Youniversalism describes the idea that truth can be felt
In recent years, people have become increasingly intuitive. It is not science or the media, but one’s own feelings that are being taken as the starting point for knowing what is true. UvA psychologist Bastiaan Rutjens has coined a term for this: Youniversalism.
More and more people are relying on their gut feeling to know what is true. How do we actually know that?
“Relying on your intuition is a societal trend, research shows. Marten Scheffer, a researcher at Wageningen University, demonstrates this in a study published in the journal PNAS, in which he applied language models to a vast amount of written sources dating from 1850 to 2019. This revealed that words relating to reason and analytical thinking increased after the Enlightenment, whilst words relating to emotion and intuition declined. Around the turn of the millennium, there was a shift, and intuition began to play an increasingly significant role in language.”
“You can also see this trend reflected in speeches by US congressmen, according to an analysis by British professor Stephan Lewandowsky. In recent years, intuition and emotion have taken up more and more space, whilst there has been less and less room for evidence and reason.”
There is now a term for this too: Youniversalism. What exactly does that mean?
“Youniversalism, a portmanteau of “You” and “Universalism”, describes the idea that truth can be felt. That truth is something that comes from within, rather than looking outwards towards scientific evidence or a holy book.”
“Youniversalism is based on intuitive epistemology, a term introduced by UvA professor Wouter Hanegraaff, who researches Western forms of spirituality. I coined the word ‘Youniversalism’ myself; I came across it by chance on a flyer for a spiritual retreat at the Pllek café-restaurant in Amsterdam-Noord. I thought the term was really cool because it perfectly describes placing yourself at the centre of thinking about the truth in the universe.”
“We can now also measure where you score on the Youniversalism scale. We’ve devised a method for this, which we’ve tested on 1,500 people. Those results were recently published.”
Why is it that people are increasingly relying on their own feelings?
“I wouldn’t dare venture all sorts of explanations. But you can imagine it has something to do with the information overload of the internet age. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, including on social media. Who is an expert, and who decides that?”
Isn’t there some merit to the idea, from a democratic point of view, that everyone’s truth is equally valid?
“That quickly leads to a discussion on the philosophy of science. Is there one truth? That’s a complex question that could be debated at length. What you could say, though, is that not all truths are of equal value. Take climate change. A climate scientist debating a climate sceptic is not an equal discussion. One ‘truth’ comes from a single person, whilst the other is rooted in a long tradition of research in which, at some point, a consensus was reached on what is, in all likelihood, the truth. You can certainly draw a distinction there.”
Has intuitive thinking gone too far?
“Using your intuition isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but it depends on the field. If you’re thinking about the meaning of life, or about an ideal partner, you might be better off following your intuition than reading up on it endlessly. But science is complex and sometimes counterintuitive. It’s important, both as individuals and as a society, to reflect on the limits of intuition, because they certainly do exist.”
What are the dangers to trust in science if we become too intuitive?
“I still see opportunities for trust in science. We need to start explaining science in a different way, telling more personal stories and listening more closely to the genuine questions people have.”
“I see the immediate dangers mainly in the field of health. Vaccinations are quite counter-intuitive. It’s a strange idea to have yourself injected with a weakened form of a virus; that’s not something that feels intuitively right. You need some knowledge to understand roughly how it works. The same applies to certain aspects of genetic modification.
Health influencers also keep insisting that you should follow your instincts, which can be potentially dangerous. Think of claims that raw milk is healthier and that sunburn causes cancer. That might sound intuitively plausible, but science really does say otherwise.”
What will you be using the Youniversalism scale for?
“I’d like to use it for research into trust in science. There is robust evidence that spirituality is associated with lower levels of trust in science. I want to find out whether Youniversalism can help explain the appeal of health influencers or certain forms of science denial among spiritual people.”
