noun
Etymology: translation of Latin or Greek; Latin sensus communis, translation of Greek koinē aisthēsis
1. : a sense believed to unite the sensations of all senses in a general sensation or perception
2. : good sound ordinary sense : good judgment or prudence in estimating or managing affairs especially as free from emotional bias or intellectual subtlety or as not dependent on special or technical knowledge
too absurdly metaphysical for the ears of prudent common sense — P.E.More
3.
a. among Cartesians : something that is evident by the natural light of reason and hence common to all men
b.
(1) : the intuitions that according to the school of Scottish philosophy are common to all mankind
(2) : the capacity for such intuitions
c. : the unreflective opinions of ordinary men : the ideas and conceptions natural to a man untrained in technical philosophy — used especially in epistemology
Synonyms: see sense