Rambam, Rav Kook and Einstein on intuitive knowledge.

Rambam in MN 2:38 describes certain prophetic experiences as follows:

“The true prophets undoubtedly conceive ideas that result from premises which human reason could not comprehend by itself; thus they tell things which men could not tell by reason and ordinary imagination alone; for [the action of the prophets' mental capacities is influenced by] the same agent that causes the perfection of the imaginative faculty, and that enables the prophet thereby to foretell a future event with such clearness as if it was a thing already perceived with the senses, and only through them conveyed to his imagination. This agent perfects the prophet's mind, and influences it in such a manner that he conceives ideas which are confirmed by reality, and are so clear to him as if he deduced them by means of syllogisms.”

The intuition of a developed mind allows arriving at conclusions without going through the systematic process of sequential thought.

Here is Rav Kook in Orot Hakodesh:

The truth does not reveal itself to a person piecemeal. It appears in one all-encompassing concept. All the hard work that one puts into learning and acquiring information is to facilitate the appearance of that all-encompassing concept.

Again we see a description of an intuitive grasp of truth.

A description of how Einstein arrived at his insights:

“The young man had asked Einstein how he had arrived at his famous relativity theory. Einstein said that after much work he found he had not advanced very far toward a solution to his problems. One night he retired in utter discouragement and feeling very depressed. He told himself there was nothing more to be done. Then he experienced an intuitive flash illuminating his subject and piecing together the parts as in a puzzle. The next day he began to work out his equations, in appropriate sequence.”

The question of how this mechanism works, the existence of the all-encompassing concept before it has been grasped by the mind is referred to in medieval philosophy as the “active intellect”. Trying to understand it and define it is the basis of all Rational and mystical thought. It is through it that we try to find God.

Free the creative soul!

I am reading Orot Hakodesh by Harav Kook Z”L and will be posting occasionally pieces that speak to me particularly loudly. I am no translator so I will paraphrase most of the time and therefore must caution that my own understanding of his words may not be what he meant. Here is a short piece on creativity and learning.

Someone who has the soul of a creator must create ideas and thoughts. He cannot limit himself to superficial study because one cannot control the soaring flame of one’s soul.

A thinking person always strives for broadness of thought. Superficial study tends to rein in thought and confuses it at the moment of birth. Constant superficial study exacerbates this sickness of constrained thinking and we must use all efforts to liberate ourselves from it so that we redeem our souls from self-imposed pressures and take it out of Egypt and slavery.

What this means to me:

In every area of thought we have to start with acquainting ourselves with the current state of the information. We cannot go back every time to the start and investigate from scratch. In physics for example we have to learn and understand the current science and only then can we move on if we want answers to the many open questions. The same goes with Jewish thought. We have to study the texts and understand them before we can develop our own understanding. The goal though is to develop a personal understanding because knowing the unknowable is very personal and cannot be transmitted. That is the meaning of the Mishna in Hagigah “Ein dorshin… velo bemerkavah beyachid ela im kein hayah Chacham umeivin mida’ato” – one does not teach in public … nor does one teach metaphysics to one unless he is wise and can extrapolate on his own. Rambam legislates this Mishna as follows:( Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah 4:11)

שעניין מעשה מרכבה, אפילו לאחד אין דורשין בו, אלא אם כן היה חכם ומבין מדעתו, נותנין לו ראשי הפרקים

Metaphysic we do not teach even one person, unless he is wise and can extrapolate on his own in which case we transmit to him chapter headings.

Knowing the current state of thought in metaphysics is only a stepping-stone for further personal extrapolation.

Reading the text literally and insisting that it is the ultimate truth as read because Chazal or great Rishonim wrote it and that interpretation is heretic, Apikorsus, stifles the human creative soul. Freeing the mind, letting it take the accumulated information and translate it into a meaningful understanding that allows for glimpses of the ultimate truth is the goal of a freed creative mind. In his introduction to MN Rambam describes the experience as follows:

“At times the truth shines so brilliantly that we perceive it as clear as day. Our nature and habit then draw a veil over our perception, and we return to a darkness almost as dense as before. We are like those who, though beholding frequent flashes of lightning, still find themselves in the thickest darkness of the night.”

In the search for the truth one must allow the creative side of our personality to expand and soar. After all we are searching for the Creator, the ultimate source of creativity.