Commonsense.

commonsense

Commonsense is defined as “good sense and sound judgement in practical matters”. And there lies the rub. There are two adjectives there – ‘good’ and ‘sound’.

The minute we add adjectives like that, the whole matter becomes subjective because what is good for one need not be so for another and what is sound for one need not be sound for another.

And that is commonsense at its best.

I rest my case.

This topic was suggested by Maxi and me for the weekly Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium where currently eight of us write on the same topic every Friday.  I hope that you enjoyed my contribution to that effort.  The seven other bloggers who write regularly are, in alphabetical order,  Ashok, gaelikaa, Lin, Maxi, Padmum, Shackman and The Old Fossil. Do drop in on their blogs and see what their take is on this week’s topic. Since some of them may post late, or not at all this week, do give some allowance for that too!

22 thoughts on “Commonsense.”

  1. Your argument seems sound to me. I had only thought that “good sense and sound judgement in practical matters” is never “common”, so that commonsense was really an oxymoron.
    Looney recently posted..Hacked!

      1. Ramana, can you tell me if wisdom is subject to the same principles? That one man’s wisdom is another’s foolishness? And I also want to know if there is any truth to the belief that those who have common sense lack wisdom, and vice versa.
        Looney recently posted..Hacked!

        2. Absolutely. For instance you are very wise in some matters about which you blog and I would come across as foolish if I even tried to approach the topic. On the other hand, I would say that common sense should be wisdom!

  2. This little club of yours sounds charming. Common sense is always subjective: “I have it. You don’t.” 🙂 True common sense, though, would be: If it’s raining, and you don’t want to get wet, wear a raincoat or carry an umbrella or both. Perhaps you love to dance in the rain! What then? Someone will think you’re insane, no doubt, but is it a lack of common sense if you choose to dance barefoot in the rain and jump in puddles like a child – provided you change into dry clothes when you’re done, so you don’t get uncomfortably chilled and perhaps catch a cold? Common sense should not be used as a criterion for judging others, though – especially if I’m dancing in the rain and you think I’m crazy.
    Holly Jahangiri recently posted..Is It Lunch, or Voodoo?

    1. That little club now awaits your LBC posts too. Precisely because I don’t have common sense, I will not think that you are crazy if I were to see you dancing in the rain.

    2. I must be the dumbest fellow on this planet Maxi. I was gently led to your new URL by Chuck and I was wondering why I did not find your posts earlier. The new blog is great. I have accessed it and have left a comment and will catch up with the backlog too.

  5. Common sense is becoming a vastly over-used sound bite these days for the very reason you listed. There are some universal examples – but nearly all can be spun in any direction. In other words, think before you speak.
    shackman recently posted..Common Sense

  6. Oh, I think you’re being far too picky. That definition of common sense seems fine to me. And yes, we could do with a lot more common sense and a lot less rarified intellectual argument. Though by common sense I don’t include mindless bigotry or knee-jerk defence of the status quo. I mean taking a down-to-earth attitude to dealing with a situation.
    nick recently posted..On a pedestal

    1. And there is the precise argument I used, your take can be different than mine and you can see Big John’s to be totally different in his comments elsewhere here.

  7. In the UK a complete lack of common sense is required if you wish to become a ‘jobsworth’, as you will be trained in all aspects of non-cooperation … obstruction … health and safety … political correctness … rule following … and … how to piss off anyone who can think for themselves !

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