Thinking about Common Sense

I always get confused when people say “common sense.” What is common sense? Is it common? Is it a sense? Confused by the blithe use of the phrase, I decided to use what people might call “a common-sensical approach” to the meaning of “common sense.”

First, I decided to establish what it is that people think when they talk of common sense. It seems to me people think of “sound judgment,” “logic” and “reason” as a synonyms for common sense. Using reason/logic, I decided I would analyze the two words that make the phrase up and see what would I find.

Common: shared, not-noble, not special, happening regularly.
Sense: the ability to perceive something, physically or mentally, or what is mentally perceived using such ability.

According to these descriptions, the phrase “common sense” should mean something along the lines of “a regular, shared and not-special way commoners have to perceive mentally or physically.” In other words, the way common people perceive--and thus react to--the world around them.

Is it logical? It might be, but not necessarily so. By definition, common sense needs only be “common,” not follow reason. In practice, however, logic and common sense do seem to overlap. It is logical to not stab yourself in the eye, because that would damage the eye, resulting in physical pain and possible loss of sight, thus causing avoidable damage to yourself. Common sense would dictate pretty much the same thing.

But what Joe and his friends might consider to be sound judgment might not be to Jack and his buddies across the bridge. Joe and his friends might root for the Yankees, and might think it a good idea to donate money for a new statium for them to play in. Jack and his buddies might be Mets fans, and donate money for a Mets stadium. Logic dictates that being a fan is stupid, because it’s uncorresponded, unconditional love (illustrated by the current management of the new stadiums).

This way of thinking of common sense, then, seems to cease to be common across peoples in the case of baseball. There are cases, however, in which this understanding of common sense is common across different types of people. Although different cultural contexts provide different starting points for people to think about the world and perceive it, there are human instincts that exist independent of those. Some of these are avoiding pain, seeking pleasure, fear of death. When we act instinctively, we act through common sense.

Is acting instinctively, then, logic? It depends. Instinct keeps us alive. But is living logic? Probably not, though nobody knows for sure. Not even a purpose for life has been established that is common to all people.

But obviously "common sense" is just a phrase that can mean whatever we want it to mean, just like we arbitrarily say Zs mean sleep and HAs mean laughter.

Conclusion: although we think of common sense as meaning 'sound in judgment' (which probably is arrived to by logic or reason), common sense really means proceeding in a way consistent with our instincts, and this may or may not be logic.