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What is 'common sense'?

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Re: What is 'common sense'?

#21

Post by squiggy22 »

hzhou321 wrote: post #9

Common 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 (…

I'll just paraphrase your last sentence. As that old adage goes.

The problem with common sense is, its just not that common.

Re: What is 'common sense'?

#25

Post by JesperRavn »

There are some things that there is no reliable scientific data on. Almost any argument is going to rely on these things in some way. E.g. Black people commit much more crime per capita than White people. Some people might consider it common sense that no amount of discrimination by the justice system could account for such a gap. Other people might say the opposite: there is so much specific evidence of discrimination that we should expect the overall system to be extremely biased.

Sure, specific studies might fill the gap, but more questions will be raised about the details of those studies, and the cycle continues.

While we should use all available evidence, at the end of the day we need more information than object evidence can provide, in order to form opinions about important topics.

Re: What is 'common sense'?

#26

Post by cubix »

hzhou321 wrote: post #9

Common 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 (…

> For example, cutting vegetables. I would say it is a common sense to always put your holding figures on top

That's not actually what most experts advocate. Chefs are trained to hold from the side, but with their finger tips curled underneath their knuckles for protection.

https://youtu.be/cV0c7qiNjuI?t=1m56s

Re: What is 'common sense'?

#27

Post by benihana »

cubix wrote: post #26
hzhou321 wrote: post #9

Common 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 (…

> For example, cutting vegetables. I would say it is a common sense to always put your holding figures on top That's not actually what most experts advocate. Chefs are trained to hold from the side, but with their finger tips curled underneath their knuckles for protection. https://youtu.be/cV0c7qiNjuI?t=1m56s

Which is a perfect example of the fact that 'most commonly arrived at conclusion' doesn't always mean [other adjective] (best, safest, fastest, most efficient) conclusion.

Re: What is 'common sense'?

#28

Post by tunesmith »

robert_tweed wrote: post #4

The 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.

I think you're more describing a heuristic or a rule of thumb, aren't you? I think the root problem of all of this is that it's impossible to tell ahead of time when it's more efficient to use shortcuts, and when it's actually worth the time to go through the exhaustive analysis.

Re: What is 'common sense'?

#30

Post by jessriedel »

cubix wrote: post #26
hzhou321 wrote: post #9

Common 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 (…

> For example, cutting vegetables. I would say it is a common sense to always put your holding figures on top That's not actually what most experts advocate. Chefs are trained to hold from the side, but with their finger tips curled underneath their knuckles for protection. https://youtu.be/cV0c7qiNjuI?t=1m56s

If I had to pick a direction that that chef is holding the carrot from, it's "top".
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