The adaptive unconscious & intuition

Timothy O. Wilson’s book, Stranger to Ourselves, makes an important contribution to our understanding of complementary ways of knowing. Wilson reports on research which suggests each of us is guided in our actions by a ‘silent’ process he calls the adaptive unconscious.

Our adaptive unconscious, which Wilson believes is developed early in life, is always taking in information, storing it, and making decisions for us all outside our awareness. Wilson goes so far as to suggest that many of our choices and behaviors are based on our adaptive unconscious’ suggestions. We act within seconds before we reason. Later we create a story that supports our actions with reasons.

The adaptive unconscious—with its intelligence beyond reason—may be an important link between explicit reason and the pure intuitive realm. Or, it is possible that humans ascribe to intuition the spontaneous actions they take that are guided by their adaptive unconscious.

Wilson believes that the adaptive unconscious is not knowable, except by observing your own behavior carefully. His book offers suggestions for ways in which we can bring desired changes into our lives by discovering more about our adaptive unconscious and aligning ourselves with its values.

Wilson’s ideas are found in the recent successful book, Blink by Galdwell.