- Publisher: Cambridge University Press
- Available in: Hardback
- ISBN: 9781107022393
- Published: August 1, 2014
Edited with Lisa M. Osbeck, University of West Georgia
What is intuition? What constitutes an intuitive process? Why are intuition concepts important? After many years of scholarly neglect, interest in intuition is now exploding in psychology and cognitive science. Moreover, intuition is also enjoying a renaissance in philosophy. Yet no single definition of intuition appears in contemporary scholarship; there is no consensus on the meaning of this concept in any discipline. Rational Intuition focuses on conceptions of intuition in relation to rational processes. Covering a broad range of historical and contemporary contexts, prominent philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive scientists explore how intuition is implicated in rational activity in its diverse forms. In bringing the philosophical history of intuition into novel dialogue with contemporary philosophical and empirical research, Lisa M. Osbeck and Barbara S. Held invite a comparison of the conceptions and functions of intuition, thereby clarifying and advancing conceptual analysis across disciplines.
- Comprehensive comparison of historical philosophical understandings of intuition with contemporary empirical (psychological/cognitive science) meanings and uses
- Exploration of intuition’s role in various forms of rational activity, including scientific reasoning
- Unique approach to philosophy of science – explores the meanings of a concept through analysis of its divergent contexts of use, with experts in each area providing detailed analysis
Reviews
“Rational Intuition is a timely collection on the philosophy and psychology of intuition. It is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the methodology of philosophy or the nature of human cognition.”
Ernest Sosa, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers University
“The only collection of its kind, this is a remarkable scholarly compendium of diverse philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific chapters about the timely and important topic of intuition. It is crucial for anyone interested in cutting-edge ideas about rationality and intuition. Philosophers, cognitive neuroscientists, and others will come away with an enriched perspective on this important multidisciplinary subject.”
John Kounios, Director of the Doctoral Program in Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Drexel University
“As a tightly edited and broadly interdisciplinary volume, Rational Intuition showcases scholarship that cuts through the dross and shows how we can make sense of intuition as a central concept in psychology and philosophy. A smart and engaging collection, the volume will serve to demonstrate the importance of intuition to wider fields of study and save it from the confusion in which it has languished in recent years.”
Henderikus J. Stam, editor of Theory and Psychology