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As member of a social group, I regularly meet my friend who holds deeply religious views and a doctorate in chemistry. Irrespective of the subject, we end up talking about how religious rituals/superstitions are fundamental to explaining everything that 21st century life throws at you. It can be difficult to keep a straight face when one has to argue against the solar system being constructed and operated according to some divine order described in the Indian mythology, etc.
As with flat-earthers and climate sceptics, evidence based arguments are ineffective if your strongly held beliefs tell you otherwise. It is as if the brain has a bipolar or may be multipolar structure to it - one could be totally rational about some things, but at the same time incapable of understanding the reality of many others.
One could say that the mind shows good common sense most of the time but can also be doggedly irrational/superstitious. The psychology is fascinating and I wish to explore this in more detail in this article.
First we look at how common sense and superstition are defined - how we acquire them and why they serve important purpose in our lives.
Common Sense: A quick search of some dictionaries tells us that common sense is
As member of a social group, I regularly meet my friend who holds deeply religious views and a doctorate in chemistry. Irrespective of the subject, we end up talking about how religious rituals/superstitions are fundamental to explaining everything that 21st century life throws at you. It can be difficult to keep a straight face when one has to argue against the solar system being constructed and operated according to some divine order described in the Indian mythology, etc.
As with flat-earthers and climate sceptics, evidence based arguments are ineffective if your strongly held beliefs tell you otherwise. It is as if the brain has a bipolar or may be multipolar structure to it - one could be totally rational about some things, but at the same time incapable of understanding the reality of many others.
One could say that the mind shows good common sense most of the time but can also be doggedly irrational/superstitious. The psychology is fascinating and I wish to explore this in more detail in this article.
First we look at how common sense and superstition are defined - how we acquire them and why they serve important purpose in our lives.
Common Sense: A quick search of some dictionaries tells us that common sense is
1. Basic level of practical knowledge and judgement that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way.
2. Your natural ability to make good judgements and to behave in a practical and sensible way.
3. Sound practical judgement that is independent of specialised knowledge, training, or the like; normal native intelligence.
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Have you read? Laws of Nature, Common Sense and Religion
Physics of Rainbows; Moonbows; Fogbows
Common Sense (CS) is generally attributed to a person's individual behaviour/judgement. But, how does one acquire good common sense? - It develops with age through interaction with your environment and others in the society - it is like wisdom accumulated through experience. However, there is much more to common sense than just on an individual level.
Have you read? Laws of Nature, Common Sense and Religion
Physics of Rainbows; Moonbows; Fogbows
Why Do Humans Have two Front-Facing Eyes?
---------------------------Common Sense (CS) is generally attributed to a person's individual behaviour/judgement. But, how does one acquire good common sense? - It develops with age through interaction with your environment and others in the society - it is like wisdom accumulated through experience. However, there is much more to common sense than just on an individual level.
Cultural Common Sense: While CS refers to something that an individual naturally possesses (or is expected to posses), there is a wider, collective undertone to the concept of CS. For example, when we say - 'no doubt that the court's decision is a victory for common sense' - there is an implied/accepted code of behaviour that common sense refers to. CS is embedded in the culture of the society; an individual's CS is moulded by the cultural norms (customs, beliefs, traditions etc.) of the society he/she is living in. A rational belief, that is widely accepted and practised in a population over an extended period of time, becomes common sense - accepted by the majority of population without questioning. For example, common sense tells us that the child should be vaccinated at the correct age to prevent the danger of catching infections.
Cultural norms are different in different cultures leading to the corollary that an individual's CS in one culture will not be the same as that of somebody in a different culture - there is a culture divide. For example, on entering a house in tropical countries like India, it is common sense to take your shoes off to prevent dust and infections; and expect to be offered a glass of water. This is not so in the West.
Or, it is common sense not to violate somebody's personal space - the personal space in Romania may be 1.4 meters while in Argentina it is only 0.76 meters.
For another good example see this.
Or, it is common sense not to violate somebody's personal space - the personal space in Romania may be 1.4 meters while in Argentina it is only 0.76 meters.
For another good example see this.
Cultural norms also change with time. In the past, this was a slow process but in the modern knowledge-based societies, travel and communications have become enormously more efficient with the result that there is significant intermixing of ideas and beliefs leading to greater cultural homogenisation. There is also a greater evolving understanding of natural events and psychology.
Intrinsic Common Sense: These concern with personal safety and physical welfare - it is common sense not to touch a very hot surface or jump out of a high window or point a sharp knife away from your hands when chopping vegetables. These are common to all and we follow them without debating what we should do. Such CS are evolutionary - we are naturally safety conscious - and it takes extra effort to go against them.
Common Sense and Laws of Nature: Humans are distinguished from other animals by their curiosity to understand and make sense of our origins and surroundings. Centuries of such enquiries/experience brought common sense explanations of many phenomena in spiritual, philosophical and scientific disciplines. However, we are seriously limited by our capability in fully studying our surroundings in spatial and temporal domains. For example, we only see objects of size greater than about 0.01 mm, hear sounds in the range up to 20 kiloHertz and can not resolve events separated in time by less than about 0.001 sec. It is not surprising that common sense theories built on such limited observational base spectacularly fail to make proper sense of the world and construct suitable laws of nature which can determine/predict what is happening in the physical universe. Common sense does not sit at all comfortably with the counter-intuitive aspects of the most successful modern theories of quantum mechanics and relativity. For a detailed discussion see 1 and 2.
The inherent inability of common sense to properly explain natural phenomena and other fundamental questions has lead to much confusion. The development of personal as well as organised religions with many unsatisfactory aspects led people to search elsewhere for some sort of order like
Mysticism (search for truth, knowledge and closeness to God through meditation and prayer; ill-defined religious beliefs)
Superstitions (a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or a false conception of causation),
Spirituality (a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves - typically involves a search for meaning in life)
and many others. Here, I shall look at superstitions as these are observed by a great majority, if not all, of the populations throughout the world.
Superstitions: are beliefs that are not based on human reason or scientific knowledge but are connected with old ideas about magic etc.
For example, Walking under a ladder brings bad luck or number 13 is unlucky - the street I live also does not have a house no. 13! Superstitions are very different from common sense - CS is mostly based on rational analysis and past experience of members in a society. Without common sense, life will be impossible.
Superstitions are by and large irrational - they arise when something cannot be explained by rational thought. Historically, before science could make sense of natural phenomena like thunder and lightning, people thought that these represent God's displeasure and are sent there to punish them. Many cultures consider rainbows as a warning of doom.
Wanting more control/certainty is the driving force behind superstitions. We tend to look for some kind of rule or explanation why things happen. One believes in superstitions because sometimes the creation of a false certainty is better than no certainty at all. Frequently, we express our superstitions through rituals believing they have some magical significance and will bring us good luck or ward off evil outcomes. Keeping your fingers crossed, tapping on wood are rituals most people have followed. People who are afraid of Friday the 13th, might change travel plans or cancel an appointment because of unnecessary anxiety such action will create.
Similarly, superstitious thinking or behaviour can give us a sense of security and confidence; like carrying an object or wearing an item of clothing that you think had brought luck in the past. There may be an element of placebo affect here - if you think something will help you then it may just do that - there is tremendous power in belief.
Interestingly, intelligence seems to have little to do with whether we are superstitious or not - Harvard students rub the foot of John Harvard statue for good luck.
I leave with some thoughts on the way things are going these days...
The inherent inability of common sense to properly explain natural phenomena and other fundamental questions has lead to much confusion. The development of personal as well as organised religions with many unsatisfactory aspects led people to search elsewhere for some sort of order like
Mysticism (search for truth, knowledge and closeness to God through meditation and prayer; ill-defined religious beliefs)
Superstitions (a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or a false conception of causation),
Spirituality (a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves - typically involves a search for meaning in life)
and many others. Here, I shall look at superstitions as these are observed by a great majority, if not all, of the populations throughout the world.
Superstitions: are beliefs that are not based on human reason or scientific knowledge but are connected with old ideas about magic etc.
For example, Walking under a ladder brings bad luck or number 13 is unlucky - the street I live also does not have a house no. 13! Superstitions are very different from common sense - CS is mostly based on rational analysis and past experience of members in a society. Without common sense, life will be impossible.
Superstitions are by and large irrational - they arise when something cannot be explained by rational thought. Historically, before science could make sense of natural phenomena like thunder and lightning, people thought that these represent God's displeasure and are sent there to punish them. Many cultures consider rainbows as a warning of doom.
Wanting more control/certainty is the driving force behind superstitions. We tend to look for some kind of rule or explanation why things happen. One believes in superstitions because sometimes the creation of a false certainty is better than no certainty at all. Frequently, we express our superstitions through rituals believing they have some magical significance and will bring us good luck or ward off evil outcomes. Keeping your fingers crossed, tapping on wood are rituals most people have followed. People who are afraid of Friday the 13th, might change travel plans or cancel an appointment because of unnecessary anxiety such action will create.
Similarly, superstitious thinking or behaviour can give us a sense of security and confidence; like carrying an object or wearing an item of clothing that you think had brought luck in the past. There may be an element of placebo affect here - if you think something will help you then it may just do that - there is tremendous power in belief.
Interestingly, intelligence seems to have little to do with whether we are superstitious or not - Harvard students rub the foot of John Harvard statue for good luck.
I leave with some thoughts on the way things are going these days...
Obituary of Common Sense
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: -Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm; - Life isn't always fair; and -maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies, don't spend more than you can earn and adults, not children, are in charge.
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife Discretion, his daughter Responsibility, and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, don't worry..join the majority and do nothing.
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/obitcs.htm
