What is 'common sense'?
thelongandshort.org
What is 'common sense'?
1–10 of 44 posts
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#2It is the most uncommon thing of all.
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#3This is why web developers shouldn't be given control over scrolling.
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#4The term "common sense" is a pet hate of mine. Considered objectively, it's the opposite of empiricism. It's what happens when you jump to the most obvious conclusion, regardless of whether or not it's the right one. It's the intellectual equivalent of vigilante justice.
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#5The phrase common sense is awful, as @robert_tweed says, it is the opposite of a considered opinion.
In politics, however, this idea is particularly egregious, as the article elucidates.
If you're wrong about a scientific theory or a computer program, you can tell well enough by testing the things. If you're wrong in politics, it is extremely difficult to obtain empirical evidence that this is the case.
That is not to say that it's impossible: there is plenty of research out there, and like all human-centric scientific research some of it is flawed, and most is statistically weak. As far as I can tell, "common sense" as used by UKIP, Gove, etc means assuming that any results which are contrary to your brain's initial guess are either wrong, or actually malicious[1].
The Lib Dems (who I stood for in the election) have actually tried to do the probably-impossible here and build a platform on evidence-based policy[2]. Much good it did us in the poll, of course.
[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2298146/I-refuse-s...
[2] not that it stopped some of our candidates trotting out the awful line, as the article points out.
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#6The term "common sense" is a pet hate of mine. Considered objectively, it's the opposite of empiricism. It's what happens when you jump to the most obvious conclusion, regardless of whether or not it's the right one. It's the intellectual equivalent of vigilante justice.
> Considered objectively, it's the opposite of empiricism.
It's not. Because we call it a sense, it might have nothing to do empirical senses. It has to do with what we believe about the world, including right and wrong. Common sense can be very well justified (the justification being outhere, although not all are aware of it), or it might be something seen on TV or read on HN. Perhaps it's fair to say that it's the core of a culture, defining it at . Of course, cultures are all mixed up since 1969, thus everyone is all high about their objectivity. Back in the day, long before I was born, it was better.
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#7The phrase common sense is awful, as @robert_tweed says, it is the opposite of a considered opinion. In politics, however, this idea is particularly egregious, as the article elucidates. If you're wrong about a scientific theory or a computer program, you can tell well enough by testing the things. If you're wrong in politics, it is extremely difficult to obtain empirical evidence that this is the case. That is not t…
> it is extremely difficult to obtain empirical evidence that this is the case
Hume would say it's impossible. And there's plenty of research out there to back him up. I'd disagree with him, but I have to disagree with you first. It's common sense among philosophers to be humean. :)
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#8This is why web developers shouldn't be given control over scrolling.
Specially to create carousels. :)
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#9Common sense should not be defined as common knowledge. It is not describing a type of knowledge which one simply know or ignorant. Rather it describes a most general type of critical thinking process where common people will reach the similar conclusion when they are asked to engage in the critical thinking.
For example, cutting vegetables. I would say it is a common sense to always put your holding figures on top (rather than under the vegetables or on the side). It is not a common knowledge -- for one, not all or quite a portion of our population never cut vegetables before so it can't be a common knowledge; and for two, many who try to cut vegetables will make mistakes of injuring their fingers due to lack this common sense.
However, it is a good example of common sense, if we imagine, that we ask any common people to think about the situation and devise or choose from a couple vegetable holding position, most of will reach the common conclusions.
Therefore, common sense is a common critical thinking process shared by us.
The problem with common sense is that most people -- or many of us most of the time -- do not engage in critical thinking, as a result, fail to benefit from common sense.
Re: What is 'common sense'?
#10Not sure about the UK, but in my neck of the woods here in the US, "common sense" refers to not being physically reckless, especially toward others. I understand that politicians like to co-opt terminology for themselves. Let's blame the politicians, not 'proper' vocabulary.