He Intuitive knowledge Is to recognize patterns and know how to make decisions without conscious information processing. It is developed with experiences, as it is based on pattern recognition.
For example, a firefighter who has experienced many fires may know"intuitively"when a building is going to fall. In experiences he has learned to recognize a series of signs in buildings that indicate that they will fall. However, this is not done consciously.
According to the definition offered by the Dictionary of Philosophy by José Ferrater Mora, intuitive knowledge is"equivalent to an intuition or direct apprehension of the known or knowable object."
The key to this type of knowledge is spontaneity. It is based on intuition, on the sensitive dimension of the human being. For this reason, it may appear associated with hunch calls.
Intuitive knowledge allows solve problems Of everyday life and quickly recognize the feelings, feelings or gestures own and others.
In this type of knowledge does not operate with logic, but is based on perception. This fact links intuitive knowledge with sensory knowledge.
In the course of human life, it could be said that a child applies this type of knowledge more often than an adult, since his reasoning will not be very deep or rigorous but will be based more on perception.
It is considered that intuitive knowledge complements rational knowledge, offering the initial clues for its complete configuration.
On the other hand, some studies in patients with amnesia have shown that implicit memory (as it is also called intuition) can influence human behavior, does not require reasoning, and can help to perform specific tasks.
Characteristics of intuitive knowledge
Some characteristics of this type of knowledge are:
- It is innate.
- It's immediate.
- Is sensible.
- It is obvious.
- It refers to the practical, not the theoretical.
- It does not require mediation of reason or justification.
- It is not linear.
- It is not causal.
- It can be learned, developed or tuned.
- It is based on non-verbal language.
- It is related to creativity, because it encourages the formation of images in the brain.
- It has different levels of development.
Intuitive knowledge in history
Johannes Hessen, a German philosopher who devoted himself to the study of a Christian philosophy, divided intuitive knowledge into rational and irrational: the first, apprehended evidences that have to do with thought; While the second apprehends evidences that have to do with the feeling and the will.
Also, in his book Theory of knowledge , Made a journey through the role of this type of knowledge in history.
Plato Is the first to mention a spiritual intuition, affirming that ideas are perceived immediately, thanks to a rational intuition. Then, Plotinus, his disciple, continues this approach in his treatise"On Contemplation."
In San Agustin Also the presence of this notion, when it equates Plotinus's Nudes with the Christian God, by means of a mystical emotional, spiritual vision.
This mystical vision is very well received in the Middle Ages , When considered as a source of truly reliable truth.
However, he found in Aristotelianism a counterpart which, unlike a mystical vision according to which God can be experienced immediately, argues that knowing God requires a rational discourse.
Then Descartes And Pascal pose intuition as an autonomous and valid source of knowledge. And David Hume, believes that there is a rational knowledge and another that has a more practical and irrational, faith, which allows the certainty of reality.
During the eighteenth century, some English philosophers argue that the ethical judgment of the human being rests on intuition rather than reflection.
Also German idealism of the sixteenth century gave an important role to intuition. While Fichte speaks of a metaphysical-rational intuition, Schelling speaks of an intellectual intuition that allows us to apprehend reality, and Schopenhauer introduces the theme of a spiritual intuition with which the essence of things is apprehended.
On the other hand, the nineteenth century finds in Fries and Schleiermacher, a pair of scholars who take the intuitive knowledge to the religious field.
Fires, establishes three sources of knowledge: knowledge, faith and foreboding; And Scheleiermacher, argues that religion is"a feeling and an intuition of the universe."
Contemporary philosophy, at least represented by the schools of Marburg and Baden, do not consider the validity of intuitive knowledge in the search for truth, but defend the primacy of a rational discursive knowledge.
The followers of critical realism also do not credit intuitive knowledge, except in some cases in the metaphysical terrain. It even comes to represent a primitive certainty of reality.
Some proponents of this form of knowledge in more recent times are: Bergson, believer that it is with intuition that one reaches the essential knowledge of things, Dilthey, who believes that intuition is irrational, and phenomenologists, for whom the object Of intuition is the essence of reality.
On the other hand, there are those who defend the idea that attention to intuitive knowledge tends to be greater in rural or underdeveloped cultures (indigenous communities, for example), because they lack the means and the instruction to adequately process certain stimuli.
On the other hand, its innate character does not imply the same level of development in all people. In fact, it is believed that Plasticity of the human brain Allows it to be developed and refined with practice.
In short, when speaking of intuitive knowledge, one could be speaking of a primary stage of knowledge, in which a first impression of the perceived object is formed. A first impression nourished on the emotions that provoke in the person who observes.
Intuitive knowledge is a type of knowledge that will continue to be studied by scientists interested in discovering the possibilities of brain and the Human intelligence .
References
- Aguilar Enrique (2010). Hessen and the theory of knowledge. Retrieved from: esmok.blogspot.com
- , Pp. The intuitive as learning for the development of creative activity in students. Recovered from: humanidadesmedicas.sld.cu
- Didier, Julia (2006). What is intuitive knowledge? In Dictionary of Philosophy. Recovered from: pymex.pe
- . Intuition as part of scientific activity. Retrieved from: researchgate.net
- Encyclopedia of Characteristics (2017). 10 Characteristics of intuition. Recovered from: caracteristicas.co
- Lara, Ruperto (2004). Intuition and knowledge in Education, Culture and Society Magazine year IV, No. 7, December 2004, pp. 194-195.
- Luque Rodríguez, Joaquín (1993). Knowledge. Retrieved from: http://personal.us.es
- Science Blog (2009). The neurological basis of intuition. Retrieved from: scienceblogs.com
- Zepeda, Roberto (2015). Intuitive, religious, empirical, philosophical and scientific knowledge. Retrieved from: gestiopolis.com.