“Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses.”
- April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519
- Italian
- A versatile man (painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, scientist, etc.)
- He created many works of art, including the paintings “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper,” and also left behind many pioneering ideas in science and engineering, such as “blueprints for airplanes” and “anatomical studies.”
Quote
“Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses.”
Explanation
In this quote, Leonardo da Vinci defines common sense as the faculty that enables a person to interpret and evaluate the information received through the five senses. While our senses—such as sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell—provide us with raw data about the world, it is common sense that allows us to process, organize, and make sense of that data in a coherent way. Common sense, in this view, serves as the filter that takes the sensory inputs and provides us with a practical understanding of the world, helping us make judgments and decisions based on the information we receive.
Historically, this idea reflects the Renaissance focus on the integration of knowledge from various fields, including perception and reasoning. Da Vinci, who studied both the physical body and the mind, was particularly interested in how the human mind processes information. During the Renaissance, thinkers and scientists emphasized the importance of reason and observation in understanding the world, and common sense was considered an essential part of this process. It was seen as the mental tool that bridges sensory experience with rational understanding.
In modern terms, this quote resonates with how we understand cognitive processing today. Common sense is often used to refer to practical judgment that is based on experience, intuition, and logical reasoning. It helps individuals navigate the complexities of everyday life, relying on a balance of sensory input and reasoning to make decisions. In contemporary contexts, common sense is valued as the ability to think practically and critically, using both sensory data and logical evaluation to come to reasonable conclusions. Da Vinci’s insight underscores the role of common sense in interpreting the world and helping us apply our perceptions to make informed choices.
