Common-sense philosophy is important because it maintains that we can know many things about the world, about ourselves, about morality, and even about things of a metaphysical nature. The tenets of common-sense philosophy, while in some sense obvious and unsurprising, give rise to powerful arguments that can shed light on fundamental philosophical issues, including the perennial problem of scepticism and the emerging challenge of scientism. This Companion offers an exploration of common-sense philosophy in its many forms, tracing its development as a concept and considering the roles it has been assigned to play throughout the history of philosophy. Containing fifteen newly commissioned chapters from leading experts in the history of philosophy, epistemology, the philosophy of science, moral philosophy and metaphysics, the volume will be an essential guide for students and scholars hoping to gain a greater understanding of the value and enduring appeal of common-sense philosophy.
Introduction: why common sense matters René van Woudenberg and Rik Peels; Part I: 1. Attitudes towards common sense in sncient Greek philosophy Richard Bett; 2. Common sense, science, and scepticism in the early modern world Stephen I. Wagner; 3. The Scottish school of common-sense philosophy Paul Wood; 4. Husserl, common sense, and the natural attitude Nicolas de Warren; 5. Moore and common sense Thomas Baldwin; 6. Common sense and ordinary language: Wittgenstein and Austin Krista Lawlor; Part II: 7. The delineation of common sense René van Woudenberg; 8. Common sense in metaphysics Joanna Lawson; 9. Common-sense realism Nicholas Rescher; 10. The epistemic authority of common sense Rik Peels; 11. Scepticism and certainty: Moore and Wittgenstein on common sense and philosophy Duncan Pritchard; 12. Morality and common sense Noah Lemos; 13. Common sense and ontological commitment Chris Ranalli and Jeroen de Ridder; 14. The tension between scientific knowledge and common-sense philosophy Massimo Pigliucci; 15. A scientific-realist account of common sense Orly Shenker; References; Index.
Rik Peels is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Theology and Religion at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He is the author of many books on epistemology and ethics, including Responsible Belief: A Theory in Ethics and Epistemology (2017), and is the editor of Perspectives on Ignorance from Moral and Social Philosophy (2017) and The Epistemic Dimensions of Ignorance (with Martijn Blaauw, 2017). Rene van Woudenberg is Professor of Philosophy at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and Director of the university's Abraham Kuyper Center for Science and the Big Questions. He is the co-editor, with Rik Peels and Jeroen de Ridder, of Scientism: Prospects and Problems (2018) and Scientific Challenges to Common Sense Philosophy (2020).
