intuition
inner sense or ‘gut feeling’ about someone or something. It is found alongside conclusions that are arrived at by public logic. The experience is more strongly developed in some people than others, but evidence for a preponderant gender base (‘female intuition’) is questionable. It is sometimes associated with the sense of guilt or shame, which may be hallmarks of conscience. Rather than relegating it to a second division aspect of human response and moral judgement, it may be wiser to see it as a complementary mode of understanding and reasoning.
See also:
conscience, guilt