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Single Idea 23633

[filed under theme 12. Knowledge Sources / E. Direct Knowledge / 1. Common Sense ]

Full Idea

There are many truths so obvious to the human faculties, that it should be expected that men should universally agree in them. And this is actually found to be the case with regard to many truths, against which we find no dissent.

Gist of Idea

Many truths seem obvious, and point to universal agreement - which is what we find

Source

Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 1: Preliminary [1785], 2)

Book Ref

Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.156

A Reaction

He says that a few sceptical philosophers may disagree. This is a nice statement of his creed of common sense. I agree with him, and Aristotle observes the same fact.

Related Idea

Idea 95 If everyone believes it, it is true [Aristotle]

The 72 ideas from Thomas Reid

11874 Real identity admits of no degrees [Reid]
23649 No one thinks two sheets possess a single whiteness, but all agree they are both white [Reid]
23648 First we notice and name attributes ('abstracting'); then we notice that subjects share them ('generalising') [Reid]
23650 Only individuals exist [Reid]
23651 Universals are not objects of sense and cannot be imagined - but can be conceived [Reid]
23652 We must first conceive things before we can consider them [Reid]
20051 Reid said that agent causation is a unique type of causation [Reid, by Stout,R]
8383 Day and night are constantly conjoined, but they don't cause one another [Reid, by Crane]
23665 Consciousness is the power of mind to know itself, and minds are grounded in powers [Reid]
23666 It is obvious that there could not be a power without a subject which possesses it [Reid]
23664 Powers are quite distinct and simple, and so cannot be defined [Reid]
23668 Our own nature attributes free determinations to our own will [Reid]
23667 Regular events don't imply a cause, without an innate conviction of universal causation [Reid]
23670 Scientists don't know the cause of magnetism, and only discover its regulations [Reid]
23671 Laws are rules for effects, but these need a cause; rules of navigation don't navigate [Reid]
23669 Thinkers say that matter has intrinsic powers, but is also passive and acted upon [Reid]
23549 We treat testimony with a natural trade off of belief and caution [Reid, by Fricker,M]
23647 Objects have an essential constitution, producing its qualities, which we are too ignorant to define [Reid]
23646 Reference is by name, or a term-plus-circumstance, or ostensively, or by description [Reid]
23645 A word's meaning is the thing conceived, as fixed by linguistic experts [Reid]
11958 Impossibilites are easily conceived in mathematics and geometry [Reid, by Molnar]
6492 Reid is seen as the main direct realist of the eighteenth century [Reid, by Robinson,H]
23634 Accepting the existence of anything presupposes the notion of existence [Reid]
23635 Truths are self-evident to sensible persons who understand them clearly without prejudice [Reid]
23637 Primary qualities are the object of mathematics [Reid]
23638 Secondary qualities conjure up, and are confused with, the sensations which produce them [Reid]
23639 It is unclear whether a toothache is in the mind or in the tooth, but the word has a single meaning [Reid]
23640 Only mature minds can distinguish the qualities of a body [Reid]
23641 People dislike believing without evidence, and try to avoid it [Reid]
23642 If non-rational evidence reaches us, it is reason which then makes use of it [Reid]
7631 Sensation is not committed to any external object, but perception is [Reid]
23653 If you can't distinguish the features of a complex object, your notion of it would be a muddle [Reid]
23656 The structure of languages reveals a uniformity in basic human opinions [Reid]
23654 In obscure matters the few must lead the many, but the many usually lead in common sense [Reid]
23655 An ad hominem argument is good, if it is shown that the man's principles are inconsistent [Reid]
23657 The existence of tensed verbs shows that not all truths are necessary truths [Reid]
23659 If someone denies that he is thinking when he is conscious of it, we can only laugh [Reid]
23662 The existence of ideas is no more obvious than the existence of external objects [Reid]
23661 We are only aware of other beings through our senses; without that, we are alone in the universe [Reid]
23660 The theory of ideas, popular with philosophers, means past existence has to be proved [Reid]
23658 Consciousness is an indefinable and unique operation [Reid]
23663 There are axioms of taste - such as a general consensus about a beautiful face [Reid]
23676 A willed action needs reasonable understanding of what is to be done [Reid]
23677 We all know that mere priority or constant conjunction do not have to imply causation [Reid]
23678 A motive is merely an idea, like advice, and not a force for action [Reid]
23679 The principle of the law of nature is that matter is passive, and is acted upon [Reid]
23680 We are morally free, because we experience it, we are accountable, and we pursue projects [Reid]
23681 The first motion or effect cannot be produced necessarily, so the First Cause must be a free agent [Reid]
23644 Without memory we could have no concept of duration [Reid]
23643 We all trust our distinct memories (but not our distinct imaginings) [Reid]
1356 A person is a unity, and doesn't come in degrees [Reid]
21320 Identity is familiar to common sense, but very hard to define [Reid]
1350 Continuity is needed for existence, otherwise we would say a thing existed after it ceased to exist [Reid]
21322 We treat slowly changing things as identical for the sake of economy in language [Reid]
1352 Thoughts change continually, but the self doesn't [Reid]
1359 Personal identity is the basis of all rights, obligations and responsibility [Reid]
21319 I can hardly care about rational consequence if it wasn't me conceiving the antecedent [Reid]
21323 The identity of a thief is only known by similarity, but memory gives certainty in our own case [Reid]
21321 Memory reveals my past identity - but so does testimony of other witnesses [Reid]
21324 If consciousness is transferable 20 persons can be 1; forgetting implies 1 can be 20 [Reid]
21325 Boy same as young man, young man same as old man, old man not boy, if forgotten! [Reid]
21327 If a stolen horse is identified by similitude, its identity is not therefore merely similitude [Reid]
1366 If consciousness is personal identity, it is continually changing [Reid]
1367 Identity can only be affirmed of things which have a continued existence [Reid]
23629 The ambiguity of words impedes the advancement of knowledge [Reid]
23630 Only philosophers treat ideas as objects [Reid]
23632 Similar effects come from similar causes, and causes are only what are sufficient for the effects [Reid]
23633 Many truths seem obvious, and point to universal agreement - which is what we find [Reid]
23672 To be virtuous, we must care about duty [Reid]
23673 Every worthy man has a principle of honour, and knows what is honourable [Reid]
23674 If an attempted poisoning results in benefits, we still judge the agent a poisoner [Reid]
23675 We shouldn't do to others what would be a wrong to us in similar circumstances [Reid]