counterintuitive

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But Stich himself offered a counterexample to this analysis: universally held beliefs, such as the belief that water quenches thirst, will count as innate traits on this analysis, which seems counterintuitive (Stich 1975, p. 9).

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Definitions (2)

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  1. adjective Contrary to what intuition or common sense would indicate: "Scientists made clear what may at first seem counterintuitive, that the capacity to be pleasant toward a fellow creature is ... hard work” (Natalie Angier).

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Examples

  • But Stich himself offered a counterexample to this analysis: universally held beliefs, such as the belief that water quenches thirst, will count as innate traits on this analysis, which seems counterintuitive (Stich 1975, p. 9). —  The Distinction Between Innate and Acquired Characteristics
  • The fact that each provable statement is obligatory is often regarded as counterintuitive, and there are many other well-known —  Mally's Deontic Logic
  • Many find this counterintuitive, since laws of nature with infinitely many instances can apparently be confirmed. —  Interpretations of Probability
  • Though counterintuitive, the semantic anomalies that beset supervaluationism should be accepted because they are part of a theory which fares better overall than any other. —  Sorites Paradox
  • DeWitt admits that this constant splitting of worlds whenever the states of systems become correlated is counterintuitive: —  Everett's Relative-State Formulation of Quantum Mechanics
 

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