COMMON SENSE

 

Common sense is the right mix of spatial, bodily kina-esthetic, and interpersonal skills. Common sense is not common. But we have been trained to think of it as lowly. It is common not in the sense of ubiquitous - but common in the sense of petty or trivial. It merely brings out the biased nature of our daily values and the language that codes them.

Common sense is praised - and its lack mourned - almost wholly with respect to three kinds of aptitudes - the interpersonal, the spatial, and the bodily kina-esthetic intelligence. The expression ‘common sense’ is never used to describe other kinds of intelligence such as musical, logical-mathematical, or linguistic intelligence. These appear to be ‘higher’ intelligence. It is, among other things, based on the hierarchy between mind and body that we have inherited as part of modern consciousness - that mental faculties are somehow superior to physical ones. As a part-mechanical, part-social skill required in everyday life, it sits on a pecking order much lower than those that form the foundation of established academic or artistic fields.

But what is common sense? It is not another kind of knowledge, nor is it a simple cognitive process or ability. Common sense tells us that it is as complex as the factors inherent in any kind of situation to which it might be applied.

 

Common sense is a practical view and approach to ourselves, to other people, and to all aspects of living. It is how we deal with issues and problems, how we manage our own thoughts, our beliefs, our attitudes, and how we cope with other people. It is essentially practical and worldly, not intellectual or academic. Common sense requires that we are flexible and ready to jettison habits and old ways of thinking when they do not serve us practically. This is one reason the techniques of "Do Something Different" is relevant to improving common sense.

 

Psychology has very little to say about common sense.  Despite this, the term is used quite liberally in some parts of the discipline. Robert J. Sternberg – a great psychologist who bravely tackled many practical topics - saw common sense as practical intelligence. In his much-quoted 1995 paper Testing Common Sense, he discussed practical intelligence and tacit knowledge in terms of common sense. Although neither measure related to traditional intelligence scores both were much stronger predictors of job performance and life success.  For Sternberg, common sense was a real-world ‘problem-solving ability’.  

 

But common sense is much more than problem-solving.  It also involves taking a sensible perspective, having functional attitudes and beliefs, being able to tackle a range of problems, getting on with people when it matters, grasping perspective of others, knowing and using emotions appropriately, not losing sight of the goal, being flexible and adaptable with a sufficient range of behaviours to match the job.

 

To reduce common sense down to domain-specific expertise or knowledge is to miss the point. It extends far beyond that, recruiting both meta-knowledge and discerning ability to know which rules and judgements apply in vastly differing circumstances.

 

A one percent boost in the common sense of staff could result in greater corporate profitability. More common sense would reduce global conflict, improve relationships, and develop a greater tolerance for the differences between each of us.

 

Psychology could contribute much to our understanding of common sense. But to do so it may have to better understand the limitations of scientific methods. Complex problems can be broken down into scientifically manageable experiments and controlled variables, but useful practical answers demand a level of complexity that stretches way beyond the reaches of the ‘ordinary’ science.

 

Meanwhile, common sense, a victim of biased nomenclature, continues to be a rare commodity in this world!

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