Before Democracy: The Production and Uses of Common Sense

Rosenfeld uncovers the traces of common sense moving back through time and explains how, and with what effects, this ghost has haunted modern life and the emergence of modern democracy. To write the history of common sense, one could, of course, back up even further than the Augustan Age. In a formulation that proved to have extraordinary staying power, Aristotle suggested that every human comes endowed with an intuitive inner sense, located somewhere near the heart, that allows for certain judgments and actions to occur independent of reason. He gave this "sixth" or "common" sense the vital role of comparing and coordinating data received from the other five--determining, for example, that a substance that simultaneously appears white and tastes sweet is likely sugar and not salt, but also that sweet and white are different kinds of sensible qualities. This understanding of humans' mental capacity persisted in psychology, medicine, and aesthetics through the early modern era, though with certain modifications such as the migration of the faculty's locale from the heart to the brain.