Common Sense: Psychosocial and Educational Perspectives

Abstract

This work proposes: 1. to identify the complex nature of the common sense phenomenon, 2. to elaborate a pattern of the psychological and psycho-social structure of common sense, 3. to conceptualise the process of formation and education of common sense. All over the work there are performed several stages representing also answers to the main questions formulated relating to the structure of common sense: common sense – behaviour or conduct? perceptive compound of common sense, rational compound of common sense, affective compound of common sense, attitudinal compound of common sense, biological compound of common sense, common sense as social representation, motivational items of common sense. The work refers also to the knowledge of common sense, relating to the psychology that we consider to have treated common sense and that we designated as Common sense psychology (humanist psychology). From the point of view of formation and development of common sense, the work applies the pattern of L. Kohlberg to the evolution of common sense in the child’s ontogenesis on 3 levels: the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning, the conventional level of moral reasoning, the post-conventional level of moral reasoning. The conclusions of the work highlight the common sense as psychological product, the common sense as compound of the character structure of personality, the common sense as socio-cultural product and the role of self-education in valuing common sense.