Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

The importance of unconscious intelligence and intuition is increasingly acknowledged by the scientific community. This essay examines and assesses the varied views on the topic presented in three books that bridge the scientific world and reading public: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (2005), Gut Feelings by Gerd Gigerenzer (2008), and How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman (2007). The analysis differentiates among kinds of unconscious intelligence and points towards a more complete understanding of the higher cognitive potential of the unconscious mind.