Intuition is the ability to acquireknowledge without recourse to consciousreasoning or needing an explanation.[1][2] Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconsciouscognition; gut feelings; inner sensing; innerinsight to unconscious pattern-recognition; and the ability to understand something instinctively, without any need for conscious reasoning.[3][4] Intuitive knowledge tends to beapproximate[5] orheuristic.
The wordintuition comes from theLatin verbintueri translated as 'consider' or from theLate Middle English wordintuit, 'to contemplate'.[1][6] Use of intuition is sometimes referred to as responding to a "gut feeling" or "trusting your gut".[7]
According toSigmund Freud, knowledge could only be attained through the intellectual manipulation of carefully made observations. He rejected any other means of acquiring knowledge such as intuition. His findings could have been an analytic turn of his mind towards the subject.[8]
InCarl Jung'stheory of theego, described in 1916 inPsychological Types, intuition is an "irrational function", opposed most directly bysensation, and opposed less strongly by the "rational functions" of thinking and feeling. Jung defined intuition as "perception via the unconscious": using sense-perception only as a starting point, to bring forth ideas, images, possibilities, or ways out of a blocked situation, by a process that is mostly unconscious.[9]
Jung said that a person in whom intuition is dominant—an "intuitive type"—acts not on the basis of rational judgment but on sheer intensity of perception. An extroverted intuitive type, "thenatural champion of all minorities with a future", orients to new and promising but unproven possibilities, often leaving to chase after a new possibility before old ventures have borne fruit, oblivious to his or her own welfare in the constant pursuit of change. An introverted intuitive type orients by images from the unconscious, ever exploring thepsychic world of thearchetypes, seeking to perceive the meaning of events, but often having no interest in playing a role in those events and not seeing any connection between the contents of the psychic world and him- or herself. Jung thought that extroverted intuitive types were likely entrepreneurs, speculators, cultural revolutionaries, often undone by a desire to escape every situation before it becomes settled and constraining—even repeatedly leaving lovers for the sake of new romantic possibilities. His introverted intuitive types were likely mystics, prophets, or cranks, struggling with a tension between protecting their visions from influence by others and making their ideas comprehensible and reasonably persuasive to others—a necessity for those visions to bear real fruit. Jung's discerning between intuitive types and sensing types was later used in the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), used as polar opposites on the mind.[9]
In modern psychology, intuition can encompass the ability to know valid solutions to problems and themaking of decisions. For example, therecognition-primed decision (RPD) model explains how people can make relatively fast decisions without having to compare options.Gary Klein found that under time pressure, high stakes, and changing parameters, experts used their base of experience to identify similar situations and intuitively choose feasible solutions. The RPD model is a blend of intuition and analysis. The intuition is the pattern-matching process that quickly suggests feasible courses of action. Theanalysis is the mental simulation, a conscious and deliberate review of the courses of action.[10]
Instinct is often misinterpreted as intuition. Its reliability is dependent on past knowledge and occurrences in a specific area.[dubious –discuss] For example, someone who has had more experience with children will tend to have better instincts about what they should do in certain situations with them. This is not to say that one with a great amount of experience is always going to have an accurate intuition.[11]
Intuitive abilities were quantitatively tested at Yale University in the 1970s. While studyingnonverbal communication, researchers noted that some subjects were able to read nonverbal facial cues before reinforcement occurred.[12] Inemploying a similar design,[clarification needed] they noted that highly intuitive subjects made decisions quickly but could not identify their rationale. Their level of accuracy, however, did not differ from that of non-intuitive subjects.[13]
According to the works ofDaniel Kahneman, intuition is the ability to automatically generate solutions without long logical arguments or evidence.[14] He mentions two different systems that we use when making decisions and judgements: the first is in charge of automatic or unconscious thoughts, the second in charge of more intentional thoughts.[15][page needed] The first system is an example of intuition, and Kahneman believes people overestimate this system, using it as a source of confidence for knowledge they may not truly possess. These systems are connected with two versions of ourselves he calls the remembering self and experiencing self, relating to the creation of memories in "System 1".[jargon] Its[ambiguous] automatic nature occasionally leads people to experience cognitive illusions, assumptions that our intuition gives us and are usually trusted without a second thought.[15][page needed]
Gerd Gigerenzer described intuition as processes and thoughts that are devoid of typical logic. He described two primary characteristics to intuition: basic rules of thumb (that are heuristic in nature) and "evolved capacities of the brain".[4][page needed] The two work in tandem to give people thoughts and abilities that they do not actively think about as they are performed, and of which they cannot explain their formation or effectiveness. He does not believe that intuitionsactively correlate to[clarification needed] knowledge; he believes that having too much information makes individuals overthink, and that some intuitions will actively defy known information.[4][page needed]
Intuition is also seen as a figurative launch pad for logical thinking. Intuition's automatic nature tends to precede more thoughtful logic.[16][page needed] Even when based on moral or subjective standpoints, intuition provides a base—one that people will usually start to back up with logical thinking as a defense or justification rather than starting with a less biased viewpoint. The confidence inwhether it is an intuition or not comes from how quickly they happen, because they[clarification needed] are instantaneous feelings or judgments that we have surprising confidence in.[16][page needed]
In Hinduism, various attempts have been made to interpret how theVedic and other esoteric texts regard intuition.
ForSri Aurobindo, intuition comes under the realm of knowledge by identity. He describes the human psychological plane (often referred to asmana inSanskrit) as having two natures: The first being its role in interpreting the external world (parsing sensory information), and the second being its role in generating consciousness. He terms this second nature "knowledge by identity".[18]: 68 Aurobindo finds that, as the result of evolution, the mind has accustomed itself to using certain physiological functions as its means of entering into relations with the material world; when people seek to know about the external world, they default to arriving at truths via their senses. Knowledge by identity, which currently only explains self-awareness, may extend beyond the mind and explain intuitive knowledge.[18]: 69–71
He says this intuitive knowledge was common to older humans (Vedic) and later was superseded byreason which currently organises our perception, thoughts, and actions and which resulted in a transition from Vedic thought to metaphysical philosophy and later to experimental science. He finds that this process,which seems to be decent,[clarification needed] is actually a circle of progress, asa lower faculty is being pushed to take up as much from a higher way of working.[clarification needed][18]: 75 He says that when self-awareness in the mind is applied to one's self and to the outer (other) self, this results in luminous self-manifesting identity;[jargon] and the reason also converts itself into the form of the self-luminous[jargon] intuitional knowledge.[18]: 72 [19][18]: 7
Osho believed human consciousness is in a hierarchy from basic animalinstincts to intelligence and intuition, and humans being constantly living in that[ambiguous] conscious state often moving between these states depending on their affinity. He suggests that living in the state of intuition is one of the ultimate aims of humanity.[20]
Advaita vedanta (a school of thought) takes intuition to be an experience through which one can come in contact with and experienceBrahman.[21]
Buddhism finds intuition to be a faculty in the mind of immediate knowledge. Buddhismputs the term intuition beyond the mental process[clarification needed] of consciousthinking, as conscious thought cannot necessarily accesssubconscious information, or render such information into a communicable form.[22] InZen Buddhism various techniques have been developed to help develop one's intuitive capability, such askoans – the resolving of which leads to states of minor enlightenment (satori). In parts of Zen Buddhism intuition is deemed a mental state between the Universal mind and one's individual, discriminating mind.[23]
Early mentions and definitions of intuition can be traced back toPlato. In hisRepublic he tries to define intuition as a fundamental capacity of humanreason to comprehend the true nature ofreality.[24] In his worksMeno andPhaedo, he describes intuition as a pre-existing knowledge residing in the "soul of eternity", and as a phenomenon by which one becomes conscious of pre-existing knowledge. He provides an example of mathematical truths, and posits that they are not arrived at by reason. He argues that these truths are accessed using a knowledge already present in a dormant form and accessible to our intuitive capacity. This concept by Plato is also sometimes referred to asanamnesis. The study was later continued by his intellectual successors, theNeoplatonists.[25]
In Islam various scholars have varied interpretations of intuition (often termed ashadas,Arabic:حدس, "hitting correctly on a mark"), sometimes relating the ability to have intuitive knowledge toprophethood.Siháb al Din-al Suhrawardi, in his bookPhilosophy Of Illumination (ishraq), from following influences of Plato, finds that intuition is knowledge acquired through illumination and is mystical in nature; he also suggests mystical contemplation (mushahada) to bring about correct judgment.[26] Also influenced by Platonic ideas,Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) finds the ability to have intuition is a "prophetic capacity" and he describes intuition as knowledge obtained without intentionally acquiring it. He finds that regular knowledge is based on imitation while intuitive knowledge is based on intellectual certitude.[27]
In his bookMeditations on First Philosophy,Descartes refers to an "intuition" (from theLatin verbintueor, which means "to see") as a pre-existing knowledge gained through rational reasoning or discovering truth through contemplation. This definition states that "whatever I clearly and distinctly perceive to be true is true";[28] this is commonly referred to asrational intuition[29] It is a component of a potential logical mistake called theCartesian circle. Intuition anddeduction, says Descartes, are the unique possible sources of knowledge of the human intellect;[30] the latter is a "connected sequence of intuitions",[31] each of which isa priori aself-evident, clear and distinct idea, before it is connected with the other ideas within a logical demonstration.
Hume has a more ambiguous interpretation of intuition. Hume claims intuition is a recognition of relationships (relation of time, place, and causation). He states that "the resemblance" (recognition of relations) "will strike the eye" (which would not require further examination) but goes on to state, "or rather in mind"—attributing intuition to power of mind, contradicting the theory ofempiricism.[32]
Immanuel Kant’s notion of "intuition" differs considerably from the Cartesian notion. It consists of the basic sensory information provided by thecognitive faculty of sensibility (equivalent to what might loosely be calledperception). Kant held that ourmind casts all of our external intuitions in the form ofspace, and all of our internal intuitions (memory, thought) in the form of time.[33]
Intuitions are customarily appealed to[clarification needed] independently of any particular theory of how intuitions provide evidence for claims. There are divergent accounts of what sort of mental state intuitions are, ranging from mere spontaneous judgment to a special presentation of a necessary truth.[34] Philosophers such asGeorge Bealer have tried to defend appeals to intuition againstQuinean doubts aboutconceptual analysis.[35]
A different challenge to appeals to intuition comes fromexperimental philosophers, who argue that appeals to intuition must be informed by the methods of social science.[citation needed]
Themetaphilosophical assumption that philosophy ought to depend on intuitions has been challenged by experimental philosophers (e.g.,Stephen Stich).[36] One of the main problems adduced by experimental philosophers is that intuitions differ, for instance, from one culture to another, and so it seems problematic to cite them as evidence for a philosophical claim.[37]Timothy Williamson responded to such objections against philosophical methodology by arguing that intuition plays no special role in philosophy practice, and that skepticism about intuition cannot be meaningfully separated from a generalskepticism about judgment. On this view, there are no qualitative differences between the methods of philosophy andcommon sense, the sciences, or mathematics.[38] Others likeErnest Sosa seek to support intuition by arguing that the objections against intuition merely highlighta verbal disagreement[clarification needed].[39]
In a 2022Harvard Business Review article, Melody Wilding explored "how to stop overthinking and start trusting your gut", noting that "intuition... is frequently dismissed as mystical or unreliable". She suggested that there is a scientific basis for using intuition and refers to "surveys of top executives [which] show that a majority of leaders leverage feelings and experience when handling crises".[7] However, an earlierHarvard Business Review article ("Don't Trust Your Gut") advises that, although "trust in intuition is understandable... anyone who thinks that intuition is a substitute forreason is indulging in a risky delusion".[40]
"intuition".Oxford Dictionaries. Archived fromthe original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved22 December 2014.
Epstein, Seymour (30 November 2010). "Demystifying Intuition: What It Is, What It Does, and How It Does It".Psychological Inquiry.21 (4):295–312.doi:10.1080/1047840X.2010.523875.S2CID145683932.
^Giannini, A.J.; Daood, J.; Giannini, M.C.; Boniface, R.; Rhodes, P.G. (1978). "Intellect versus intuition--dichotomy in the reception of nonverbal communication".Journal of General Psychology.99:19–24.doi:10.1080/00221309.1978.9920890.
^Giannini, A.J.; Barringer, M.E.; Giannini, M.C.; Loiselle, R.H. (1984). "Lack of relationship between handedness and intuitive and intellectual (rationalistic) modes of information processing".Journal of General Psychology.111:31–37.doi:10.1080/00221309.1984.9921094.
^L. Mursell, James. "The Function of Intuition in Descartes' Philosophy of Science".The Philosophical Review. 4. Vol. 28. USA: Duke University Press. pp. 391–401.
^Lynch, M. "Trusting Intuitions". In Greenough, P.; Lynch, M. (eds.).Truth and Realism. pp. 227–238.
^Bealer, G. (1998). "Intuition and The Autonomy of Philosophy". In Depaul, M.; Ramsey, W. (eds.).Rethinking Intuition: The Psychology of Intuition and Its Role In Philosophical Inquiry. pp. 201–239.
^Mallon, Ron; Machery, Edouard; Nichols, Shaun; Stich, Stephen (September 2009). "Against Arguments from Reference".Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.79 (2):332–356.doi:10.1111/j.1933-1592.2009.00281.x.ISSN0031-8205.
^Robson, Martin; Miller, Peter (2006)."Australian elite leaders and intuition".Australasian Journal of Business and Social Inquiry.4 (3). Retrieved17 October 2025.[...] a small but distinguished sample of leaders of significant Australian organisations referred to in this study as Australian elite leaders (AEL) [...] define intuition as a non-rational, holistic, cognitive process that is enhanced by experience and associated with affect; [...] AEL not only use intuition frequently but also consider it very important to their effectiveness as leaders, particularly in circumstances of complexity, time constraint, lack of information and judgements about people.
^Pinizzotto, Anthony J.; Davis, Edward F.; Miller, Charles E. III (2004-02-01)."Emotional/rational decision making in law enforcement".The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.Essentially, Goleman and LeDoux feel that people often perceive danger signals and can begin to initiate responses to them before becoming consciously aware of them. This preconscious recognition of danger and how humans can react appropriately to it have been explained by several authors...
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