Виникнення емоційного інтелекту: від раціонального пізнання до емоційного розуму

The aim of the article is to explore the evolution of emotional intelligence as a psychological construct, analyzing how it emerged from multiple traditions – including cognitive science, affective neuroscience, and humanistic psychology – to become a central framework for understanding emotion and reason as interdependent forms of intelligence. Methods of the research. This article employs a theoretical and historical research design based on an extensive review of psychological and neuroscientific literature. A qualitative content analysis of primary sources was conducted to identify conceptual patterns and trace the evolution of emotional intelligence theory. Comparative and historical-analytical methods were used to examine the convergence of cognitive, affective, and humanistic paradigms. Through interpretive synthesis, the article integrates these diverse contributions into a coherent understanding of emotional intelligence as both a scientific construct and a philosophical insight into human nature. The results of the research. This article explores the emergence of emotional intelligence as a synthesis of cognition and emotion in late twentieth-century psychology. Tracing its development from Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences to Salovey and Mayer’s formal model, and its expansion by Bar-On, Steiner, and Goleman, the study highlights how emotional intelligence redefined the meaning of intellect. The necessity of this article lies in clarifying the theoretical foundations of emotional intelligence, which are often simplified in popular discourse. By revisiting its origins across cognitive science, affective neuroscience, and humanistic psychology, this study reaffirms that emotion and reason are interdependent processes. Conclusions. The emergence of emotional intelligence marks a major shift in modern psychology, uniting cognition and emotion into a single framework of human understanding. From Gardner to Goleman, this concept redefined intelligence as the harmony of reason and empathy rather than their opposition. Restoring emotion to its rightful place at the centre of consciousness, emotional intelligence continues to bridge the analytic and the humane, affirming that true wisdom arises from the union of mind and heart.