--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philosophers need not much use the word…" description: "\"Philosophers need not much use the word 'intuition' or the concept of intuition, except when they happen to be working on the epistemology of the a pri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/ernest-sosa-12656_concepts_philosophers-need-not-much-use-the-word_137317.jpg" --- # Philosophers need not much use the word 'intuition' or the… ![“Philosophers need not much use the word 'intuition' or the concept of intuition, except when they happen to be working on the epistemology of the a priori.” quote by Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/ernest-sosa-12656_concepts_philosophers-need-not-much-use-the-word_137317.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/ernest-sosa-12656_concepts_philosophers-need-not-much-use-the-word_137317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/ernest-sosa-12656_concepts_philosophers-need-not-much-use-the-word_137317.jpg) > “Philosophers need not much use the word 'intuition' or the concept of intuition, except when they happen to be working on the epistemology of the a priori.” [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. Philosophers rarely rely on intuition except when examining a priori knowledge, where intuition may be relevant. **In simple terms:** Intuition is seldom used except in a priori studies. Key Takeaway Clarify when intuition applies. Themes philosophy intuition epistemology a priori Mood analytical skeptical Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - theoretical debates - academic research - conceptual analysis Key Concepts logic cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - When is intuition justified in philosophy? - How to test intuitive claims? A Different Perspective Intuition can be unreliable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Epistemology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemology/) [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [Philosophers do need to have intuitions of various specific sorts: ethical, metaphysical, etc., depending on their targeted subject matter. And they must make intuition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/philosophers-do-need-to-have-intuitions-of-various-specific-sorts/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Welders make more money than philosophers. 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I'm not interested in repeating what we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-don-t-like-realism-we-already-know-the-real-facts-about-li-fe-most/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The data on which philosophical theorizing is based are rather the intuited contents themselves, concerning the various thought experiments. At least that is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/the-data-on-which-philosophical-theorizing-is-based-are-rather-the/) [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/) > [Epistemology now flourishes with various complementary approaches. 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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. 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