VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 SPRING 2015

rious philosophical ideas are disseminated that subvert a whole culture and bring about its decline, we are mostly unaware that something bad is going on. 2 Three sources of knowledge Man is endowed with several faculties that are the gates of knowledge. He has sense organs that mediate data about the outer world for him. Further, he has reason, which is but a knowledge source of a different kind. One cannot observe or measure mathematical and logical truths empirically anywhere – they can be inferred by correct reasoning only. And he has intuition as well; moral, aesthetical and other intuitions, feelings, images, ideas and ideals that emerge from within and are perceived introspectively. These experiences come neither from the outer world, nor do they result from a rational process of reasoning, but possess a character of inner revelation. These three sources of knowledge can also contradict each other. Which one of them is more important? Reason can tell of senses that deceive us. One’s heart can desire something unreasonable. And the senses can refute inspirations as false. Every epoch tends to admire and place one or more of these three ways of knowledge to the forefront. However, the negative consequences of a one-sided worldview always provoked a reaction and the need to place an emphasis on another type of knowledge and society. There have been periods when revelation was considered the only serious source of knowledge and the senses treated as an unreliable delusion. But all one-sidedness is bad. A medieval prophet seeking to confine the human spirit within the letter of the Holy Writ is as equally dangerous and obstructive to progress as the modern scientist who wants to restrict all knowledge to the senses alone, or an ancient philosopher who believes in inferring all truth about the world from pure reason. Eras of sensualism, rationalism and mysticism in history have alternated periodically. Whoever deems the currently preferred sources of knowledge to be absolutely essential should remember that this shall change in the future again. Every day we make decisions and act according to facts, reason and intuition. Can any of these sources be neglected? Can somebody ignore his inner feelings for example? He will grow unhappy and soon fall ill. In themost important questions of life – such as the choice of a partner, religion, aesthetic and value orientation – intuition prevails. A great deal of cultural achievements and institutions, temples and concert halls would disappear if we dismissed irrational intuitions from our lives. Thanks to the works of scholars such as Gaston Bachelard, Pitirim Sorokin, Thomas Kuhn, Michel Foucault or Luc Ciompi, we are beginning to understand that the intuitive dimension is present in all knowledge, including scientific knowledge. In the beginning of each new science, irrational processes are employed of the same kind as in the arts and religion. Discoveries begin with an inspiration, and only then comes work with facts, while a final rational resolution comes in the final Spirituality Studies 1 (1) Spring 2015 41 (5)

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