Intuitive Knowledge

We explain what intuitive knowledge is, its validity, importance and other characteristics. In addition, its relationship with rational knowledge.

1. What is intuitive knowledge?

By intuitive knowledge or intuitive thinking we usually refer to the forms of immediate knowledge that do not come from rational and conscious processes, that is, that are obtained without previous analysis and reasoning, but are the result of certain unconscious processes that we usually call intuition

Intuitive thinking is generally fast, flexible, and linked to creativity, so you don't usually know where it comes from, that is, it is dark, hermetic. Therefore, it is not always considered a valid way of thinking, especially in formal settings, although when it comes to solving problems it is as valid as any other.

Intuition has been the field of study of psychology and the Theory of knowledge, and although it is often linked with pseudosciences and occult explanations, its presence in the human brain is undeniable. It is simply due to unconscious processes, rather than supernatural perceptions.

1. Characteristics of intuitive knowledge

Intuitive knowledge, as we said above, is part of informal, often inexplicable, forms of knowledge that flow rapidly and without prior analysis. We often realize its existence when we face novel situations .

Intuitive knowledge is usually obtained from similar, or remotely similar, past situations, so that the individual manages to make a sort of creative deduction to solve the problem that arises.

Intuitive knowledge usually manifests itself in moments of risk, of pressure of immediacy, in which there is no time frame for reasoning or evaluation. It occurs in the form of immediate or creative spontaneous or logical actions.

It can serve you: logical thinking

1. Examples of intuitive knowledge

Some examples of intuitive knowledge are:

• Empathy often operates on the basis of intuitive knowledge, when it allows us to know the mood of a person without knowing it beforehand, or without explicit manifestations of sentimentality (crying, cries of pain, etc.).
• In risky situations, intuitive knowledge gives us an advantage of survival, allowing us an immediate reaction or a second of doubt before taking action. For example, when they offer us a drink and something tells us not to take it, it can be our intuition by deducing something strange in the environment and warning us of the danger.
• When we have performed a task for a long time, or are familiar with some type of activity that is given to us easily, it is more common to observe intuitive knowledge appear: we are so accustomed to the task, that if we are posed with a different one, we can apply its patterns to the new and deduct things before they are explained to us.

1. Importance of intuitive knowledge

Intuitive thinking and intuitive knowledge are forms of reasoning closely linked to the subconscious and our irrational aspects. That is precisely why they enjoy some speed and freedom in our minds.

This means that they are primitive but functional modes of thinking and learning, part of our animal aspect, or simply of our less visible mental scheme. In any case, it is a form of knowledge that will always be available, even if we lack formal and rational education .

1. Intuitive knowledge and rational knowledge

Intuitive knowledge often opposes rational knowledge, to the extent that the latter is not fast and unconscious, but more leisurely and visible, conscious .

In addition, rational knowledge is the result of an effort to accumulate information, deduce new data from the premises and reach logical, replicable, demonstrable conclusions. If intuitive knowledge is formed in secret, the rational instead needs training, training and practice, depending on what it is.

1. Other types of knowledge

Other types of knowledge are:

• Religious knowledge . It is linked to the mystical and religious experience, that is, to the knowledge that studies the link between the human being and the divine.
• Scientific knowledge . It is derived from the application of the scientific method to the different hypotheses that arise from the observation of reality, in order to demonstrate through experiments what are the laws that govern the universe.
• Empirical knowledge . It is acquired through direct experience, repetition or participation, without requiring an approximation of the abstract, but from the things themselves.
• Philosophical knowledge It follows from human thought, in the abstract, by using various logical or formal reasoning methods, which does not always follow directly from reality, but from the imaginary representation of the real.