{"id":244,"date":"2016-02-29T12:07:08","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T12:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teachingblogs.history.qmul.ac.uk\/hst6347\/?p=89"},"modified":"2016-08-18T22:26:42","modified_gmt":"2016-08-18T22:26:42","slug":"common-sense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.history.qmul.ac.uk\/philosophy\/2016\/02\/29\/common-sense\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Sense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isabel Overton\u00a0took the \u2018Philosophical Britain\u2018 module at Queen Mary in 2016. In this post she writes about \u2018common sense\u2019 as a\u00a0philosophical keyword.<\/em><\/p>\n

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As a result of studying in one of the most expensive cities in the world, upon moving to London in September 2013 I found myself working part time in the supermarket chain Waitrose. Located in a particularly affluent area of London it boasted a continuous stream of business professionals and upper middle class families. Working in such an environment it is no surprise that I have been witness and recipient of many \u2018unique\u2019 queries. Whilst some have provided vast entertainment during an otherwise tedious shift (I once had a man ask me where we kept the \u2018premium houmous\u2019) others have been baffling in their lack of what we would call \u2018common sense\u2019. It would seem that many people, so drained from their fast paced city lives, seem to have no energy left to try and manoeuvre\u00a0the minor speed bumps they may face when doing a food shop. I’m sure i’m not alone in being familiar with the phrase ‘use your common sense’, but how productive are we actually being when urging someone to tap into their inner instinct. Furthermore, where does the term \u2018common sense\u2019 stem from, and how common, or sensible, is it?<\/p>\n

Greek philosopher Aristotle<\/a> coined the term \u2018common sense\u2019 to describe a sense that unified all five human senses, such as sight and smell, allowing humans and animals to distinguish multiple senses within the same object. This came in response to a theory put forward by Plato<\/a> that all senses worked individually from one another but were then integrated within the soul where an active thinking process took place, making the senses instruments of the thinking part of man. In Plato\u2019s view, the senses were not integrated at the level of perception, but at the level of thought and thus the unifying sense was not actually a kind of \u2018sense\u2019 at all. Aristotle on the other hand, attributed the common sense to animals and humans alike, but believing animals could not think rationally, moved the act of perception out of Plato\u2019s rational thinking soul and into the sensus communis,<\/em> which was something like thinking and something like a sense, but not rational. He also located it within the heart, as he saw this as the master organ.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cGood sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it\u201d[2]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2013 Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"French

French Philosopher Rene Descartes<\/p><\/div>\n

Contemporary definition can be summed up as the basic ability to judge and perceive things shared by the majority of the population. Father of modern western philosophy, French philosopher Rene Descartes<\/a>, in Discourse on Method<\/a><\/em>\u00a0established this when he stated that everyone had a similar and sufficient amount of common sense. He went on to claim however, that it was rarely used well and he called for a skeptical logical method to follow, warning against over reliance upon common sense.<\/p>\n

During the Enlightenment common sense came to be seen more favourably as a result of works by philosophers such as religiously trained Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid<\/a>. Often described as a \u2018common sense philosopher\u2019 Reid developed a philosophical perspective that provided common sense as the source of justification for certain philosophical knowledge. Reid wrote in response to the increase in scepticism<\/a> put forward by philosophers such as\u00a0David Hume<\/a>, who held an empiricist view towards the theory of ideas, arguing that reason and knowledge were only developed through experience or through active research.[3]<\/a> Reid, alongside other like-minded philosophers including Dugald Stewart and James Beattie, formed the Scottish School of Common Sense<\/a>, arguing that common sense beliefs automatically governed human lives and thought. This theory became popular in England, France and America during the early nineteenth century, before losing popularity in the latter part of the period.<\/p>\n

\"Political

Political philosopher Thomas Paine<\/p><\/div>\n

In terms of American influence Reid\u2019s philosophy was pervasive during the American Revolution. England born political philosopher and writer Thomas Paine<\/a> was a key advocate of common sense realism, and used it to advocate American independence. Published in 1776, his highly influential pamphlet Common Sense<\/em><\/a> conveyed the message that to understand the\u00a0nature of politics, all it took was common sense. Selling around 150,000 copies in 1776 during a time when the rate of illiteracy was high amongst the American population, Common Sense<\/em> was both a tribute to the persuasiveness of Paine\u2019s argument and his ability to simplify complex rhetoric.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

In the early twentieth century British philosopher G. E. Moore<\/a> developed a treatise to defend Thomas Reid\u2019s argument titled A Defense of Common Sense<\/a>,<\/em> that had a profound effect on the methodology of twentieth century Anglo-American philosophy.[5]<\/a> This essay listed several seemingly obvious truths including \u201cThere exists at this time a living human body which is my body\u201d arguing against philosophers who held the idea that even \u2018true\u2019 propositions could be partially false.[6]<\/a> He greatly influenced Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein<\/a> who, having previously known Moore during time spent in England, was reintroduced to his work when a former student was wrestling with his response to external world skepticism. Inspired, Wittgenstein began to work on a series of remarks, eventually published posthumously as On Certainty<\/a><\/em>, that proposed there must be some things exempt from doubt in order for human practices to be possible.<\/p>\n

The philosophical debate surrounding common sense shows itself as complex and immersed with disunity, so it is important to view how\u00a0modern society has taken the idea of common sense and what platforms of discussion it features in. Whilst many people take for granted what they assume to be an innate natural instinct, it seems that over the past two decades there has been an increasing documented lament over the decrease in common sense within society as a whole. In 1998 author Lori Borgman released an essay entitled The Death of Common Sense<\/em><\/a> in which she remarked:<\/p>\n

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\u201cA most reliable sage, he was credited with cultivating the ability to know when to come in out of the rain, the discovery that the early bird gets the worm and how to take the bitter with the sweet.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She then noted the decline of \u2018Common Sense\u2019s\u2019 health in the late 1960\u2019s when \u201che became infected with the If-It-Feels-Good, Do-It virus\u201d[8]<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em> It is unsurprising that countless idle news stories reporting the \u2018misgivings\u2019 of people who appear too incompetent to make the most basic decisions has led to such a cynical outlook on how sound societies judgment is. An example that springs to mind is the plethora of multi million pound lottery winners who spend all their money within a year only to find themselves in debt wondering where it all went wrong. This is something reiterated within psychologist and professor Jim Taylor\u2019s article Common Sense is Neither Common nor Sense<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>and instead he argues for a focus on \u2018reasoned sense\u2019 as opposed to \u2018common sense\u2019.<\/p>\n

Naturally, this perceived lack of common sense has led many to question how common it really is. According to Voltaire<\/a>\u00a0common sense was not so common[9]<\/a>\u00a0but the more accurate assumption might be to suggest it was not so commonly used in particular situations; on the down side this is not nearly as memorable. Nevertheless, education teaches us to make decisions based on careful, calculated thought, something that people lacking education fail to do. Whilst almost all people have common sense, it is usually those who are more intellectually capable that \u2018fail\u2019 to use it, at least initially, when in the process of basic problem solving. This is through over-calculating however, not under-calculating, and ultimately not an accurate measure of capability.<\/p>\n

\"Some

Educational intellect does not impact the amount of common sense people hold<\/p><\/div>\n

Many lighthearted studies have been done that test this theory, one of the most popular being to have a child and adult solve the same simple brainteaser. Studies seem to suggest that a child is more likely to solve a simple problem faster than an adult, as their lack of knowledge disallows them to overcomplicate the problem put in front of them. An example of this is found in the short clip featured below:<\/p>\n