Descriptions and Illustrations

Intuitive. The intuitive repertoire invokes innate or instinctive knowledge, common sense, personal or shared experiences. Students frequently drew on an intuitive repertoire to support statements about nature, knowledge, and the reality of scientific laws. Thus Tony, in the following excerpt, argues that "it is obvious" that scientific laws exist in nature (2) and that "of course" there was gravity before Newton (4), and questioned how one could propose otherwise (1)?. 

1 How could one propose that Newton's laws of motion did not exist before he discovered them? 2 It is obvious that these laws exist in nature, and scientists discover them. 3 In retort to this question, one could ask, "Was there no gravity on earth before Newton clearly defined it?" 4 Of course there was. (Tony 5Q.920123)

Awareness of instinctive knowledge is indicated by statements such as "I feel that" or "our experiences," but it may be that individuals remain unaware of such knowledge. For example, Rex claimed that "everyone is aware" of the laws of physics but not necessarily "consciously aware." 

Religious. The religious repertoire invokes the existence of a supreme being, creator or ruler of the universe, religious writings, or teachings of the church. A religious repertoire was normally employed in a personal context, the student expressing his own belief in God in support of claims concerning the nature or validity of knowledge. 

1 When I hear about what other people think how the Earth was created, I say, well that is wrong. 2 I say, "You are wrong and I am right." 3 I am right because God has taught me so many things how to be much more or less respectable, how I was made, and God brought me up that way. 4 You are wrong because God did not bring you up that way, you are misinterpreting what the world actually is. (Brent I.920228)

Brent's claim was embedded in (1), (2), and part of (4); he drew his support from his religious repertoire (3) that, in this moment, could not be questioned ("because God taught me so"). One application of a religious repertoire assigns to humans a unique place in the world, with the task of "discovering" the laws of nature which reflect the presence of a higher power. Another contrasts the credibility of explanations of nature in terms of the existence of a "God who has not been seen or heard" with the information provided by a scientist. Students frequently displayed inconsistencies in the application of a religious and other repertoires. For example, in one paragraph Shelby wrote disdainfully of the bible as a book which "any of us could have written" and a God who can neither be seen nor heard, and then stated "I however still believe in God, yet I let the scientists’ explanations be solutions to my questions, at least for now."