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How valuable is common sense

How valuable is common sense?

  • It is of little to no value

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    16

Slartibartfast

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I question its value because it tends to rely on assumptions and personal observations vs what I consider to be more objective forms of data gathering and synthesis, such as science. What is your opinion?
 
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It depends on what you consider common sense to be.

If it is verified by a factual historical basis, yes it is valuable.
If it is a common misconception, then no it isn't.

I believe both are often considered to be within the domain of common sense.
 
Common sense , to me, says that a man should know the difference between clockwise and counter-clockwise.
He should also know not to be judgmental, as this is counter productive.
For a politician, a man should know when to think and when to speak....but not all politicians have this "gift".
In truth, one man's common sense is NOT necessarily another's....
 
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I try to run all my "common sense" through the "is it provable" system before I accept it.
That has changed my beliefs a lot.

Thats a good approach. I try to do so as well.
 
Common sense needs to be accompanied by all the factual information and in some cases scientific data. No one can truly implement common sense without all the facts.
 
Common sense is what founded this country. When discussing societal issues, it is extremely important. When discussing scientific issues, is is the benchmark for critical questioning. The poll questions are flawed because they don't make this distinction.
 
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It depends on if we're discussing hard science (like biology or astronomy) or soft sciences (like politics or psychology). With hard science, common sense is irrelevant -- the earth is round no matter how much common sense might tell you it's flat. However, when dealing with people -- who are not predictable and subject to experimentation with consistent results -- common sense can be a lot more useful.
 
I question its value because it tends to rely on assumptions and personal observations vs what I consider to be more objective forms of data gathering and synthesis, such as science. What is your opinion?

Both methods should be applied. If common sense is not applied, then the exceptions to the rules are not taken into consideration.
 
Looks like you failed again, Meg.

1. I wasn't trying to prove anything or accomplish anything, but rather see what others think. Without that sort of intent than there is no failure, especially since someone responded to my question with their own view. That would mean I accomplished my purpose.
2. As of the votes right now, if averaged, than common sense is viewed as slightly less relevant than other forms of information, which, if there was a competition (and based on my statement in the OP) would indicate a slight preference against the value of common sense. But as I stated this is not a competition
3. I find it odd that you think it is some sort of competition.
 
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Personally, I don't really know how to define "common sense", or if such is even possible.

I think it may be slightly different for each person.

I would probably define it as the method you use to draw a conclusion based on the knowledge, facts, and so forth, that you have at hand.

But I dunno.
 
Personally, I don't really know how to define "common sense", or if such is even possible.

I think it may be slightly different for each person.

I would probably define it as the method you use to draw a conclusion based on the knowledge, facts, and so forth, that you have at hand.

But I dunno.

Well according to wikipedia

Common sense (or, when used attributively as an adjective, commonsense, common-sense, or commonsensical), based on a strict construction of the term, consists of what people in common would agree on[citation needed] : that which they "sense" as their common natural understanding. [citation needed] Some people (such as the authors of Merriam-Webster Online) use the phrase to refer to beliefs or propositions that — in their opinion — most people would consider prudent and of sound judgment, without reliance on esoteric knowledge or study or research, but based upon what they see as knowledge held by people "in common". Thus "common sense" (in this view) equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have. However this is not the common dictionary definition. The most common meaning to the phrase is good sense and sound judgement in practical matters.[citation needed] It has nothing to do with what other people may think or feel.

Which seems like a pretty good definition.
 
1. I wasn't trying to prove anything or accomplish anything, but rather see what others think. Without that sort of intent than there is no failure, especially since someone responded to my question with their own view. That would mean I accomplished my purpose.
2. As of the votes right now, if averaged, than common sense is viewed as slightly less relevant than other forms of information, which, if there was a competition (and based on my statement in the OP) would indicate a slight preference against the value of common sense. But as I stated this is not a competition
3. I find it odd that you think it is some sort of competition.

This was obviously in response to my earlier comment about common sense prevailing, and you messed up the poll. Its not a competition.
 
This was obviously in response to my earlier comment about common sense prevailing, and you messed up the poll. Its not a competition.

It made me think of it, but it was not directed at you, but it did pique my curiosity.

I disagree that I messed up the poll, in your post, you felt that common sense was very important, there are two options for you to choose from if you have that sentiment.
 
It made me think of it, but it was not directed at you, but it did pique my curiosity.

I disagree that I messed up the poll, in your post, you felt that common sense was very important, there are two options for you to choose from if you have that sentiment.

Well again, Meg, it depends on what you are arguing about, pure science or something less quantifiable like human behavior. Common sense is important in either, just in different ways. Most of the comments here say something similar, and your poll doesn't take that into account.

You messed up. :mrgreen:
 
Well again, Meg, it depends on what you are arguing about, pure science or something less quantifiable like human behavior. Common sense is important in either, just in different ways. Most of the comments here say something similar, and your poll doesn't take that into account.

You messed up. :mrgreen:

3 out of 8 posters held that sentiment. That is not most. Anyway, feel free to continue trolling and derailing the thread. My hope is that more sensible people will post and there will be an actual discussion.
 
I voted for the "It is very valuable and more important than other methods" option, because it most closely fits my understanding of the situation.

However, it's more nuanced than that.

In my understanding, people use "common sense" as a key component of any method or combination of methods used to find an answer.

But perhaps I'm applying the term "common sense" to something entirely different.

Meh.
 
in my opinion common sense is not very common
those who possess it are very easy to identify
in the military 'squared away' seemed to be a common description of those with uncommon common sense
i am not sure someone can truly be successful without it

i assist refugees who possess substantial common sense
they are tribal hunter gatherers who also engage in basic farming
but because they seldom attended school beyond fifth grade their limited skill set severely restricts their employability
for example, if they have to do carpentry, they are unable to use fractions. that is a concept which is beyond them. but tell them to space the board the space of their hands and they are very adept
again, lots of common sense, very little education. maybe it is their common sense that has allowed them to be so self sufficeint in the jungle, and less so in an American urban environment

one of the critical components of common sense appears to be situational awareness. and that appears to be on the wane. a sport like baseball teaches it. to play baseball (or fastpitch) on defense, the player must always know IN ADVANCE what to do if the ball is hit their way. and that skill seems to become ingrained into other aspects of the way the players conduct themselves off the field. only weak basball players lack good situational awareness. but like that trait, baseball is also on the wane ... there is a correlation
 
3 out of 8 posters held that sentiment.
Ah! Now I see says the blind man. Admittedly I did not survey individual responses and tally them, nor do I feel the need to do so, as the point is minor and "several" can be substituted for "most" in my argument without affecting its strength.
 
Ah! Now I see says the blind man. Admittedly I did not survey individual responses and tally them, nor do I feel the need to do so, as the point is minor and "several" can be substituted for "most" in my argument without affecting its strength.

Main Entry: 1sev·er·al
Pronunciation: \ˈsev-rəl, ˈse-və-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin separalis, from Latin separ separate, back-formation from separare to separate
Date: 15th century

1 a : separate or distinct from one another <federal union of the several states> b (1) : individually owned or controlled : exclusive <a several fishery> — compare common (2) : of or relating separately to each individual involved <a several judgment> c : being separate and distinctive : respective <specialists in their several fields>
2 a : more than one <several pleas> b : more than two but fewer than many <moved several inches> c chiefly dialect : being a great many

Main Entry: 1most
Pronunciation: \ˈmōst\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mǣst; akin to Old High German meist most, Old English māra more — more at more
Date: before 12th century

1 : greatest in quantity, extent, or degree <the most ability>
2 : the majority of <most people>

Several could mean most, but it could also be fewer than most. So, I disagree that it does not affect the strength of the argument as several is less precise a number and could mean anything, really.

However, I will happily accept your backtracking as you admitting that you were wrong.
 
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Well according to wikipedia

<Snip>

Which seems like a pretty good definition.

I think that "TheMark" was trying to make the case that the factual basis for what is known as each persons "common sense" varies between person to person.

Some people (because of that variance) have more "common sense" than others.
 
I prefer good judgement, but would accept common sense as long as it doens't include blindly accepting common belief...
 
I question its value because it tends to rely on assumptions and personal observations vs what I consider to be more objective forms of data gathering and synthesis, such as science. What is your opinion?

Common sense (to me) seems to serve a more important role when science, data gathering and logic aren't possible or present.

Logic and common sense, however, sometimes are quite related - and maybe even dependent on each other. If you are without common-sense, your logic suffers. If you are without logic, your common sense suffers.

Like: Yesterday I told my son the other day to get some lunch meat from the fridge so I could lure a dog out from under the deck. An adult - or other child (like my daughter) would have looked for the lunch meat and, if there was none, would have considered dog-edible suitable options: hot-dog, cheese. . .

My son, because of his underdeveloped common sense due to their developmental disorder, brought me a frozen package of bologna from the freezer instead of something I could actually feed to the dog. he didn't see lunch meat in the fridge, so naturally, the freezer seemed to be the next best choice.

Logic, without common sense, is vapid

My oldest son has a more extreme issue when it comes to his lack. He, also, functions without common sense - but is very heavy on logic. Thus, his actions are to the extreme opposite of his brother's - purely lacking common sense but still functioning within a logical reason.
If I asked him to bring me lunch meat from the fridge, if he didn't see it, he would have brought me something akin to it - his reasoning is: "I see no lunch meat, I do see meat, I do see lunch condiments." Since the dogs don't eat a "lunch" the only logical conclusion to him would have been to get something related to "human lunch." So bread, mayonnaise or jelly would have been his likely choice.

It really depends on who you're talking about, the situation they're in, and if they have a fully developed 'common sense' 'logic' or a balance of both.
 
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