Intuition

I. The Three Intuitions				the philosophical school of Phenomenology.
IA. Eidetic Intuitions				The a-priori nature of intuitions of the first and the
Intuition is supposed to be a form of direct access.				third kind led thinkers, such as Adolf Lasson, to
Yet, direct access to what? Does it access directly				associate it with Mysticism. He called it an "intellectual
"intuitions" (abstract objects, akin to numbers or				vision" which leads to the "essence of things". Earlier
properties - see "Bestowed Existence")? Are				philosophers and theologians labeled the methodical
intuitions the objects of the mental act of Intuition?				application of intuitions - the "science of the
Perhaps intuition is the mind's way of interacting				ultimates". Of course, this misses the strong
directly with Platonic ideals or Phenomenological				emotional content of mystical experiences.
"essences"? By "directly" I mean without the				Confucius talked about fulfilling and seeking one's
intellectual mediation of a manipulated symbol system,				"human nature" (or "ren") as "the Way". This nature is
and without the benefits of inference, observation,				not the result of learning or deliberation. It is innate. It
experience, or reason.				is intuitive and, in turn, produces additional, clear
Kant thought that both (Euclidean) space and time				intuitions ("yong") as to right and wrong, productive
are intuited. In other words, he thought that the				and destructive, good and evil. The "operation of the
senses interact with our (transcendental) intuitions to				natural law" requires that there be no rigid codex, but
produce synthetic a-priori knowledge. The raw data				only constant change guided by the central and
obtained by our senses -our sensa or sensory				harmonious intuition of life.
experience - presuppose intuition. One could argue				II. Philosophers on Intuition - An Overview
that intuition is independent of our senses. Thus,				IIA. Locke
these intuitions (call them "eidetic intuitions") would				But are intuitions really a-priori - or do they develop in
not be the result of sensory data, or of calculation,				response to a relatively stable reality and in
or of the processing and manipulation of same. Kant's				interaction with it? Would we have had intuitions in a
"Erscheiung" ("phenomenon", or "appearance" of an				chaotic, capricious, and utterly unpredictable and
object to the senses) is actually a kind of				disordered universe? Do intuitions emerge to
sense-intuition later processed by the categories of				counter-balance surprises?
substance and cause. As opposed to the				Locke thought that intuition is a learned and
phenomenon, the "nuomenon" (thing in itself) is not				cumulative response to sensation. The assumption of
subject to these categories.				innate ideas is unnecessary. The mind is like a blank
Descartes' "I (think therefore I) am" is an immediate				sheet of paper, filled gradually by experience - by the
and indubitable innate intuition from which his				sum total of observations of external objects and of
metaphysical system is derived. Descartes' work in				internal "reflections" (i.e., operations of the mind).
this respect is reminiscent of Gnosticism in which the				Ideas (i.e., what the mind perceives in itself or in
intuition of the mystery of the self leads to				immediate objects) are triggered by the qualities of
revelation.				objects.
Bergson described a kind of instinctual empathic				But, despite himself, Locke was also reduced to ideal
intuition which penetrates objects and persons,				(innate) intuitions. According to Locke, a colour, for
identifies with them and, in this way, derives				instance, can be either an idea in the mind (i.e., ideal
knowledge about the absolutes - "duration" (the				intuition) - or the quality of an object that causes this
essence of all living things) and "Ã©lan vital" (the				idea in the mind (i.e., that evokes the ideal intuition).
creative life force). He wrote: "(Intuition is an) instinct				Moreover, his "primary qualities" (qualities shared by all
that has become disinterested, self-conscious,				objects) come close to being eidetic intuitions.
capable of reflecting upon its object and of enlarging				Locke himself admits that there is no resemblance or
it indefinitely." Thus, to him, science (the use of				correlation between the idea in the mind and the
symbols by our intelligence to describe reality) is the				(secondary) qualities that provoked it. Berkeley
falsification of reality. Only art, based on intuition,				demolished Locke's preposterous claim that there is
unhindered by mediating thought, not warped by				such resemblance (or mapping) between PRIMARY
symbols - provides one with access to reality.				qualities and the ideas that they provoke in the mind.
Spinoza's and Bergson's intuited knowledge of the				It would seem therefore that Locke's "ideas in the
world as an interconnected whole is also an "eidetic				mind" are in the mind irrespective and independent of
intuition".				the qualities that produce them. In other words, they
Spinoza thought that intuitive knowledge is superior				are a-priori. Locke resorts to abstraction in order to
to both empirical (sense) knowledge and scientific				repudiate it.
(reasoning) knowledge. It unites the mind with the				Locke himself talks about "intuitive knowledge". It is
Infinite Being and reveals to it an orderly, holistic,				when the mind "perceives the agreement or
Universe.				disagreement of two ideas immediately by
Friedrich Schleiermacher and Rudolf Otto discussed				themselves, without the intervention of any other...
the religious experience of the "numinous" (God, or				the knowledge of our own being we have by
the spiritual power) as a kind of intuitive, pre-lingual,				intuition... the mind is presently filled with the clear light
and immediate feeling.				of it. It is on this intuition that depends all the
Croce distinguished "concept" (representation or				certainty and evidence of all our knowledge...
classification) from "intuition" (expression of the				(Knowledge is the) perception of the connection of
individuality of an objet d'art). Aesthetic interest is				and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy, of
intuitive. Art, according to Croce and Collingwood,				any of our ideas."
should be mainly concerned with expression (i.e., with				Knowledge is intuitive intellectual perception. Even
intuition) as an end unto itself, unconcerned with				when demonstrated (and few things, mainly ideas,
other ends (e.g., expressing certain states of mind).				can be intuited and demonstrated - relations within
Eidetic intuitions are also similar to "paramartha satya"				the physical realm cannot be grasped intuitively), each
(the "ultimate truth") in the Madhyamika school of				step in the demonstration is observed intuitionally.
Buddhist thought. The ultimate truth cannot be				Locke's "sensitive knowledge" is also a form of
expressed verbally and is beyond empirical (and				intuition (known as "intuitive cognition" in the Middle
illusory) phenomena. Eastern thought (e.g. Zen				Ages). It is the perceived certainty that there exist
Buddhism) uses intuition (or experience) to study				finite objects outside us. The knowledge of one's
reality in a non-dualistic manner.				existence is an intuition as well. But both these
IB. Emergent Intuitions				intuitions are judgmental and rely on probabilities.
A second type of intuition is the "emergent intuition".				IIB. Hume
Subjectively, the intuiting person has the impression				Hume denied the existence of innate ideas. According
of a "shortcut" or even a "short circuiting" of his				to him, all ideas are based either on sense
usually linear thought processes often based on trial				impressions or on simpler ideas. But even Hume
and error. This type of intuition feels "magical", a				accepted that there are propositions known by the
quantum leap from premise to conclusion, the				pure intellect (as opposed to propositions dependent
parsimonious selection of the useful and the workable				on sensory input). These deal with the relations
from a myriad possibilities. Intuition, in other words, is				between ideas and they are (logically) necessarily
rather like a dreamlike truncated thought process, the				true. Even though reason is used in order to prove
subjective equivalent of a wormhole in Cosmology. It				them - they are independently true all the same
is often preceded by periods of frustration, dead				because they merely reveal the meaning or
ends, failures, and blind alleys in one's work.				information implicit in the definitions of their own
Artists - especially performing artists (like musicians) -				terms. These propositions teach us nothing about the
often describe their interpretation of an artwork (e.g.,				nature of things because they are, at bottom, self
a musical piece) in terms of this type of intuition.				referential (equivalent to Kant's "analytic
Many mathematicians and physicists (following a kind				propositions").
of Pythagorean tradition) use emergent intuitions in				IIC. Kant
solving general nonlinear equations (by guessing the				According to Kant, our senses acquaint us with the
approximants) or partial differential equations.				particulars of things and thus provide us with
Henri Poincaret insisted (in a presentation to the				intuitions. The faculty of understanding provided us
Psychological Society of Paris, 1901) that even simple				with useful taxonomies of particulars ("concepts").
mathematical operations require an "intuition of				Yet, concepts without intuitions were as empty and
mathematical order" without which no creativity in				futile as intuitions without concepts. Perceptions
mathematics is possible. He described how some of				("phenomena") are the composite of the sensations
his creative work occurred to him out of the blue				caused by the perceived objects and the mind's
and without any preparation, the result of emergent				reactions to such sensations ("form"). These
intuitions. These intuitions had "the characteristics of				reactions are the product of intuition.
brevity, suddenness and immediate certainty... Most				IID. The Absolute Idealists
striking at first is this appearance of sudden				Schelling suggested a featureless, undifferentiated,
illumination, a manifest sign of long, unconscious prior				union of opposites as the Absolute Ideal. Intellectual
work. The role of this unconscious work in				intuition entails such a union of opposites (subject and
mathematical invention appears to me incontestable,				object) and, thus, is immersed and assimilated by the
and traces of it would be found in other cases where				Absolute and becomes as featureless and
it is less evident."				undifferentiated as the Absolute is.
Subjectively, emergent intuitions are indistinguishable				Objective Idealists claimed that we can know
from insights. Yet insight is more "cognitive" and				ultimate (spiritual) reality by intuition (or thought)
structured and concerned with objective learning and				independent of the senses (the mystical argument).
knowledge. It is a novel reaction or solution, based on				The mediation of words and symbol systems only
already acquired responses and skills, to new stimuli				distorts the "signal" and inhibits the effective
and challenges. Still, a strong emotional (e.g., aesthetic)				application of one's intuition to the attainment of real,
correlate usually exists in both insight and emergent				immutable, knowledge.
intuition.				IIE. The Phenomenologists
Intuition and insight are strong elements in creativity,				The Phenomenological point of view is that every
the human response to an ever changing				thing has an invariable and irreducible "essence"
environment. They are shock inducers and				("Eidos", as distinguished from contingent information
destabilizers. Their aim is to move the organism from				about the thing). We can grasp this essence only
one established equilibrium to the next and thus				intuitively ("Eidetic Reduction"). This process - of
better prepare it to cope with new possibilities,				transcending the concrete and reaching for the
challenges, and experiences. Both insight and intuition				essential - is independent of facts, concrete objects,
are in the realm of the unconscious, the simple, and				or mental constructs. But it is not free from
the mentally disordered. Hence the great importance				methodology ("free variation"), from factual
of obtaining insights and integrating them in				knowledge, or from ideal intuitions. The
psychoanalysis - an equilibrium altering therapy.				Phenomenologist is forced to make the knowledge
IC. Ideal Intuitions				of facts his point of departure. He then applies a
The third type of intuition is the "ideal intuition". These				certain methodology (he varies the nature and
are thoughts and feelings that precede any				specifications of the studied object to reveal its
intellectual analysis and underlie it. Moral ideals and				essence) which relies entirely on ideal intuitions (such
rules may be such intuitions (see "Morality - a State				as the rules of logic).
of Mind?"). Mathematical and logical axioms and basic				Phenomenology, in other words, is an Idealistic form
rules of inference ("necessary truths") may also turn				of Rationalism. It applies reason to discover Platonic
out to be intuitions. These moral, mathematical, and				(Idealism) essences. Like Rationalism, it is not empirical
logical self-evident conventions do not relate to the				(it is not based on sense data). Actually, it is
world. They are elements of the languages we use				anti-empirical - it "brackets" the concrete and the
to describe the world (or of the codes that regulate				factual in its attempt to delve beyond appearances
our conduct in it). It follows that these a-priori				and into essences. It calls for the application of
languages and codes are nothing but the set of our				intuition (Anschauung) to discover essential insights
embedded ideal intuitions.				(Wesenseinsichten).
As the Rationalists realized, ideal intuitions (a class of				"Phenomenon" in Phenomenology is that which is
undeniable, self-evident truths and principles) can be				known by consciousness and in it. Phenomenologists
accessed by our intellect. Rationalism is concerned				regarded intuition as a "pure", direct, and primitive
with intuitions - though only with those intuitions				way of reducing clutter in reality. It is immediate and
available to reason and intellect. Sometimes, the				the basis of a higher level perception. A philosophical
boundary between intuition and deductive reasoning				system built on intuition would, perforce, be non
is blurred as they both yield the same results.				speculative. Hence, Phenomenology's emphasis on the
Moreover, intuitions can be combined to yield				study of consciousness (and intuition) rather than on
metaphysical or philosophical systems. Descartes				the study of (deceiving) reality. It is through
applied ideal intuitions (e.g., reason) to his eidetic				"Wesensschau" (the intuition of essences) that one
intuitions to yield his metaphysics. Husserl,				reaches the invariant nature of things (by applying
Twardowki, even Bolzano did the same in developing				free variation techniques).

Kagyu Nl

Intuition