internetzdude t1_jc3brp2 wrote on March 13, 2023 at 7:04 PM

I recommend recommend Hintikka's The Emperor's New Intuitions (1999) for arguments why intuitions as a source of evidence are useless and a huge scandal in philosophy. Intuitions used to be a methodological shortcut in natural language syntax because native speakers have (to a certain extent, which used to be a bit exaggerated) a capacity to judge the grammaticality of sentences even in light of frequent performance errors. There is no evidence of such a capacity about philosophical matters. To be honest, I doubt a single "datum" could be discerned in philosophy that is established by intuitions about which other philosophers don't have intuitions to the contrary.

The use of "intuition" in contemporary philosophy illustrates the lack of a commonly agreed upon methodology and subject matter.

AspiringWorldbuilder t1_jc4xhph wrote on March 14, 2023 at 1:41 AM

Out of curiosity, how would Hintikka (or you if you share their views) justify axioms if not through intuitions? I am asking with the assumption that all knowledge is built upon axioms (which I can provide an argument for if necessary). It seems to me that intuitions are the only possible source of axioms and thus we must assume some connection between them and truth if we are to avoid scepticism, though I am still struggling with the nature of that connection... any insights would be appreciated.

internetzdude t1_jc7tp97 wrote on March 14, 2023 at 5:51 PM

I don't know what Hintikka said about this. However, note that Hintikka argues against intuitions as an alleged source of evidence, which is their primary use in contemporary philosophy. As far as I can see, axioms aren't considered evidence. They are postulated. I think physicists are more careful in this regard because they explicitly speak about postulates, not axioms.

My take is that most texts in which intuitions are applied as a source of evidence (as opposed to an indicator for further inquiry) can safely remove any talk about intuitions and nothing of value and philosophical insight is lost.