by Mariam Rafehi The word "intuition" is as impalpable in its meaning as is the wisdom it carries. It's a visceral sensation, a feeling, a soundless whisper, a tingling spring. To make explicit an experience that feels entirely implicit to me, I'm looking at descriptions of intuition through the lenses of philosophy and cognitive sciences.
In/to/it/i/on (intuition)
First, I briefly reference Immanuel Kant's philosophical concept of intuition while relating his views to modern-day theories in cognitive sciences and psychology. Finally, considering the role of intuition in creativity, I am referencing a practice from the Social Presencing Theater to deliberately invite intuition into creative processes.
Intuition, set in contrast to conscious reasoning, describes an immediate and non-discursive knowledge. In Immanuel Kant's epistemology, intuition (or Anschauung in German) facilitates the construction of knowledge through sensory data, which allows us to apprehend objects in space and time. In other words, intuition is a form of perception that provides the raw material for grounding our experiences in meaningful concepts. The German word Anschauung directly references the visual sense, however, it can also be translated as the process of contemplation. In his "Critique of Pure Reason," Kant distinguished between sensory-based intuition and internalized intellectual concepts, suggesting that intuition serves as the immediate, experiential foundation upon which we come to know and understand reality.
This duality in human cognition aligns with contemporary research on perceptual processes. Dual-process theory categorizes thought as two distinct systems, where intuition (System 1) refers to fast, unconscious processing and acts in contrast to (System 2) slow, analytical processing. In cognitive sciences, therefore, intuition refers to the brain's capacity to quickly and automatically recognize patterns and stimuli based on prior experiences. These unconscious processes are critical in decision-making, problem-solving, and creativity. According to Unconscious Thought Theory (UTT), when individuals allow their minds to wander or engage in distractions, their unconscious mind can process large amounts of complex, multi-dimensional information in ways that may not be accessible to conscious thought.
In the context of creativity, specifically distributed creativity, the cognitive processes of the unconscious mind can be thought to draw from a vast array of sensory inputs, such as environmental stimuli and social interactions, to synthesize multi-dimensional information into richer and more diverse creative visions. In my work, I have experimented with somatic practices and employed exercises from the Social Presencing Theater with the intention of waking a visceral, intuitive moment. One practice that invites grounding before creative collaboration is the 20-Minute Dance by the Presencing Institute. The 20-Minute Dance is a mindfulness practice designed to foster a deeper connection to the present moment. It helps practitioners develop awareness of their mind wandering while bringing bodily sensations and sensory experiences to the foreground. By focusing on the sensations of movement and stillness, participants find greater clarity and creativity with each other. I'm sharing here the web resource for the 20 Minute Dance with an invitation to try it in your next creative collaboration: https://www.u-school.org/20mindance
Bibliography
Dijksterhuis, A., & Nordgren, L. F. (2006). A theory of unconscious thought. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(2), 95-109.
Glăveanu, V. P. (2014). Distributed creativity: Thinking outside the box of the creative individual. Springer.
Kant, I. (1781/1787). Critique of Pure Reason. (Trans. P. Guyer & A. W. Wood, 1998). Cambridge University Press.
Peirce, C. S. (1878). Deduction, induction, and hypothesis. Popular Science Monthly, 13, 470-482.
Thagard, P., & Stewart, T. C. (2011). The aha! experience: Creativity through emergent binding in neural networks. Cognitive Science, 35(1), 1-33.
Von Thienen, J., Meinel, C., & Nicolai, C. (2014). How design thinking tools help to solve wicked problems. Design Thinking Research, 97-120.
u-school. (n.d.). 20 Minute Dance. u-school. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from https://www.u-school.org/20mindance