for his art was all-consuming, driving him to pursue a style radically different from his time's prevailing aesthetic norms. His bold colors, expressive brushwork, and unconventional subject matter were met with ridicule and dismissal from the artistic establishment and the wider public.
Despite the lack of recognition and the financial hardship it brought, Van Gogh remained committed to his artistic vision. He poured himself into his work, often at the cost of his physical and mental health, and with little support or understanding from those around him.
Van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo reveal the depth of his struggle — the loneliness, the self-doubt, and the constant battle to keep creating in the face of rejection. They also show his acute awareness of how his…
