I believe, if not with technical analysis, how else can we determine the direction to buy or sell. at least it helps compared to having to just guess. As far as usage goes, I get premium signals with technical analysis, they are quite accurate, although not 100%, but for me that is enough proof that this is quite accurate and profitable.
You are right, without technical analysis of course we would have made the decision to buy or sell only based on the feelings we have and it would be very unlikely that we would be able to get the profits that we would get, if by using technical analysis we would not be able to get our profits. It is still possible to improve the analysis that we use to be able to gain from the trading that we do.
Technical Analysis predict the next possible direction of the price
we can't trade successful without TA candlestick patterns itself reveal alot about end of a trend, continuation of price and beginning of a trend, once a trader grasp the whole idea of technical analysis it becomes easier to take a trading decision at the appropriate time, though Fundamentals do move the price hence when a positive or negative fundamental news is released, price tend to either change direction of the present trend or reverse completely, however the candlestick patterns unveil itself in tune with the present or lastest condition of the market which indicates a trading setup.
It's a misconception that we can't trade the market without technical analysis, although this is the very best way to analyze the market, there are alternatives. And since there are alternatives, you can use them solely and successfully without the technical analysis. I'm very sure that many are using other options as the fundamental analysis itself is so popular, it's popular to the extent that some people started making businesses around it, and some even built software that would alert and help them trade this analytical style very well.
When I started trading, due to the irregularities and lack of consistency with the technical analysis, a lot of people might get annoyed if you mentioned the technical analysis as they lacked trust in it. Meaning that they were trading the alternative which is the news/event trading. However, over time, the term sentimental analysis joined it, just like what is happening in the crypto world right now where everybody is getting ready for the much-anticipated tradition that would cause strong bull runs simply due to halving. This is a good example of a sentimental analysis and some people might not use both technical and fundamental analysis but use only the sentimental analysis due to their trust in what people believe.
Above all, it's good to be smart in trading and have knowledge of all these analytical styles even if you would not be using them all. There is no crime in using them altogether too, just like me, I use all of them depending on the need, and with my experience, the technical analysis is the best. There is no controversy to this if you really know how to trade the market as there is nothing hidden from its sight as trading is concerned. Just try to know it very well and you are good to go.