Your thoughts on this quote please.?

Question

Common sense is nothing more than a set of prejudices laid down by the age of eighteen.

What does this say about common sense and why?

Please explain your reasoning.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Thanks for a Great question...Star!!

On the face of it, the quote seems to lack common sense.... hence it is special. Indeed it has a deep meaning.

Common sense is normally applied without much of a thought. Therefore it is based on past experiences and exposures and not a fresh thinking input arising from the current situation. If the current situation is unique and not one of the mundane ones that keep repeating so often, application of common sense in such a situation would be ineffective and the action taken would be based on thoughts and ideas firmed up in the past without due modification or renewal to fit the current situation.... that is what happens in actions arising out of prejudices. In any case, the word prejudice precisely means that..... judged beforehand.

I therefore believe that this quote conveys a special sense as opposed to common sense that we keep looking for due to our prejudices. I am pretty sure this has come from a deeper thought and understanding of what common sense really means. Most of the extraordinary people in this world indulge in new thinking rather than displaying ordinary common sense..... they are extraordinary because they can break free from repetitive ordinary thinking and behavior which can not bring anything new to this world.

Thanks again for a great quote.... by the way, who is it from? ... whoever he may be, I can well imagine that he must be a far deeper thinker than most of us priding our common sense.

Answer 2

Well, it says that common sense is based on personal experience and developed bias...not to say that it speaks the truth, far from it. Ideally, common sense is just that. Sense that would develop not from experiences that are unique to an individual, but rather experiences that one has an overwhelming chance of having during the course of one's life. For example, the average person knows better than to put their hand on a hot stove. It's common sense. Why? Because most people have been burned in one way or another, and most people are capable of discerning that a stove is hot. (When it's on, obviously.)

Prejudice is more about personal bias, which develops, more often than not, from personal, uncommon experiences. I don't know where that quote is from, but it's waaaaay off, and the people for whom that definition applies probably have very little actual common sense.

Answer 3

I think this quote is trying to say that when you reach the age of 18, you're supposed to develop certain ideals and thoughts about things. You're technically an adult and the quote implies that once you turn this age, you leave childhood behind and adopt these so-called prejudices. I think this quote is crap. I don't know if the author agreed with the statement or not, but common sense is something that doesn't come with age...you either have it or you don't.

Answer 4

Common sense refers to things that innately make sense such as not cutting off ones own finger or not standing in a field in a lightning storm holding up a metal rod. Perhaps the person was referring to traditions in a particular culture, likely the one he/she is living in and from the sound of it rebelling against. I know that these things sound the same, my definition of common sense and cultural traditions, but although they are similar I don't think that they are necessarily the same. Further, the quote references the age of 18, it has been my experience that very little sense is used during or even shortly thereafter those years.

Answer 5

Wrong. Common sense is recognizing that certain actions will usually bring about certain reactions. I think this quote is probably from a college professor who has no common sense.

Answer 6

Wrong.

Common sense is proven to not develop biologically in a human being until the age of 25.

And common sense is above all the ability to react the correct way on your instincts.

Answer 7

It demeans the ability to grow and learn. If common sense is limited to 18 years of learning then it is limited to your experiences over those 18 years.

Answer 8

common sense is an opinion agreed upon by the majority,which the mind evaluates from conditioning,and accepts as right or wrong,good or bad.

Answer 9

i'm not sure i compleatly agree with it, but it's mostly true, we tend to think in terms of what we've already seen so in a way it's true, besides that's an Einstein quote and he was one of the smartest people ever