In philosophy one of the most important topics we discuss is insights. An insight is comes suddenly and unexpectedly, releases a tension of inquiry, functions as inner meaning rather than outer, pivots between the concrete and abstract, and it is a habitual texture of the mind. However we then must come to realize that there are two different types of insights, direct and reflective. Direct insight attempts to eliminate confusion with question such as, “Who, What, When?
” While a reflective insights attempts to eliminate doubt by using the question “Is it so? ” The two of them are alike in that both their purposes are to eliminate something by answering a question. First, there is the direct insight which occurs on the 2nd level. The direct insight occurs when one puts all parts together to form a whole, or understanding. For instance, if I were to get a stain on my shirt and then later be eating ketchup and remember, “Oh, that’s what I got on my shirt earlier.
” I gathered the data of the smell of the sauce along with the thickness and redness of the liquid. As I put all the pieces of data together from the 1st level I could realize and come to understanding on the 2nd level. After I compare my data I came to realize that it was indeed ketchup that was on my shirt. Next, there is the reflective insight which occurs on the 3rd level. The reflective insight occurs when one can reach certainty by answering the question, “Is it so?
” An example of this 3rd level insight would come after I grasped that it was ketchup on my shirt. The following step for me would be to make sure that I clearly understood it. I must realize that even though I have already washed the stain off my shirt, I grasped that it clearly was ketchup because of the way it looked and smelled. Now, I must rightfully make sure that it does not go against any of the propositions in which I already believe about stains or ketchup.
I now can know clearly that the stuff that was on my shirt was ketchup because it does not go against anything I already believe. To sum up, there are to different types of insights, direct and reflective. The reflective insight builds off of the direct insight. Still, the two of them are alike as well as different from one another. Both reflective and direct answer questions, but they are not the same. The direct insight attempts to eliminate confusion while the reflective insight attempts to eliminate doubt.