Have you ever thought to yourself when talking to someone that something is “common sense.”
I have come to the conclusion that common sense, well it just isn’t that common these days. Why is this happening?
The underlying problem is that there are just to many things going on today that anyone you meet should have a general understanding of what you may be talking about. According to Wikipedia “Common sense is based on a strict construction of the term, consists of what people in common would agree on: that which they ‘sense’ as their common natural understanding.”
So according to the common consensus on what common sense is, they say that it is something that “common” people would agree on. Our world is so diverse and constantly changing that I find it hard to find someone often enough that shares my same understanding to be able to call it common sense. This is an industrial age, web 1.0 word that needs to be changed for modern times.
My question to you then is what is the new 2.0 word that would fully encompass the meaning of common sense in current times? Or if you like the notion of common sense, defend it!
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#1 by Robert Sloman on March 2, 2010 - 4:05 am
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I think "common sense" is a colloquialism, but nothing more. We have a majority of Americans who don't believe in evolution or actually think Jesus was born from a virgin woman (two things we know science disproves). I would wager that most of these people believe it is "common sense" to believe that a Christian god exists. Because of this, I would argue that common sense is anything but common. Common sense requires a rational view of the universe, and unfortunately most people can't handle that.
If you ask me "common sense" is a misnomer; a short cut in logic that makes using it intellectually dishonest. Even mathematicians know that '1+1=2' needs about a paragraph worth of words to prove that it is a true statement. Simply saying "1+1=2 is common sense" is effective for most intents and purposes, but we must also realize even the simplest things need to be proven scientifically.
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#2 by Trace Cohen on March 3, 2010 - 2:24 am
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Very interesting point of view that "common sense" has become a colloquialism, never thought of it that way. Now that I think about it more of course, it is something that I generally think to myself instead of saying out loud.
I like your second idea as well, that it's a misnomer or short cut. Common sense has become an assumption that anyone you talk to will have a general understanding of whatever you discuss without the need to further explain it.
Thanks for your insight Robert, really added value to this post!
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