Essay on common sense

Submitted By josheinea
Words: 1505
Pages: 7
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Jo Sheinea Harris
Robert Jakubovic
English Composition (100-402)
11/30/2013
Common Sense What is common sense? Common sense is an abstract term that have different meanings for different people. Typically, common sense is viewed as knowledge that most people should know. This can apply to things affecting all humans, or it can pertain to certain peoples and issues. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “common sense is sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts. For example, if you are walking down the street and you approach an intersection, common sense should tell you to stop and look both ways before you keep on walking. If you were to keep walking without looking at all, your chances for being harmed are greatly increased. Many people believe that common sense do not exist. There is nothing more uncommon than common sense. This quote is anonymous, and have been used in many publishings, but it shows that many people feel that common sense do not exist. What do you think? According to Wikipedia, the term common sense was first used around 1726. Aristotle was the first known person to discuss common sense. He was describing the ability with which animals (including humans) process sense perceptions, memories and imagination in order to reach many types of basic judgments.Aristotle explained such operations with reference to a higher-order perceptual capacity which unites and monitors the five senses. This capacity is known as the 'common sense' or sensus communis. I think what he is saying is that our senses work together with our brains, and because of this we develop a mechanism that reacts when certain stimulus is transmitted. Somehow it became known as common sense. I have always thought that I have good common sense. In my opinion there are things that happen in life that you should automatically be prepared for. When you are a small child growing up you are taught certain things like how to read ,write, dress yourself, and personal hygiene, but somethings you learn by watching like how to fix a bowl of cereal or how to turn the television set. When you become an adult that is when common sense come into play. No one should have to directly tell you to put pot holders on to take the pan out of the oven. You will know that it is too hot to touch with your bare hands. We can look at common sense as a blind instinct. It do not come directly from a formal education. It is almost like a gift that you are born with. I don't mean that you are born with common sense, I mean that some people are born with an ability to develop common sense much easier than other people. It seems as if a person who never went to college has more common sense that a person who has earned a PHD. I don't think that this is true for every case, but many people seem to feel this way. I had a English teacher when I was in the tenth grade who had her PHD in literature. She was very smart and actually enjoyable. She was a textbook example of just because you are book smart do not mean that you have common sense. She was easily confused when it came to things such as taking attendance or how to use the overhead projector. She was late constantly and could never find whatever book or paper she was looking for, sometimes she couldn't even find her chalk to write on the board. I ended up being her teacher assistant that year. Many people feel that common sense do not exist. I don't think that this is true. First of all, there is no list for what common sense is. Secondly, common sense differs from culture to culture. For example, if you were raised extremely poor in a third world country, somehow you was able to make it to a big city, then you would not have common sense according to the people in the big city. The story would be the same if the roles were reversed and the person was going from the big city to the extremely poor third world country. The people would think “this person is
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