Common Sense Discussion

Guest Blogger: Garrett Farmer
(January 7, 2009) To Craig,
There is no such thing as common sense. Common sense implies that everyone has some inherent shared knowledge. This cannot be true as we are not born with knowledge, and we have not all experienced the same things. Even in the event of a shared experience, we all react to things differently depending on our prior dispositions. We all add to our knowledge base separately. We are not a unified consciousness. Saying people lack common sense is silly.

(January 8, 2009) To Garrett,

I have been giving a magnanimous amount of thought to your idea that there is no such thing as common sense. I have to disagree, because if there is no common sense then we have can't have common ground, common bonds, common purposes, or anything else that falls under the disguise of being in common. Your argument will hold liquid only in the fact that everybody perceives things differently, however I use the term in relevance to people exerting good and sound judgment in all of their actions and decisions.

I am sure you have met people with this trait (maybe in your own family).

Hope I didn't make you mad with my warped logic --I seem to have that unique talent recently.

(January 23, 2009) To Craig,
We don't have common purposes and goals as a society. There are a multitude of goals and ideologies that people hold dear. That's why we have government. They listen to the ideas of different groups of people then act for those groups. If we all shared the same common beliefs and goals, there would be no need for government.

Logic. Reason. Judgment. "Good sense." These are not common attributes in people. Most people do not have a background in logic, reason, or good judgment because these things are not taught anywhere close to universally. Good sense is a term relevant to the person with or without it.

To use common sense in argument, as you have, is to make a poor argument. Although it may be true that most people have some "common sense" (it's a bad idea to stick one's hand in a fire), it is unfair to assume that people share common beliefs toward complex problems. For instance, you have no way of knowing how the common American feels about a GM bailout. I would guess that, since it has been such a huge topic of debate, there are many opinions.

Furthermore, even if a large majority did feel one way about a bailout, it is not a good idea to make policy based on that majority's opinion. Most people don't have a background in economics, business, etc. Why should they be trusted to make sound decisions in such matters? Let's say you're in the E.R. with a broken arm, and twenty patients said there was no way to repair the bone. They suggest you amputate it to save yourself from gangrene. There are also three doctors in the room. They say they can put your arm in a cast, and you'll be fine in a month. Whose opinion will you trust here? In the 60's a lot of people said it was common sense that black people were not people- they were animals that didn't deserve the same rights as whites. This was a commonly held belief among a lot of people. I'm glad we got past common sense and looked at the issue more thoroughly.

None of this is meant to say that we should blindly trust in our leaders- I am always of the opinion that we should be questioning the reasoning of government. We should question it based on solid logic and reasoning though- not on what we perceive to the publics’ "common sense."

Thanks again for writing the blog. I read it every other day or so. I enjoy listening to your views and stories.