HISTORY OF USE YOUR COMMON SENSE DAY
Common sense as a concept is ancient, first being brought to the limelight by the great philosopher, Aristotle. He described it as the ability with which animals (including humans) process sense perceptions, memories, and imagination to reach many types of judgments. To his thinking, only humans have real reasoned thinking, which takes them beyond common sense. This was then carried forward in the Roman interpretation, which holds that concepts like ideas and perceptions are held by man and make them more sophisticated than animals.
French philosopher, René Descartes, established the most common modern meaning, and its controversies, when he stated that everyone has a similar and sufficient amount of common sense, but it is rarely used well.
Since the Age of Enlightenment, the term “common sense” has been used for a rhetorical effect both approvingly, as a standard for good taste, and source of scientific and logical axioms.
In modern times, common sense is defined as ‘the basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all need to help us live reasonably and safely”. Without any doubt, applying common sense could save one a lot of problems.
Common Sense Day was created by Bud Bilanich, a career mentor, motivational speaker, blogger, and author. He’s starred in some leading TV shows and magazines and has written 19 books that highlight how to succeed in life, and how the application of common sense is vital to that success. Common Sense Day was first celebrated in 2015.
This is the message of today’s 1st reading (1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13):
The Bible speaks of God in so many ways. It describes his qualities and relates his actions. It also tells of his wishes for us, human beings. Often too, it speaks of his future interventions. All this in a language which is not abstract but quite vivid, one could almost say picturesque.