Intuition and literary creativity

The word "intuition" in psychology and aesthetics is used in the sense of sudden knowledge, knowledge without the mediation of concepts and reasoning at the very moment of its occurrence. For example, a scientist arrives at the solution to the problem that concerns him, not at the moment of intellectual effort, not when he is standing at his workbench, but at a moment when he is not thinking about it, when he is walking or when he is having fun, when he wakes up from a dream or when he is thinking about the solution to a completely different problem. The riddle was solved - says Gauss - so that, as if lightning flashed before me, I myself was not able to restore the connection between what I knew earlier and what led me to the desired result. The solution to the riddle, of course, must be substantiated in order to have scientific value. It must be clarified through a chain of reasoning connecting the known with the unknown that has been discovered. This justification, however, usually occurs slowly, as one moves from step to step on the ladder leading to intellectual clarification of the knowledge gained. Kepler wrote of the discovery of his third law: "Eight months ago the first ray of light shone before me, three months ago I saw the day, and finally, only a few days ago I was honored to contemplate the radiant sun itself."