Erick, you said:
"A physical confrontation is not merely subjective, -- there is a another participant, whose activity -- cannot really be ignored. A physical confrontation is not rational, but not in that there is no "reason" for it or that it senseless, or pointless. Physical confrontation is not rational because it is not an abstract, it is exceedingly concrete.
Reason can expand the bounds of truth from a foundation in concrete truth, but reason works from assumptions about the basic truth -- it doesn't provide a foundation for it. Reasoning from erroneuous assumptions just gets highly accurate, erroneous results. Reason is objective.
Irrational and intuitive are closely allied words. Just like reason can be founded on, and support, either truth or error, so can irrational intuition leap into unanticipated concrete truth or into a whacko bottomless abyss. Non-reason is subjective.
Truth is thus apart from reason or non-reason. Truth is neither objective nor subjective. Truth is apart from self and apart from not-self."
I can not agree with your conclusions, and I submit that your mode of thought, though rational, is causing you to miss a broad point.
The concept of truth is an abstraction. To conclude that 'concrete' equals 'true' is to fail to account for point of view, frame of reference, bias, sampling error, ad nauseum. Further, to state that intuition and irrationality are related is to give primacy to our rational minds over our sensate selves. Grave mistake if you are looking for 'something else' in aikido. Unless I am wrong again and you seek to exclude both reason and nonreason, so you can have Satori?
Irrational connotes erratic, insane, antisocial. Nonrational is a better word. Intuition is who we are as human animals. Psychological studies, with good scientific controls, have shown that people
derive highly complex rule driven patterns in nature - long before they are consciously aware of what they 'know'. They can act and predict based on this intuition as well - can you define in precise terms how electricity works? - better answer 'no', the finest minds in science can not, but we know how to Use electricity.
http://www.greatspeculations.com/bre...g_to_trade.htm
(search down to 'implicit learning: a new perspective)
I really didn't like failing math tests because I didn't show the work. Intuition and irrational are not closely related at all. The 'something else' in aikido may come where reason fails - because - "To love your enemy" is a stupid thing to say, unless that love is leading me to embrace him under his sword cut and guide him gently to earth for a stern talk about 'doing unto others as you would have them do unto you'
dave
PS - I'm feeling the training key up - I irritate so many people, especially my Senseis!, but I hope you will continue to interact with me. dk