laura@utcsstat.UUCP (08/17/83)
If mysticism is to be avoided, how does one come to terms with the flashes of intuition that characterise the understanding of new things? They seem rather similar in nature to some of the 'revalations' of the mystics, and also rather contrary to socially accpetable belief in the rational. The slow, plodding thinker may actually use reason to aquire knowledge, but many of the men considered to be most 'rational' seem instead to be posessed of a keen intuition. laura creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura
myers@uwvax.ARPA (Jeff Myers) (08/21/83)
Laura brings up the interesting point about the role of intuition in otherwise 'rational' minds. The usual non-mystical answer which is given to her question is that intuition is simply a faster-than-light burst of sub-conscious rational thought. Suddenly all the pieces of a problem fit together when one has all the data and it's churned around in the noggin for a while. Jeff Myers@uwvax
laura@utcsstat.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (08/22/83)
If you posit a non-mystical solution to where does intuition come from (actually, mysticism is very complex, and it is misleading to talk about "the one true mystical solution") does it help? If I am still dependant on all the crud in my subconcsious making its way to the surface at FTL speeds, can I be rational? How can i build a model of all the stuff in my subconscious? Even *exploring* it is difficult! Do i have to wait for revalation? What if it never comes? How is this revalation different from "standard mystical revalation" in terms of the ability to act rationally? laura creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura
myers@uwvax.ARPA (Jeff Myers) (08/24/83)
OK, I'll play devil's advocate in the intuition vs. rationality debate; I did the same with a rather thick-header prof as a freshman. Arguments postulating that intuition is merely speedy, subconscious rationality is essentially founded in a presumposition (sp?) that the mind is simply an incredibly complex machine. I.e., with a sufficient knowledge of how neurons work, DNA, ad infinitum, we could design a Turing machine which would perform in the same manner as a given human brain. At this point in human knowledge, we must take one or the other side of the issue essentially on faith. Jeff Myers@uwvax