Granì (Jan 2013)
Common sense in moral philosophy of the age of Enlightenment
Abstract
The Age of Enlightenment had a special meaning for the history of moral philosophy, because in this period the morality becomes a special subject of philosophic interest, philosophic concept of morality is formed. The problem of rational grounding of morality becomes a central one. The important role in this problem solving was the idea of common sense – one of the fundamental ideas of Scottish and French Enlightenment. In the Scottish philosophy concept of «common sense» was developed by representatives of ethical sentimentalism (A. Shaftesbury, F. Hutcheson) and by the founder of the rationalist understanding of morality Th. Reid. In France, the idea of common sense was widely developed in the works of Enlightenment philosophers. Scottish enlighteners understood common sense as a kind of inherent, intuitive principle, put by God into human being. This paper analyzes the significance of the concept «common sense» and its features of interpretations by Scottish philosophers. The quintessence of philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment was practical philosophy of I. Kant, in formation of which the idea of common sense played the key role. German classic clearly defined field of application of common sense. He considered an appeal to common sense in matters of science and philosophy unacceptable, but claimed that it was common sense people must rely in everyday practice. Such an understanding of this idea has allowed Kant to justify main concept of his moral philosophy concept of the autonomous subject.
