Descartes' and Locke's Impacts on Views of Intuition
Summary:
An examination of two professors' articles on the concept of intuition and the degree to which they are influenced by Descartes and Locke. Both scholars agree that the process of intuition is an important way to attain knowledge, but they have different supporting arguments and examples to illustrate their positions on the role of intuition.
Many philosophers have had a profound impact on our views of what constitutes certain or true knowledge and how it is attained. In this lesson, I have learned how some of these philosophers continue to affect our ideas on how we come to know things. Furthermore, I have also examined how Professors Cappon and Myers are influenced by Descartes and Locke about the existence of intuition. They both agree that the process of intuition is an important way to attain knowledge. Despite the fact that Cappon offers more unqualified support for intuition than Professor Myers does, I still found that Cappon's supporting arguments appear to be closer and sounder to the positions of Descartes and Locke than Myers' viewpoints are.
In Myers' The Powers and Perils of Intuition, he concludes that, "Intuition is a big part of human decision making. But the complementary truth is that intuition often errs." Although he is not opposed to the idea that intuition is a very effective way to attain knowledge, he says, "It is a wonder." He asks the reader to listen to its promptings but to be aware that it "works well in some areas, but needs restraints and checks in other." Also, he lists some examples where intuition has proved the wrong way to attempt to attain knowledge. When an airline pilot trusted his intuition and decided to listen to an air traffic controller whose computer system was down, rather than his own on-board computer, he crashed. The intuitive instinct in this case was to believe the human being and not the machine. This was the wrong thing to do. In another example, Myers says that intuition told our ancestors to think that the sun circled the earth; Galileo's logical analysis told him that the earth circled the sun. In the third example, Myers states that some professions appear to be more subject to faulty intuitions than others. Moreover, Professor Myers refers to coaches, athletes, investors, interviewers, gamblers, and psychics as being the victims of illusory intuitions. Regardless Myers lists many examples to illustrate the unreliability of intuition, he does not have enough arguments to support his position on the process of intuition is an important way to attain knowledge. In his writing, Myers mainly describes how intuition destroys humans' lives instead of portrays the important role it is to assist individuals to acquire knowledge. Myers agrees that true or certain knowledge is achieved through intuition, though he believes intuition is deceiving all the times. For this reason, I do not fall into Myers' viewpoints about the process of intuition is an important way to attain knowledge.
Influenced by Descartes' and Locke's view of how one attains true knowledge, Professor Daniel Cappon maintains that intuition has always been a vital part of human intelligence. Although Cappon believes that intuition takes place unconsciously and it has not been given proper recognition in our time as an important way of attaining knowledge, in his writing, The Anatomy of Intuition, he states that, "Intuition is responsible for the survival of the species. Its long evolutionary history has made it a deeply buried power of the mind." By seeing this line, Professor Cappon illustrates the important role of intuition in humans' lives. He keeps on saying, "There is no way that our human ancestors could have survived without intuition." As in this case, he clearly says that intuition has always been a major part of human intelligence. The survival needs of our ancestors were so great that an instantaneous response was required. On the other hand, Cappon's writing also explains that the problems that grip the Earth, such as massive pollution, overpopulation, and famine, cannot be solved using logical thinking alone because logic proceeds step-by-step, one thing at a time. A way of thinking that sees that entire picture, not just of the causes of pollution alone but also of how these causes are aggravated by other social and economic problems, is needed. This is kind of thinking provided by intuition. Moreover, logical thinking is in the manner of Aristotle's syllogisms. Intuition zigzags and, as a result, sees the whole picture and knows how all the parts fit together to create the whole. Stated as premise, I think Professor Cappon offers the superior philosophical viewpoints than Myers does.
Intuition obviously plays a considerable role in our life. It appears to me that intuition is inseparable from our perception. People treat intuition as a way to gain knowledge. As a matter of fact, people often mistake the notion of true knowledge. There are lots of examples to which we can easily relate in our every day life. My friend, Emma, a teenage girl, is in a romantic relationship with her classmate Ronald, and Ronald goes over to her place on a regular basis, let say, once a week. Emma, on this particular day, decides to introduce him to her parents. At the moment her parents meet Ronald, they think that Ronald is by no means a good person, and they do not want Emma to go out with him ever again. The impression and the judgments they have are based on their intuition, they only think Ronald is a bad person at the first sight without really getting to know him. The assessment seems automatic and flawed, yet it is so powerful and it almost always governs the way we perceive people. Early in this case, we can see that intuition plays a big role on Emma and Ronald's relationship. Later, Emma's parents figure out that Ronald was born in a noble family and has a high education. For this scenario, Kant would say, although intuition has an important role in our lives, it takes place unconsciously, it cannot help individuals to attain true knowledge only by itself.
Philosophers who lived centuries ago continue to influence contemporary views of how one attains true or certain knowledge and what constitutes it. In this lesson, I have examined how Professors Cappon and Myers are influenced by Descartes and Locke about the existence of intuition. Although they both agree that the process of intuition is an important way to attain knowledge, they have different supporting arguments and examples to illustrate their positions on the role of intuition. Regardless Professor Cappon offers more unqualified support for intuition than Professor Myers does, I personally think that Cappon's supporting arguments appear to be closer and sounder to the positions of Descartes and Locke than Myers' viewpoints are. Also, Professor Cappon has a clearer position than Myers has. Stated as premise, those reasons are why I regard Cappon's viewpoints as superior.
This is the complete article, containing 1,094 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page).
