Intuition and logic
And so, with heavy concerns accompanied by hopes that weigh as little as a grain of dust, I return to ask you about one of my favorite topics. This is out of hope, even if it is a grainy one, that we can make a little more progress than in the past.
- I argued: Although logic is a necessity (and therefore is on the first floor of human knowledge and/or judgments), there is a more basic floor below it on which logic depends.
- I don’t mean the modal principles that we argued about in the past. Let’s put those aside for now.
- I mean the intuitive ability that you and I believe exists.
- I asked: Would you agree that our intuitive faculty is in a more basic and “primary” position than logic?
- What do you think?
I think the question is not well defined. If you mean to ask what we should do when there is a conflict between logic and intuition, then my answer is that in such a situation intuition is rejected because logic is necessary and intuition is not. But this is not because logic is more basic but because it is more necessary. For example, if I have an intuition that both X and not X, then it is rejected.
We can also see that in the case of a contradiction between logic and intuition, the person who says there is a contradiction initially chose logic, because that person chose to determine that there is a contradiction and that he needs to discard one thing rather than determine that there is no contradiction (in an illogical way).
It also seems that we can say that there is a hierarchy in intuitions according to their degree of clarity and coherence, and the intuition on which logic is based is the most basic. After all, the intuition on which logic is based is an intuition without which it is not possible to create consistent thoughts, and thoughts that are not consistent lack intellectual relevance to us.
I agree with the first comment. Regarding the second, I agree that there is a hierarchy between intuitions (and therefore the question is not well defined, because it assumes that there is some given validity to intuition). But I have been wondering for some time now whether logic is really based on intuition, since in my opinion it claims nothing and therefore does not need to base its claims on anything. It simply points out connections between things and they are such because they are such. No basis is needed for that. I think I even wrote once that intuition is the foundation of logic, but today I tend not to think so.
1. I will start with your last sentence:
“Intuition is the foundation of logic”.
2. This sentence expresses exactly my argument.
3. The intuitive faculty is, in my opinion, the “image of God” in man. To the extent that it can be said that God is endowed with reason and knowledge, then His knowledge is full and immediate and does not depend on the timeline.
To the same extent, the intuitive faculty (which He Himself implanted in us) is full, immediate and ”supratemporal”.
4. On the other hand, logic expresses the human side of the human spirit insofar as it is discursive in nature: it builds its object part by part (from reason to conclusion), it does so in a mediating manner, and at least from the human perspective it proceeds from potential to actual within the timeline.
5. In short: Logic achieves its object (say when it creates a definition or an assertion) as a pale ”imitation” of the way intuition does it.
6. The intuitive faculty was bestowed upon us by God so that we could flirt a little with metaphysical truths (of which He Himself stands at the center).
7. In this respect, logic is made possible (and even arises) from the intuitive faculty.
8. From the fact that we decide, as you say, by means of logic between contradictory intuitions, it does not follow that logic is “necessary” any more.
9. The reason is because my question was not about specific cases of intuitive cognition but about the first origins of the human spirit (in which intuitions and logic are also found).
It seems to me that we have now reached the final stage. Everyone has had their say, and the voter will choose.
It was quick. Not exactly reasoned and to the point, but definitely quick. With a little effort on my part, I can imagine possible worlds in which this kind of philosophical criterion would serve its owner.
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