(May 1, 2013 at 9:20 pm)whateverist Wrote: Yes but no. There is plenty in life that I act on which does not rise to the standard necessary to call it "knowledge". That doesn't mean I would never place my full confidence in a gut feeling, hunch or intuition. But knowledge isn't about confidence or actionability. And neither is a belief knowledge just in case it happens to be true. I don't think any private belief I might have for which I can't make a case that is convincing for the right reasons deserves to be called knowledge.
Then inevitably we're heading towards another epistemological discussion. Is the scientific method really the only way to gain true knowledge? My answer is "obviously not". There are plenty of things that I just "know" based on pure intuition. It is important to note that I view "intuition" in an unconventional manner; I do not view it is a form of a priori knowledge based on reason and independent of experience. I believe people can gain intuitive knowledge purely from an immediate subjective experience; I view it as a modified form of a posteriori knowledge that can be attained within and beyond the sensory experience (without having to rely on reason to make sense of it).
