trc@houti.UUCP (T.CRAVER) (08/23/83)
Response to Laura Creighton: I agree that "intuition" is mysterious, but I dont believe that it is necessary to go to mysticism to explain it. I would point out that such intuitive flashes are rarely (if ever) had by someone who doesnt have much, if not all, the information needed to have made the "jump" just from logic. (Of course, the human mind is very capable of "filling the gaps" in knowledge, with good guesses.) While it might seem to be merely begging the question, I think that it is more reasonable to fall back on unexplained mental processes in a mind that is *known* to exist, than to hypothesize an unexplained process originating in something for which there is no evidence. You also provided a hint in your note as to the source of intuition - "men considered to be most 'rational' seem instead to be posessed of a keen intuition". In fact, I suspect that they are *both* rational and intuitive. I would hypothesize that they have *automaticized* some of their common rational processes so thoroughly that they may not even be aware of the process - just as you and I can forget we are walking or driving, and think about other things. Also, intuition seems to have a great deal to do with creativity - which seems to be supported by, but separate from rationality. Perhaps the intuitive person is one who has made rational processes automatic, so that while dreaming or fantasizing creative imagery, the rational processes simultaneously seek patterns and order from those images. When a possible solution to a problem is discovered, alarm bells go off, the solution rises to the conscious mind, and the subconscious feeling of the solution "fitting" the problem intrudes into the conscious mind - giving the experience of mystical certainty of rightness. In fact, this might be part of the origin of religions - some primitive asked questions, and intuition gave an answer. The feeling of "rightness" convinced the primitive that the answer was a mystical experience. However, this is not to imply that there can not be other factors involved. It has become a cliche to speak of having the "brain of an Einstein". Perhaps it is partially true - that an intuitive ability is partial inherited. However, I think that, for most people, it is early experiences with learning and thinking that determine their sharpness of mind that has the predominant influence. Tom Craver houti!trc