Einstein allegedly said that the intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. Yet, intuitive thinking is often treated with suspicion and considered unreliable, requiring a high degree of caution and justification. This seminar focuses on less familiar and often misinterpreted epistemological frameworks that place intuitive thinking and emotions at the centre of scientific reasoning and knowledge.

We will explore various conceptions of intuitive thinking and emotions, and different perspectives on their roles in scientific reasoning and knowledge production. We will compare the mainstream epistemological frameworks, which marginalize the role that intuitive thinking and emotions could play in scientific reasoning and relegate them to the 'context of discovery,' with epistemological frameworks that place intuitive thinking and emotions at the centre of all scientific endeavors. We shall also consider whether AI could simulate intuitive thinking and emotional intelligence.

Students will have the opportunity to learn about perspectives on scientific reasoning and knowledge that are aligned with the history of science yet largely missing from the philosophical literature, and to explore how the analysis of the role that intuitive thinking and emotions play in scientific reasoning might be relevant for their research.