Uncommon Sense about Common Sense

At one time or another, you have referred to some idea or behavior as common sense, most likely in reference to an instance in which you personally observed a breach of it. If you haven't done this, you have directly witnessed someone else doing it. Commons sense is a widely accepted and often applied concept to many of the ideas and behaviors we perform and encounter on a daily basis. But have you ever actually thought about the concept of common sense? Who decides what ideas or behaviors fit into this category and on what grounds? Most importantly, if common sense is as common as it claims to be, why are breaches of it so prolific? There are no good answers to these questions because common sense is a concept that is fatally flawed at its most basic level.

What is common sense? Dictionary.com suggests that common sense is a "sound practical judgment that is independent of specialized knowledge, training or the like; normal native intelligence." This definition tells us two important things. 1) Common sense refers to knowledge or behavior that is native and normal. These ideas and behaviors seems to blatantly obvious that it is shocking to see someone act contrary to it. 2) Common sense refers to ideas and behaviors that are not taught, but instinctual. Due to this, the implication is that this set of knowledge and behaviors is obligatory upon any rational being. The universality and absolutivity with which common sense then applies to humanity becomes problematic when we consider how often we see people act contrary to common sense.

I think this problem arises from the fact that the modern understanding of common sense refers to things that are not truly instinctual, but rather to things that we think should be instinctual but actually must be learned. Take breathing for example. Knowing to breath is instinctual whereas knowing not to breath under water must be learned. Breathing does not constitute something that we would believe to be common sense. However, knowing you can't breath under water is placed in the common sense category. Why is this? It is because we create a category of ideas and behaviors based on observations of what ideas work best and what behaviors are the most appropriate reactions to specific stimuli (i.e. "sound practical judgement"). However, the fact that there are breaches of our prerceived common sense categories suggest that there are those who either haven't come to the same conclusion or haven't had the opportunity to react to those stimuli and thus develop a preferred/best response. Therefore, since common sense appears so subjective, can it actually claim true "commonness?"

Two other aspects of common sense further confirm the problematic nature of "common sense":

1 - It is practically impossible to measure how "common"various tenants of common sense actually are. People don't want to appear devoid of common sense themselves. Therefore, when they are questioned as to whether something is common sense, they will reply (both vocally and mentally) "of course it is" unless the matter at hand is so blatantly not common sensicle that they do not risk ridicule for disagreeing. Even thought they may have not previously considered a certain matter common sense, they will now amend their personal "common sense" category to include this matter in order to appear as being in compliance with widespread common sense.

2) Common sense is culturally and chronologically contextualized, suggesting it is more often based on subjective than objective substance. Take hand washing for example. In 21st century America, it is common sense to wash one's hands after using the restroom and before eating. 200 years ago, this was not necessarily the case. Today while it is common sense in America, it is not so in many disease plaugued areas of Africa and Asia. This, once again, begs the question of how "common" common sense actually is.

In conclusion, common sense is a fatally flawed concept because it is not true to what it claims to be. Both the name and the general understanding of common sense suggests that it pertains to ideas and behaviors that everyone should know. The fact that the ideas and behaviors that we classify as "common sense" must be learned demonstrates that they cannot tuely be considered "common." Rather, common sense entities are simply a set of ideas and behaviors that provide a disguised opportunity for condescension by those who are privileged to have learned about those entities against those who haven't. Common sense thrives on relativity and social contextualization and thus cannot claim to be common at all. In all honesty, the only things actually worthy to fit into a category claiming commonness go by another name - instinct.