Common Sense

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aspen

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Oxymoron? Myth? It seems to be a huge expectation; people reference it all the time. What is the true definition?
 

ScottA

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Oxymoron? Myth? It seems to be a huge expectation; people reference it all the time. What is the true definition?
I can imagine that the saying came as some sort of reference to what was commonly understood as having no need of explanation.

But I do believe it has morphed into something more like a [rare] form of simple logic.
 
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Helen

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I can imagine that the saying came as some sort of reference to what was commonly understood as having no need of explanation.

But I do believe it has morphed into something more like a [rare] form of simple logic.

I like that @ScottA ...well said :)
 

aspen

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I see it as a myth. We want there to be common sense, but we all have a different understanding of what common sense entails. It is definitely authoritative- we refer to it to justify our POV; yet, I think it is really a misapplied label for 'personal sense'.

I believe in absolute truth, but I am not going to hold my breath for a consensus.
 
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bbyrd009

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But I do believe it has morphed
the limitations of words (over Word, hmm) is that definitions change, even among those in the same era, same peer group even.

The phrase 'common sense' is an epithet in practice, it seems to me; we use it in a negative fashion to describe someone else, and justify ourselves i think, almost exclusively.

As for a proper definition, common sense is whatever was obvious to me--often in hindsight--that was not so obvious to you, who had only foresight? lol
 

aspen

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the limitations of words (over Word, hmm) is that definitions change, even among those in the same era, same peer group even.

The phrase 'common sense' is an epithet in practice, it seems to me; we use it in a negative fashion to describe someone else, and justify ourselves i think, almost exclusively.

As for a proper definition, common sense is whatever was obvious to me--often in hindsight--that was not so obvious to you, who had only foresight? lol

Yeah, I think you nailed it.

It is definitely subjective.....

Oxymoron
 
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bbyrd009

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Yeah, like a really blunt person would just say, "Don't be stupid" or "That's so dumb." ;)
yes. Funny how little children are so blunt, huh, not having learned...what is the word we use for it, not coming to me...the word for "prevaricate" in that situation? oh, "tact."
 
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DPMartin

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Oxymoron? Myth? It seems to be a huge expectation; people reference it all the time. What is the true definition?



a simple precept like stopping for red lights in societies that have automobiles is common sense, you think that is a myth, only a moron would think that, and try to make others think that.

well the OED the authority on the English language says, nothing mythological here, a concept that even arguing philosophical community accepts as a precept of common ground. only a moron refuses to accept common human understanding and perception.

†1. An ‘internal’ sense which was regarded as the common bond or centre of the five senses, in which the various impressions received were reduced to the unity of a common consciousness. Obs.


2. The endowment of natural intelligence possessed by rational beings; ordinary, normal or average understanding; the plain wisdom which is everyone's inheritance. (This is ‘common sense’ at its minimum, without which one is foolish or insane.) †Formerly also in pl., in phr. besides his common senses: out of his senses or wits, ‘beside himself’.

b. More emphatically: Good sound practical sense; combined tact and readiness in dealing with the every-day affairs of life; general sagacity.


†c. Ordinary or untutored perception. Obs.

d. As a quality of things said or done (= ‘something accordant to or approved by common sense’).

3. The general sense, feeling, or judgement of mankind, or of a community.


4. Philos. The faculty of primary truths; ‘the complement of those cognitions or convictions which we receive from nature; which all men therefore possess in common; and by which they test the truth of knowledge, and the morality of actions’ (Hamilton Reid's Wks. II. 756).
Philosophy of Common Sense: that philosophy which accepts as the ultimate criterion of truth the primary cognitions or beliefs of mankind; e.g. in the theory of perception, the universal belief in the existence of a material world. Applied to the Scotch school which arose in the 18th c. in opposition to the views of Berkeley and Hume.
 

Helen

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This is an old one, but true reminder.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned, but overbearing, regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teenagers suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they had themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer paracetamol, sun lotion or plaster to a pupil, but could not inform the parents when a pupil became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home, but the burglar could sue you for assault because you protected yourself and your own.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realised that he was gone.

If you still remember him, remind others about him. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Author Unknown
 

aspen

“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Apr 25, 2012
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a simple precept like stopping for red lights in societies that have automobiles is common sense, you think that is a myth, only a moron would think that, and try to make others think that.

well the OED the authority on the English language says, nothing mythological here, a concept that even arguing philosophical community accepts as a precept of common ground. only a moron refuses to accept common human understanding and perception.

†1. An ‘internal’ sense which was regarded as the common bond or centre of the five senses, in which the various impressions received were reduced to the unity of a common consciousness. Obs.


2. The endowment of natural intelligence possessed by rational beings; ordinary, normal or average understanding; the plain wisdom which is everyone's inheritance. (This is ‘common sense’ at its minimum, without which one is foolish or insane.) †Formerly also in pl., in phr. besides his common senses: out of his senses or wits, ‘beside himself’.

b. More emphatically: Good sound practical sense; combined tact and readiness in dealing with the every-day affairs of life; general sagacity.


†c. Ordinary or untutored perception. Obs.

d. As a quality of things said or done (= ‘something accordant to or approved by common sense’).

3. The general sense, feeling, or judgement of mankind, or of a community.


4. Philos. The faculty of primary truths; ‘the complement of those cognitions or convictions which we receive from nature; which all men therefore possess in common; and by which they test the truth of knowledge, and the morality of actions’ (Hamilton Reid's Wks. II. 756).
Philosophy of Common Sense: that philosophy which accepts as the ultimate criterion of truth the primary cognitions or beliefs of mankind; e.g. in the theory of perception, the universal belief in the existence of a material world. Applied to the Scotch school which arose in the 18th c. in opposition to the views of Berkeley and Hume.

And people are automatically endowed with this sense?