--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philosophers do need to have intuitions…" description: "\"Philosophers do need to have intuitions of various specific sorts: ethical, metaphysical, etc., depending on their targeted subject matter. And they mu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/ernest-sosa-12656_enjoyed_philosophers-do-need-to-have-intuitions_2181725.jpg" --- # Philosophers do need to have intuitions of various… ![“Philosophers do need to have intuitions of various specific sorts: ethical, metaphysical, etc., depending on their targeted subject matter. And they must make intuition reports, as they record the contents of their intuitions. But they need not go into whether an intuition has been enjoyed.” quote by Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/ernest-sosa-12656_enjoyed_philosophers-do-need-to-have-intuitions_2181725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/ernest-sosa-12656_enjoyed_philosophers-do-need-to-have-intuitions_2181725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/ernest-sosa-12656_enjoyed_philosophers-do-need-to-have-intuitions_2181725.jpg) > “Philosophers do need to have intuitions of various specific sorts: ethical, metaphysical, etc., depending on their targeted subject matter. And they must make intuition reports, as they record the contents of their intuitions. But they need not go into whether an intuition has been enjoyed.” [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sosa argues that philosophers need various intuitive insights for their subjects and must document them, but they don't need to assess whether those intuitions are enjoyable. **In simple terms:** Philosophers need intuition, not pleasure. Key Takeaway Record intuitions, ignore enjoyment. Themes philosophy intuition methodology Mood analytical thoughtful Type theoretical instructional When to use this quote - academic research - theoretical writing - teaching philosophy Key Concepts ethical intuition metaphysical intuition documentation practice Questions to Reflect On - How do intuitions shape your reasoning? - Should enjoyment matter in scholarly work? A Different Perspective It may ignore the role of affect in intellectual work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Intuitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitions/) [Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Reports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reports/) ## Related quotes > [We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions, and we need to test them. 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Listen to your inner voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/intuition-goes-before-you-showing-you-the-way-emotion-follows-behind/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [Intuition attracts those who wish to be spiritual without any bother, because it promises a heaven where the intuitions of others can be ignored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/intuition-attracts-those-who-wish-to-be-spiritual-without-any-bother/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“The bat-and-ball problem is our first encounter with an observation that will be a recurrent theme of this book: many people are overconfident, prone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-bat-and-ball-problem-is-our-first-encounter-with-an-observation/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [We #fear our intuitions because we fear the transformational power within our revelations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/we-fear-our-intuitions-because-we-fear-the-transformational-power/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've always worked with my partner, my husband, Cameron, since 'Raw Like Sushi,' and in a way, I feel very free with what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neneh-cherry/i-ve-always-worked-with-my-partner-my-husband-cameron-since-raw-like/) [Neneh Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neneh-cherry/) > [The moment of truth, the sudden emergence of a new insight, is an act of intuition. Such intuitions give the appearance of miraculous flushes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-moment-of-truth-the-sudden-emergence-of-a-new-insight-is-an-act/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [the wide discrepancy between reason and feeling may be unreal; it is not improbable that intellect is a high form of feeling - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/the-wide-discrepancy-between-reason-and-feeling-may-be-unreal-it-is/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) ## More by Ernest Sosa > [Philosophers need not much use the word 'intuition' or the concept of intuition, except when they happen to be working on the epistemology of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/philosophers-need-not-much-use-the-word-intuition-or-the-concept-of/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [When you dream, your perceptual (and other) competence is affected. You are then unable to get it right competently with the beliefs in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/when-you-dream-your-perceptual-and-other-competence-is-affected-you/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Ultimately, my more significant agreement is with a virtue tradition that features Aristotle and Descartes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/ultimately-my-more-significant-agreement-is-with-a-virtue-tradition/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [It is bad to want something that not even God could attain, especially when the impossibility becomes obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/it-is-bad-to-want-something-that-not-even-god-could-attain-especially/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [I am mainly concerned with unqualified knowledge, by contrast with the varieties of expert knowledge: scientific knowledge of various sorts, legal knowledge, medically expert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/i-am-mainly-concerned-with-unqualified-knowledge-by-contrast-with-the/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [If a shot aimed at aptness succeeds aptly, it is then fully apt, since it is not only apt but also aptly apt. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/if-a-shot-aimed-at-aptness-succeeds-aptly-it-is-then-fully-apt-since/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [It is also certain that when we assent to some piece of reasoning when our perception of it is lacking, then either we go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/it-is-also-certain-that-when-we-assent-to-some-piece-of-reasoning/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [We need some standard that will determine how likely a belief is to be true given just that it is stored in one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/we-need-some-standard-that-will-determine-how-likely-a-belief-is-to/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Descartes's epistemology is a special case of Aristotle's virtue ethics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/descartes-s-epistemology-is-a-special-case-of-aristotle-s-virtue/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [There isn't a formal definition of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/there-isn-t-a-formal-definition-of-success/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Success is better than failure; an attempt is a better attempt, it is better as an attempt, if competent than if incompetent; and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/success-is-better-than-failure-an-attempt-is-a-better-attempt-it-is/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Judgment is affirmation with the intention to thereby affirm competently enough, and indeed aptly. That distinguishes judgments from mere guesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/judgment-is-affirmation-with-the-intention-to-thereby-affirm/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Any defense of common sense must allow that it is revisable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/any-defense-of-common-sense-must-allow-that-it-is-revisable/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Given its more substantial aim, a judgment is apt only if its constitutive alethic affirmation is not only apt but aptly apt. The subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/given-its-more-substantial-aim-a-judgment-is-apt-only-if-its/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [We can pursue the Cartesian project without restricting ourselves to theology and a priori faculties. 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