What Is The Objectivist View On Intuition?

[ironworks soundlabs]

I am curious....

Edited June 3, 2005 by softwareNerd

[BurgessLau]

This is an excellent question, one deserving full discussion about the variety of ideas which the term "intuition" has labeled throughout the history of philosophy.

In English, the basic meaning of "intuition" is usually this: immediate cognition, that is, reaching understanding without any steps in the process. Thus, in this usage, sense-perception of a particular object, such as this computer, is "intuitive." I have heard some Objectivists use "intuition" in this sense.

There are a variety of other peculiar uses, all sharing that idea of immediate apprehension.

The most dangerous use of the term is to name a form of intrinsicism: Gaining knowledge through a special pipeline such as God, one's genes, or a guru who died 5000 years ago.

Often, advocates of "intuition" use the term to name a fuzzy idea for the purpose of bypassing reason with another "direct" form of gaining knowledge about the world. This is the enemy. The way to deal with such claims to "intuition" is to first ask for a definition of "intuition" and then ask for proof that it exists and is a valid -- that is, objective -- source of knowledge.

I avoid using the term "intuition" altogether -- except to challenge it when others use it.

Edited June 3, 2005 by BurgessLau

[Hal]

I agree with BurgessLau. The word 'intuition' in common English is almost entirely devoid of meaning - it can refer to a large number of utterly different things, and I doubt most people have any one of them in mind when they use the word. Saying that something is 'intuition' isnt so much an explanation as it is the refusal to give one - at best it is a placeholder for a real explanation, to be filled in later.

There are some specialised uses of the word where it makes sense ('intuition' in the (translated) works of philosophers like Kant/Husserl is fairly understandable, as is mathematical intuition). But I would second the recommendation to avoid using the term due to the confusion it can cause.

[DPW]

In English, the basic meaning of "intuition" is usually this: immediate cognition, that is, reaching understanding without any steps in the process. Thus, in this usage, sense-perception of a particular object, such as this computer, is "intuitive." I have heard some Objectivists use "intuition" in this sense.

There are a variety of other peculiar uses, all sharing that idea of immediate apprehension.

While it is an error to refer to the output of intuition as knowledge, this does not alter the fact that intuition, properly understood, is vital to thinking. Intuition, in my view, refers to the automatic output of your mind, which may or may not be correct and must be checked consciously.

I can think of many cases where I've considered some problem or question and an answer pops into my mind (or at least a partial answer). This answer is not yet knowledge. Rather, it is an automatic integration based on my previous knowledge. But it acts as a lead that enables me to pursue an answer without starting from scatch, cognitively speaking.

Many times, especially when we are trying to discover new knowledge, we start with an answer that follows from our intuition, and then search for the proof. That is a perfectly valid method, presuming that if the evidence conflicts with your intuition, you discard your intuition and not the evidence.

EDIT: A related phenomenon -- many times our evaluations of people are based upon the integration of a million small pieces of data that we aren't aware of consciously, but which we experience purely in an emotional form. Again, to ensure the evaluation is objective we have to check it consciously, but without the intuition as a starting point, we can often remain oblivious to subtle cues that, for instance, a person who seems very nice is actually dangerous.

Don Watkins

Edited June 3, 2005 by DPW

[DavidOdden]

There is a technical sense in which linguists use the word, corresponding to Burgess's "immediate apprehension" sense, referring to your ability to judge whether a particular utterance is part of the language or not. You can immediately judge that *"Runs Fred slowly?" is not correct, and that "Does Fred run slowly" is. This is done without laboriously calculating whether you could get such a sentence by rules of English (which you probably don't even know explicitly). We would say that you have an "intuition" that the first sentence is wrong, and the second is right, meaning the an immediate grasp of that fact.

[JMeganSnow]

I looked the word up in Dictionary.com and I noticed something added onto the definition almost as an afterthought: that intuition is a "perceptive insight". I find this idea interesting. After some introspection I realized that this is precise mental event I mean when I use the term "intuition" and I'm now wondering how valid this is.

I have always used the term to refer to those instances when I re-examine something (not examine--RE-examine) that happened in the past (maybe only very recently past, but still, past) and I gain, suddenly, an entirely new perspective on it.

The change occurs in a flash, as though all the mental construction work I've done since the original event was simply waiting to be set into motion. It's a sensation akin to a car engine catching and turning over, to use a metaphor.

I don't use the term to refer to subconscious evaluations; that isn't an intuition, it's a "hunch" or a "suspicion": an idea that you recognize as a possibility but you haven't consciously identified yet either from laziness or lack of information.

[Eric Mathis]

I looked the word up in Dictionary.com and I noticed something added onto the definition almost as an afterthought: that intuition is a "perceptive insight".  I find this idea interesting.  After some introspection I realized that this is [the] precise mental event I mean when I use the term "intuition" and I'm now wondering how valid this is.

Albert Einstein on problem solving: “There comes a leap in consciousness, call if intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.”

"Hunches," "feelings," "intuitions" do not necessarily refer to mystical revelations. A rational mind can form conclusions without immediately being able to pinpoint all sources for that conclusion.

Just because we do not substitute intuition for formal proof, it does not follow that intuition is not an important component of learning.

[JMeganSnow]

I was wondering how valid my idea of the existential referent of the term intuition was, not whether intuitions are valid.

Personally I think it's a space/time saving mechanism, just like conceptualization. If you had to dig up "manually" every bit of information you had regarding something and try to hold the entire context mentally in order to think, you'd never get anywhere.

However, intuitions are only as correct as the mental work you did, so you still need to CHECK them manually. I say, "I had an interesting new thought," and see whether it fits with other things that I know.

[y_feldblum]

Megan, Don's explanation of intuition (which I agree with) perfectly explains the aspect that you focus on. The subconscious integrates previously automatized but unintegrated knowledge. As new integrations naturally enough yield new perspectives on the previously unintegrated knowledge, "perceptive insight" fits in the definition - not as a cause, but as an important effect.

[source]

Most often I hear the term "intuition" used when someone thinks something is wrong, but he can't quite point at what it is. When something simply doesn't add up, but you can't really tell what it is. As Morpheus puts it in the Matrix, "You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad." (although it may not be that dramatic)

If and when you get this "feeling" you doubt your first conclusion about a certain situation, and you need to re-check it in order to reach certainty.

In this context it can also be called "uncertainty" or "doubt," both of which I prefer to "intuition."

[BurgessLau]

Most often I hear the term "intuition" used when someone thinks something is wrong, but he can't quite point at what it is. When something simply doesn't add up, but you can't really tell what it is. [...]

If and when you get this "feeling" you doubt your first conclusion about a certain situation, and you need to re-check it in order to reach certainty.

In this context it can also be called "uncertainty" or "doubt," both of which I prefer to "intuition."

Your description and analysis of this phenomenon -- a feeling of discomfort coming from the subconscious, indicating uncertainty or need for caution -- is right on target. However, I would suggest that the best term for this phenomenon is "inkling."

An inkling is a message from the subconscious telling us that something needs attention -- doubt about a conclusion, for example, or, more positively, that perhaps there is an opportunity for making further progress with a little more investigation.

[DPW]

Megan, Don's explanation of intuition (which I agree with) perfectly explains the aspect that you focus on. The subconscious integrates previously automatized but unintegrated knowledge. As new integrations naturally enough yield new perspectives on the previously unintegrated knowledge, "perceptive insight" fits in the definition - not as a cause, but as an important effect.

Harry Binswanger has said that "insight" is an illegitimate concept that comes from a false theory of concepts (alas, Aristotle) and I agree with him. However, I can't think of another concept that captures what we are refrencing when we talk about "perceptive insight." Suggestions?

Don Watkins

[Hal]

Harry Binswanger has said that "insight" is an illegitimate concept that comes from a false theory of concepts (alas, Aristotle) and I agree with him.  However, I can't think of another concept that captures what we are refrencing when we talk about "perceptive insight."  Suggestions?

Don Watkins

How does the word insight, based on its standard use rather than its etymology, reflect an Arisotlean theory of concepts?

[DPW]

How does the word insight, based on its standard use rather than its etymology, reflect an Arisotlean theory of concepts?

What do you take to be its standard use?

Don Watkins

[Bold Standard]

Albert Einstein on problem solving: “There comes a leap in consciousness, call if intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.”

I'm not sure what the best word is for this. "Hunch" sounds okay, and maybe "intuition" provided it is clear from the context what is meant.

Ayn Rand does deal with this concept in an extremely insightful and innovative way in what might seem an unlikely source: The Art of Fiction.

She refers to techniques that can be described as "programming your subconscious mind" to give you immediate solutions to a problem- in the context of the book, the problem of selecting the perfect arrangement of words when telling a story. But the principles can be applied to other intellectual activities too. She gives the example of Newton's apple falling off the tree and hitting him on the head, when suddenly, he grasps his theory of gravity.

She explains the phenomenon with this aphorism: "Lucky accidents come to those who deserve them." Meaning, if you put in the necessary preliminary intellectual effort, the solution to a problem will appear at the right time. She then goes into detail on methods of "programming the subconscious mind."

It's not a mystical, unprecedented phenomenon-- but, as she points out, it does *seem* like that, when it's happening, if one is not skilled with introspection.

That's why I think The Art of Fiction is potentially one of the most psychologically important Objectivist works so far, after ITOE. You could almost build a whole scientific field of study off of it. You could call it "Critique of Intuition".. (I'm being ironic, but really I think you could.)

I will add that I agree with everything that has been said about the impossibility of what has traditionally been called "intuition" in philosophy.

[source]

However, I would suggest that the best term for this phenomenon is "inkling."

Yes. This is a good word. Thanks.

[JMeganSnow]

What do you take to be its standard use?

Is not an insight a new and/or more fundamental understanding of a certain concept or occurance? Remember also that Dr. Binswanger was probably referring to insight as it is used in a specific context, to denote the Aristotlean idea that you gain concept by letting the "essences" of extants impress themselves on your brain.

I swear, there's going to have to be a forum rule about using words if you can't identify their referents. We'll have to have a Reduction Olympics or something.

[jrs]

Albert Einstein on problem solving: “There comes a leap in consciousness, call if intuition or what you will, the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.”

Sometimes a problem is so big that it cannot all fit in one's conscious mind at once (together with the stuff that watches over or monitors it). [Think crow epistemology.] So you do a calculation, but without the ability to remember how you calculated it or to check that the calculation was done correctly. So-called "idiot savants" are famous for this kind of calculation, especially with calendar dates.

The result of this process is what we call intuition or insight or a break-through.

There are two important fact to notice about intuition:

(1) Intuition is not some mystical revelation which comes without work. On the contrary, it only occurs after one has been consciously studying and struggling with a problem for a long time. In effect, you are programming your subconscious to work on the problem.

(2) The results are questionable because the checking process was bypassed. So you must follow up the intuition with a conscious analysis to verify that the intuition is correct. Unfortunately, it will frequently be wrong. But great joy comes when it proves to be correct.

[DPW]

That's why I think The Art of Fiction is potentially one of the most psychologically important Objectivist works so far, after ITOE.  You could almost build a whole scientific field of study off of it.  You could call it "Critique of Intuition"..  (I'm being ironic, but really I think you could.)

I agree. Another great book about this topic is Blink by the author of Tipping Point. Highly recommended to anyone interested in this issue.

Don Watkins