Common Sense - Yoritomo Tashi

[I of Macedon]

I thought I would post this for thought and/or add weight, further discussion or positive influence to various other topical areas on the forum....Just a thought., not to say that we aren’t reasoned people.

Common Sense: How to Exercise it, Yoritomo Tashi

A most absurd prejudice has occasionally considered common sense to be an inferior quality of mind. The error arises from the fact that it can adapt itself as well to the most elevated conceptions as to the most elemental mentalities.

To those who possess common sense is given the faculty of placing everything in its proper rank

It does not underestimate the value of sentiments by attributing to them an exaggerated importance.

It permits us to consider fictitious reasons with reservation and of resolutely rejecting those that resort to weapons of hypocrisy.

Persons who cultivate common sense never refuse to admit their errors...

Common sense permits us to elude fear which always seizes those whose judgement vacillates; it removes the defiance of the will and indicates infallibly the correct attitude to assume

Common sense varies in its character, according to surroundings and education, thus the common sense of one class of people is not the same as that of a neighbouring class.

An idea can be rejected or accepted by common sense without violating the principles of logic in the least.

Yoritomo states that common sense is the art of resolving questions not the art of posing them.

It is only with the aid of common sense that it is possible to distinguish the exact nature of the proposition, submitted for a just appreciation, and to render a solution of it which conforms to perfect accuracy and interpretation. NOTE: without accuracy common sense cannot be accurately developed as it can find itself shocked by incoherency, resulting from a lack of exactness in the expression of opinions.


Principle qualities of common sense

Reason (Healthy thoughts)
Moderation (Restrain our impatience and put a break on tempestuous enthusiasm)
Penetration (Try to explain hidden reason)
Consistency (Banish all thought derogatory to the subject in question)
Wisdom (Lessons of experience)


Common sense and Illusion

Common sense is solid, illusion is yielding, also illusion never issues victorious from a combat with it; during a struggle illusion endeavors vainly to display its subterfuges and cunning; illusions disappear one by one, crushed by the powerful arms of their terrible adversary - common sense.

The worship of illusion says Yoritomo, presents certain dangers to the integrity of judgement, which, under such influence, falsifies the comparative faculty, and sways decision to the side of neutrality. This kind of mental half-sleep is extremely detrimental to manifestations of reason, because this torper excludes it from imaginary conceptions.

The man who allows himself to be influenced by vague dreams, adds the Shogun, must, if he does not react powerfully, bid farewell to common sense and reason; for he will experience so great a charm in forgetting, even for one moment, the reality of life, that he will seek to prolong this blest moment. He will renounce logic, whose conclusions, are at times, opposed to his desires, and he will plunge himself into that false delight of awakened dreams, or, as some say, day-dreams.

[Risto the Great]

Nice article but to suggest "common sense is solid" and also suggest that "Common sense varies in its character, according to surroundings and education, thus the common sense of one class of people is not the same as that of a neighbouring class" means common sense is only solid within the same class of people.

In which case, what good is it?

[makedonche]

Nice article but to suggest "common sense is solid" and also suggest that "Common sense varies in its character, according to surroundings and education, thus the common sense of one class of people is not the same as that of a neighbouring class" means common sense is only solid within the same class of people.

In which case, what good is it?

RTG
Wouldn't that make it uncommon sense?

[I of Macedon]

From my interpretation common sense is solid for those who possess it and adhere to its principle qualities (thus not necessarily a universal conception), furthermore, common sense doesn’t change (not to say that you stated it does) but its character can be different. Similar where we say a human is a human yet no two humans are alike.


What good is it?

Well... it allows us to be right as well as to be wrong, likewise gives us the opportunity for reason, penetration, etc (as were highlighted above), through which it can allow us to resolve questions rather than simply posing them. This is not to say that those resolved question will always be right, but again it allows us to be wrong when one encompasses the principle qualities highlighted.

Further, in pointing out, the above piece is not to say that people including myself can pass through life with common sense alone, that is, can one pass through life without ever being a hypocrite, opinionated, and at times vague? Who knows, nevertheless, human nature allows us those qualities as apposed to adopting the notion of mere common sense.

Lastly, thinking with a level of common sense adhered too, may allow us to have a certain level of sustained grounding, thus reasoning and so on.

This is, at least, the way I see it.