We explain what intuition is, how to get there and its characteristics. Also, how to differentiate it from what is not intuition
What is intuition?
When one speaks of intuition or, popularly, of "a hunch", it generally refers to the ability to immediately perceive or know some aspect of the reality that surrounds us, without reasoning or the ability to deductive.
That is to say, intuited things are those that are known through non-rational and often non-conscious paths, which cannot be explained or even verbalized. For this reason, they have been popularly considered as the result of thinking “with the heart” or instead of with the head, since in the traditional imaginary the head is associated with ideas, and the heart with feelings or with the world of subjectivity.
However, the term intuition, from the Latin intuitio, "Look inward," appears in various philosophical and psychological jargons, often as the equivalent of knowledge evident. It was the object of study of the philosophers of the rationalism, the empiricism and criticism, in the Modern age, although it is currently studied by the psychology and neurology. In popular language it is often used as synonymous of foreboding.
Characteristics of intuition
Intuition is characterized, broadly speaking, by:
- It is a form of immediate, direct knowledge, the acquisition of which is not mediated by any reasoning, no deduction, and no conscious act.
- It can be understood as a form of non-critical consciousness, that is, of perception unaware of the environment.
- Intuition manifests itself in an unexpected way, and offers a real, factual knowledge of reality.
- There are different possible explanations for its existence, but in general it is accepted as a form of unconscious knowledge that comes from analyzing the environment or previous patterns of the experience, without ever becoming an intentional thought.
What is not intuition?
Although they are sometimes taken as synonyms, intuition is not the same as premonition, magic or some kind of telepathy, things that are more on the side of fiction than on the side of reality. Rather, intuition is a process quite real thinking.
We can speak of intuition when we have acquired some knowledge unconsciously, as if sectors of our mind operate without our consent and suddenly come up with a solution. But one cannot speak of intuition as a superpower, nor of a kind of mental magic.
A good example of what intuition is is provided by computing, an area in which computer models that are easy to understand, that is, that are guided by something similar to "common sense", are branded as "intuitive". This means that a personWithout the need to study it or without long and long explanations, he is able to understand for himself how this system should operate.