The Nature of Intuition and its Characteristics in Kant's Epistemology

Kant's philosophy is based on the distinction between two faculties of knowledge, namely intuition and thinking or sense and understanding. These two faculties are necessary for knowledge and neither of them could be reduced into the other. Out of these two faculties the former is more important, for the content and objectivity of knowledge are attained through it. In Kant's view intuition possesses two characteristics of singularity and immediacy which are juxtaposed with universality and mediacy of the concepts. Concerning the meaning and importance of these characteristics Kant's commentators have different views. In this article after referring to the meaning of intuition and its characteristics based on Kant's epistemology, its different readings will be assessed critically and at the end of the article the author's view will be presented.