Instinct, "primitive" cognition, and the transformation of intuition.

Abstract

This paper explores epistemological and historical relationships between "instincts" and "intuition". First, it discusses epistemological connotations of the instinct concept, specifically the implication of a kind of innate knowledge imbedded in the assumption of unlearned behavior as this emerges in evolutionary theory and 19th century comparative psychology. Second, it claims that while the intuition concept foreshadows (in some ways) the appeal to instinct, the instinct concept in turn contributes to changes in the concept of intuition.