We tend to dismiss gut feelings as irrational heuristics, but ordinary intuition functions much like sensory perception by directly presenting facts with rational force. Just as seeing a car in the garage makes its presence immediately apparent, an instant aversion to a stranger or a suspicious email presents a conclusion without requiring an explicit chain of reasoning. This capacity operates continuously in daily life, bridging the gap between simple sensory awareness and abstract philosophical thought experiments.
Treating intuition as perceptual makes sense of why we can act reasonably on hunches we cannot yet articulate. At the same time, we still lack a clear account of when this mechanism misfires, meaning our immediate seemings require careful calibration against actual evidence. It is a useful framework for understanding the mind, but not an excuse to stop checking your work.
more: https://aeon.co/essays/sometimes-you-just-know-somethings-off-but-how
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