People can be forewarned about serious sins they are about to commit in the near future. The mechanism is not entirely clear, but sometimes a dream can foretell such events in a surreal language. For example, dreaming of oneself naked or dirty in a shameful manner can be a presage of a sin the dreamer will commit after the dream. Not all dreams carry a message—or at least not an intelligible one—but in such cases, they can serve as an accepted warning. The same is true of people’s inner feelings—this time in a waking state. Recurrent dreams also can tell about the inner fights one has.
If we take as true the possibility to be forwarned by dreams, we could also have other senses that people do not discuss about. Cardinal Newman proposed the existence of a sense that had been intuited by some of the greatest thinkers, though none had named it as he did. Aristotle called it phronesis, Aquinas spoke of synderesis, and Pascal referred to the heart’s reasons. Newman named it the illative sense.
This sense has certain traits that every human being should learn to recognize within themselves. For example, every person has the innate sense of what real friendship should look like, even if they have never experienced a true friend. Everybody also has some basic knowledge, without being taught, of what to do to develop this friendship. What information to retain about the other’s preferences, personal details. Through this illative sense, we recognize when something is not done properly, or when someone is not treated with the respect they deserve.
Sommeliers do not rely solely on their natural ability to taste wine; they must also cultivate and refine their taste buds through testing and training. The same is true of the illative sense—and of wisdom more broadly. While it may begin as a natural ability to perceive reality, it must be cultivated, trusted, and tested.
The Deeper Diver 