Why is common sense so called?

Answer 1

To be honest my friend:-

I have no bloody Idea: as so called 'Common Sense' does not seam to be very 'Common' at all, as you look around in todays world!!!

Answer 2

I am sure, my dear inquisitive friend, that you have thought about this question carefully, and you have also considered what most of the people here are saying as a possible answer and you have posted this question after these answers failed to convince you. So you're still not any nearer to a satisfying answer.
Maybe you should consider this as one of those questions of life that we'll never know the answer to, like why didn't Donald Trump get better hair plugs, with all his wealth? and why was Paris Hilton allowed to sing? Maybe you could add it to that archive.
Or you could consider this: That people mostly use the phrase "common sense" to refer to moral conduct. It refers to accepted conventions with respect to character and not actually knowledge as such, it also refers to basic human instinct. So there is a difference between "common knowledge" and "common sense". Common knowledge is you knowing that if you stick your paw in the fire place, unbearabble pain and horrible disfugurement will result. Or that you must stop behind the white line at a red traffic light. "common sense", however, is you knowing that you should not stand blocking the doorway to a public place, while chatting to your friend about the new line of supermarket pantyhose. Or you knowing that leaving skid marks on the toilet seat is a big no-no. It's also something you're expected to know intuitively, and not by learning or experience.
With this, it is clear why people complain that "common sense" isn't so common, at least, anymore, since nowadays most people lack character and consideration for others, and basic human instincts have been numbed by over-inflated egos and plasma screens.
In any case, don't lose sleep over this age-old question, it could be, even, that there is no such thing as "common sense", perhaps some smartass used it once, long ago, and people pretended to know what he/she meant and unfortunately, it stuck....

Answer 3

I think (that I do not do often, due to some inherent risks involved) common sense is called common sense because this is the only type of sense we can share commonly with each other without having a disagreement. The reason we do not have disagreements in the region of common sense in that it is based upon simple facts and even simpler truths. It is boring, ignored and commonly overlooked by us humans who like to deal with high stuff in life, complicated things and difficult situations where there are excuses for disagreemets, excuses to fight and also to think real tough.

Answer 4

What ML is talking about is something called instinct. Common sense is called common sense because it encompasses all of our logical functions in life. For example, if you are walking down a hall and you know that all doors are made of wood and you see a door then you automatically know that that door must be made of wood. It's common sense. It's also called logical reasoning. The only problem is that a lot of people are stupid and they are lacking in common sense and logical reasoning. But it doesn't mean they don't have it.

COMMON SENSE IS DIFFERENT FROM COMMON KNOWLEDGE!!!

Answer 5

Common sense is knowledge supposedly shared by all. But that's not always the case. What might seem like common sense to me may be completely foreign to you depending on where you are from.

Answer 6

Good question, because it's not so common anymore! LOL
I think it is called that because the phrase "common sense" used to refer to things that most people should be able to figure out, hence "common". Example "It's just common sense not to wear a miniskirt in church".
Hope this helps!

Answer 7

It's an Innate Sense... something You just know as a Living thinking Organism NOT to Do. You know that if You walk off the side of a Cliff, You're gonna fall down and go Boom.... if You don't know that, You don't have any common sense.

Answer 8

It's a hedge against philosophical absurdity.

For instance, look at Zeno's Paradoxes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeno%27s_paradox

The conclusion that "there is no motion"
based on the bias of some premises over others (they cannot all be true) results in rejecting something, which leads to the absurdity.

Common Sense challenges the premises that make such conclusions true.

A classical appeal to Common Sense came from G.E. Moore when he challenged the skeptics conclusion that "we cannot know anything" by pointing to his hands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_is_one_hand

Another figure comes to mind.. Samuel Johnson, who famously kicked a rock and exclaimed "I refute it thus" in discussion of Berkeley's non-commonsensical philosophy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson

Answer 9

Because anything that is regarded as "common sense" is universally ( commonly) accepted by us all.

In other words - we all share a common understanding over certain things,occurances, situations etc.


Wikipedia explains it better - see link below.

Em x

Answer 10

Common Sense is something that is irrespective of what you are taught or have experienced so should be 'common' to us all.