# What things are considered "common sense?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292 "2017-10-31T16:20:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/1 "2017-10-31T16:20:38Z")
Wanted to have a thread discussion about what is considered “common sense” - not that it is necessarily _right_, but that it is considered common sense. I believe a big reason - perhaps even the main reason - 63 million people voted for Trump is because he was perceived as standing for “common sense.” (Strangely, though, in 2012, people would have probably said that it would be common sense to not elect someone like Donald Trump.) No data or stats to cite here, but I think that the majority of U.S. opinion, so far, considers deporting illegal immigrants to be “common sense.” Common sense also says, or said at one point, that there are only two genders, that marriage should be between one man and one woman, etc. At the same time, things like abortion are divided so deeply that there is not a “common sense” consensus - although I think it would lean slightly towards pro-choice. Same on climate change - it might be “common sense” by 2030 that climate change is real, but for now it is not there yet. “People should be allowed/not allowed to own guns” - too divided for a common-sense consensus. “Police officers should be able to use lethal force when needed” - so far I think still yes, but it is the exact situations in which they have used force that is controversial. “There should be a wall on the border” - too divided; although Trump’s supporters consider it common sense. Voter ID is perceived by many as being common sense. So - what exactly can a large majority of Americans (let’s say, at least 80%) - can agree is “common sense?” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/2 "2017-10-31T16:23:46Z")
Is “common sense” the same thing as “common consensus”? That seems to be how you are defining it in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/3 "2017-10-31T17:10:18Z")
OP - I think you need to define “common sense”. To me it would be something like, understanding an obvious truth, for example gravity, or being able to see an obvious danger and avoid it, like standing outside during a lightning storm, or playing catch with a grenade. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/4 "2017-10-31T17:13:24Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > OP - I think you need to define “common sense”. To me it would be something like, understanding an obvious truth, for example gravity, or being able to see an obvious danger and avoid it, like standing outside during a lightning storm, or playing catch with a grenade. Good point - although it is mostly about political common sense. Hard to define though. “Common sense” seems to be a circular, self-referencing term. But - what would the vast majority of Americans consider to be “obvious )political) truth?” - as you put it. Like “Bringing jobs back” sounds like common sense, but is problematic. Or “Take a tough stance on crime” sounds like common sense. Or “fewer guns, fewer gun crimes,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/5 "2017-10-31T17:24:02Z")
I don’t feel Trump was aiming for the “common sense” demographic. I feel his campaign was aimed at the “conspiracy theory” demographic. His campaign spread the message that you couldn’t trust the insiders, that there were issues that the government and the media was covering up, and that “they” were out to get people. These are all notes that would resound with conspiracy theorists. And Trump endorsed ideas like birtherism and anti-vaxxing, to show that he was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/6 "2017-10-31T18:08:56Z")
Do not piss into the wind. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/7 "2017-10-31T18:19:41Z")
Aren’t AI researchers spending billions of dollars to figure this out? If they haven’t figure it out, neither have we. I have no idea. I’ve heard that the reason our brains don’t fully mature until we are 25 is because we need to learn all the unspoken rules and regulations of the society we live in, especially when those rules contradict the rules people tell us society is run on (telling the truth is always the best option, never judge someone by their appearance, conformity is wrong, etc). I think the issue is also that common sense isn’t just common sense (watch both ways before crossing the street, don’t play russian roulette with a semi auto pistol, etc) but our cognition is an extension of our morality too. For conservatives, building a wall may be common sense based on their moral and emotions that underlay their reasoning. To liberals who have different morals and emotions underlying their cognition it may not be. Because our underlying morals, values, etc are different there are going to be differences in what passes for ‘common sense’ among people. IMO, as far as widely accepted common sense, it is mostly a list of rules to live by that will maximize your well being as an individual and within society while avoiding behaviors that increase your risk of losing health, status, independence, etc. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/8 "2017-10-31T18:26:18Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Do not piss into the wind. Don’t tug on Superman’s cape. Don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger. Don’t mess around with Jim. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/9 "2017-10-31T22:08:24Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > OP - I think you need to define “common sense”. Not the OP, but how about “Things that sound correct when you don’t think too deeply about them”? Heavy things fall faster, just print more money to fix poverty, things like that. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/10 "2017-10-31T23:03:07Z")
“Common sense” is whatever position someone decides is common sense when there’s no rational argument or evidence to support it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/11 "2017-10-31T23:14:12Z")
It is common sense to wear a coat when it is cold, but it is horse-sense to know if the weather will change. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/12 "2017-11-01T00:33:37Z")
Since I do not see anyone actually debating the _koinē aísthēsis_ ([symbol]koinh aischsis[/symbol]) of Aristotle or the _sensus communis_ of Aquinas and the thread seems to be more anecdotal musings on the term used in English, I am passing this over to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/13 "2017-11-01T01:03:25Z")
My take: There are certain “life’s lessons” that every person learns from the earliest childhood experiences on, so it seems to us that we’ve always known those things and that _anyone_ should be expected to know those things. We call those lessons “common sense”. But it’s highly culture-dependent what those particular lessons are. People in modern Western-style cultures learn from an early age to look both ways before crossing the street, not to stick knives into electric outlets, and not to touch hot stoves. We think those lessons are blatantly obvious and straightforward and call that knowledge “common sense”. But a Khoikhoi person (the peoples formerly known as Hottentots) straight out of the veldts of Africa wouldn’t know any of those things. We might accuse them of being totally lacking in common sense. But I’ll bet the merest Khoikhoi child knows a whole lot of Khoikhoi common sense that most of us citified greenhorns would never have thought of — things like, maybe, how to safely handle a curare dart blower or how to avoid getting gored by a wildebeest. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/14 "2017-11-01T04:03:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > “Common sense” is whatever position someone decides is common sense when there’s no rational argument or evidence to support it. Yes, anything that’s labeled “Common Sense” political wise is basically somebody trying to simplify a topic that can’t be simplified just so they can claim the opposing side lacks common sense. “Common Sense Gun Control”, “Common Sense Bathroom Policy”, “Common Sense Border Control”, “Common-Sense Energy Policy” and many many others. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/15 "2017-11-01T07:03:02Z")
Common sense is not identified by the opinions you have, but by how you arrived at them. I keep wanting to use “big picture” somehow in my definition, as opposed to opinions based on a narrow perspective of an immediate outcome. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/16 "2017-11-01T07:15:37Z")
Common sense has to be common; that is, a sense that is broadly shared by the community. The point of labelling a particular view as “common sense” is to claim that it doesn’t need to be justified or demonstrated, because its truth is assumed to be widely accepted. By definition, a view which is controversial (other than at the fringes of public opinion) cannot be said to be common sense. If many people consider that the death penalty deters crime while many others consider that it does not, neither view is “common sense”. If practically everybody considers that democracy is the optimal form of government, then that view is common sense. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/17 "2017-11-01T10:01:25Z")
Your socks should be inside your pants. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/18 "2017-11-01T11:38:13Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Your socks should be inside your pants. Unless you’re riding a bike with no chain guard, while wearing long floppy-legged slacks. Or if you’re caught outside in the cold, and trying to preserve every bit of warmth. Or if there are swarming insects climbing up your socks. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Medlo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/19 "2017-11-01T12:16:04Z")
I have heard common sense defined as “That set of prejudices acquired before the age of eighteen.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292/20 "2017-11-01T12:41:06Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Yes, anything that’s labeled “Common Sense” political wise is basically somebody trying to simplify a topic that can’t be simplified just so they can claim the opposing side lacks common sense. Well, that’s just common sense. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-are-considered-common-sense/800292.md?page=2)