 86. Intuition |
The purpose of a Zen "Koan" is to "baffle" the brain so that it stops and is "stalled." In this stillness of no thought an "insight" can occur into the nature of things, or even better, a person may experience their true "inner self" (prior to thought). This is Satori, Nirvana, self realization, samadhi, super consciousness, heaven, etc. It may only last an instant or it may last for hours, days, weeks, but hopefully, the rest of one's life.
Socrates refers to the state of self-realization as knowledge, or true knowledge because it never changes. If something does not change, then it must be eternal. If it is eternal, then it must be that which is referred to as eternal spirit, or God, i.e., SELF is also God realization.
Intuition, in philosophy, a form of knowledge or of cognition independent of experience or reason. The intuitive faculty and intuitive knowledge are generally regarded as inherent qualities of the mind. (Actually it is the knowledge of the inner true eternal self.) The term has been used in different, sometimes opposing, senses by various writers and cannot be defined except with reference to its meaning in the writings of an individual philosopher. The concept of intuition apparently arose from two sources: the mathematical idea of an axiom (a self-evident proposition that requires no proof) and the mystical idea of revelation (truth that surpasses the power of the intellect).
Intuition was important in Greek philosophy, particularly in the thinking of such philosophers as Pythagoras and his followers, who were trained in mathematics. The concept also had great significance in much of Christian philosophy as one of the basic ways in which as person could know God.
The Greeks understood intuition to be the grasp of universal principles by the intelligence (nous), as distinguished from the fleeting impressions of the senses. The distinction used by the Greeks implied the superiority of intellectual intuitions over information received by the senses. Christian thinkers made a distinction between intuitive and discursive knowledge: God and angels know directly (intuitively) what men reach by reasoning.
