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The Phenomenon of Insight in the Light of Information Theory

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Abstract

In an article based on the semantic theory of information developed by Yu.A. Schreider, the phenomenon of insight is considered. It is shown that insight is an expansion of the thesaurus, when new information emerges as part of autocommunication. The presented scheme is illustrated by means of the material of the insight that caught Ignatius Loyola on the bank of the Cardoner River in August 1523.

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Notes

  1. In spite of the later discussion of these areas, they were theoretically pointed out as early as 1949 by W. Weaver. For details see [14, 20].

  2. When analyzing Poincaré’s experience directly, a number of researchers distinguish between the phenomenon of insight and the phenomenon of incubation. With the latter, finding a solution proceeds by unconscious recombination of already available information. However, since our interest lies in the analysis of the situation of generating information, in this article we focus on the phenomenon of insight. For more on the difference between phenomena, see [2].

  3. Work [3]. In addition to this work, Schreider published: Shreider published [11, 12, 14, 15].

  4. There is controversy among scholars regarding the timing of the experience at the Cardoner River. We, following J. de Guibert, are inclined to assume that it happened immediately after the first six months of Ignatius’ stay in Manresa and marked the beginning of a stream of mystical insights. For details see [18, 16].

  5. Figures 1–3 are taken from the works: from works [7, p. 9; 6, p. 63].

  6. A critical study of the search for these sources was begun over a century ago by Henri Watrigant. However, it was not until the 1920s that a consensus began to form that outlined the key works. Despite the fact that the main corpus of texts has been established at the moment, clarifying work is still underway. For example, see [17].

  7. The clarification of this edition is based on the abridged text of the Anima Christi prayer, which later had significant significance for Ignatius.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Study of Religion, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia

    N. L. Muskhelishvili

  2. National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Moscow, Russia

    M. M. Bazlev

Authors
  1. N. L. Muskhelishvili
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  2. M. M. Bazlev
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Correspondence to N. L. Muskhelishvili or M. M. Bazlev.

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To the memory of Yu.A. Schrader

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Muskhelishvili, N.L., Bazlev, M.M. The Phenomenon of Insight in the Light of Information Theory. Autom. Doc. Math. Linguist. 56, 261–264 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0005105522050089

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