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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 conc

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.

cristianpascu 11y ago
> 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 <x, y, t>. 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.
- analyst74 11y ago
  Am I reading this wrong, or is cristianpascu basically saying he miss the good old days before minorities had rights?
  - mc32 11y ago
    You're framing this from a western perspective, yet people in Papua new guinea also have something called common sense, irrespective of colonization, etc. Don't always look at things thru a western point of view or experience. Lots of themes which exist in western culture actually also exist elsewhere.
  - cristianpascu 11y ago
    Was kidding, man! :)
shawn-butler 11y ago
"Common sense" derives from Aristotle's use of "sensus communis" He noted that animals and humans share the same 5 perceptual senses, sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch. And animals are also able to make distinctions combining one or more of these senses just as humans do.. (e.g., white and sweet = yum, compared to white and salty = yuck). Animal rationality has no place in Aristotelian philosophy so the common sense was posited as that facility that both humans and animals share that unite multiple perceptual sensations into self-evident truths that are not just simple facts but also not requiring logic or rational consideration / synthesis.
tunesmith 11y ago
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.

cristianpascu 11y ago

> 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 <x, y, t>. 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.

analyst74 11y ago
Am I reading this wrong, or is cristianpascu basically saying he miss the good old days before minorities had rights?
- mc32 11y ago
  You're framing this from a western perspective, yet people in Papua new guinea also have something called common sense, irrespective of colonization, etc. Don't always look at things thru a western point of view or experience. Lots of themes which exist in western culture actually also exist elsewhere.
- cristianpascu 11y ago
  Was kidding, man! :)

shawn-butler 11y ago

"Common sense" derives from Aristotle's use of "sensus communis" He noted that animals and humans share the same 5 perceptual senses, sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch. And animals are also able to make distinctions combining one or more of these senses just as humans do.. (e.g., white and sweet = yum, compared to white and salty = yuck). Animal rationality has no place in Aristotelian philosophy so the common sense was posited as that facility that both humans and animals share that unite multiple perceptual sensations into self-evident truths that are not just simple facts but also not requiring logic or rational consideration / synthesis.

tunesmith 11y ago

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.