A few days ago I was pondering the question of how our notion of common sense, perhaps considered by some to be a form of intuition (maybe), develops in the mind. Questions such as these seem to be more pertinent to me recently, whether because I am aging, or because I happen to have young children at home (I think the latter is predominantly the cause), I'm not entirely sure of. I phrased this statement in this way because common sense is complicated. On the one hand it is thought to be something "intuitive," but what is intuitive can be environmentally and socially influenced.
So I thought, a good way to understand how common sense develops is to first understand and compare what might be considered common sense. In my mind, this is not a "lecture" after all, just a jot down of several notions that flashed into thought. I want to use a few of these concepts of what I consider common sense for more in depth analysis, and this blog seemed a good space for me to ramble(!).
I would consider ___ to be common sense.
1) -not touching a burning or hot stove or cooking pot-
2) -checking the light signal or safety of crossing at road intersections prior to crossing (valid for pedestrians and motor vehicles)-
3) -placing a cigarette butt in the butt bin-
4) -having a working phone ready for emergencies-
5) -...-
How does one teach or instill common sense?
Let me comment a bit on these notions.
1) I would consider this to be common sense, because I've been burned before by a hot cooking pot and don't want a repeat experience! I imagine anyone with similar experience to agree, except for those that don't actually mind getting burned. This raises a separate and interesting question of degrees of tolerance, and what would be a common sensical and acceptable level of tolerance by the average. Young children, such as my own, that haven't had a burn experience are not all naturally afraid of a burning stove or hot cooking pot. Some have to be warned to not touch a burning fire, some need to be burned to not get burned again, some naturally develop a defense mechanism, and of course some may be inclined to experience burns repeatedly. Not all are mad.
2) This is seemingly common sense as most of us would want to avoid a vehicle accident.
3) I observe that this is not necessarily thought of as common sense by many smokers (I see many on the streets in the US, China, etc.) but it is probably thought to be a concept that should be instilled as common sense by many in the enforcement sector. A quick search online shows examples of signs in many countries warning smokers to place cigarettes in proper disposal or face a fine.
4) This is probably common sense since the invention of the phone.
...
So I thought, a good way to understand how common sense develops is to first understand and compare what might be considered common sense. In my mind, this is not a "lecture" after all, just a jot down of several notions that flashed into thought. I want to use a few of these concepts of what I consider common sense for more in depth analysis, and this blog seemed a good space for me to ramble(!).
I would consider ___ to be common sense.
1) -not touching a burning or hot stove or cooking pot-
2) -checking the light signal or safety of crossing at road intersections prior to crossing (valid for pedestrians and motor vehicles)-
3) -placing a cigarette butt in the butt bin-
4) -having a working phone ready for emergencies-
5) -...-
How does one teach or instill common sense?
Let me comment a bit on these notions.
1) I would consider this to be common sense, because I've been burned before by a hot cooking pot and don't want a repeat experience! I imagine anyone with similar experience to agree, except for those that don't actually mind getting burned. This raises a separate and interesting question of degrees of tolerance, and what would be a common sensical and acceptable level of tolerance by the average. Young children, such as my own, that haven't had a burn experience are not all naturally afraid of a burning stove or hot cooking pot. Some have to be warned to not touch a burning fire, some need to be burned to not get burned again, some naturally develop a defense mechanism, and of course some may be inclined to experience burns repeatedly. Not all are mad.
2) This is seemingly common sense as most of us would want to avoid a vehicle accident.
3) I observe that this is not necessarily thought of as common sense by many smokers (I see many on the streets in the US, China, etc.) but it is probably thought to be a concept that should be instilled as common sense by many in the enforcement sector. A quick search online shows examples of signs in many countries warning smokers to place cigarettes in proper disposal or face a fine.
4) This is probably common sense since the invention of the phone.
...
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