Common sense is the fragmentary, incoherent philosophy of non-philosophers tied to their social class

Evidence

A work like the Popular Manual , 526 which is essentially destined for a community of readers who are not professional intellectuals, should have taken as its starting point a critical analysis of the philosophy of common sense, which is the “philosophy of non-philosophers”, or in other words the conception of the world which is uncritically absorbed by the various social and cultural environments in which the moral individuality of the average man is developed. Common sense is not a single unique conception, identical in time and space. It is the “folklore” of philosophy, and, like folklore, it takes countless different forms. Its most fundamental characteristic is that it is a conception which, even in the brain of one individual, is fragmentary, incoherent and inconseqential, in conformity with the social and cultural position of those masses whose philosophy it is. At those times in history when a homogeneous social group is brought into being, there comes into being also, in opposition to common sense, a homogeneous—in other words coherent and systematic— philosophy. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1502

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core toolkit concept: common sense as the ‘philosophy of non-philosophers’ — fragmented, class-bound, folklore-like, as opposed to coherent systematic philosophy. Central to Gramsci’s hegemony theory that later Islamophobia scholarship deploys.
• XREF: Directly feeds Hall’s ‘common sense reproduces pro-establishment views’ and his discussion of folklore/philosophy split in Essential Essays. Also the concept base for how dominant frames constrain reception that the Islamophobia readings rest on. — connects to: Common sense is a fragmentary, incoherent, socially-positioned ‘folklore of philosophy’; Common sense is an incoherent aggregate containing any and all conceptions — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1510; Common sense is the sediment of past philosophy, not fixed belief — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 123 (+9 more)
• QUESTION: Gramsci says a homogeneous coherent philosophy arises ‘in opposition to common sense’ in counter-hegemonic moments — worth tracing how this maps onto Said’s account of Orientalism as the coherent philosophical counterpart.

Broader Connections

• Common sense is a fragmentary, incoherent, socially-positioned ‘folklore of philosophy’ #corroborates (1.00)
• Common sense is an uncritically absorbed, fragmentary folklore of philosophy, not a coherent system. #corroborates (1.00)
• Common sense is class-bound folklore that sedimented philosophies leave behind #corroborates (0.95) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2456
• Common sense is an incoherent aggregate containing any and all conceptions #expands (0.85) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1510
• Common sense is the sediment of past philosophy, not fixed belief #expands (0.85) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 123
• Common sense is society’s incoherent assumptions while good sense is practical empirical judgment #qualifies (0.80)
• Every philosophy tends to become the common sense of a limited intellectual environment #expands (0.80) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1190
• Common sense can be worked upon to transform it into conscious class struggle #expands (0.80)
• A philosophy of praxis begins by criticizing common sense while building on it #expands (0.80)
• Common sense is the uncritical, unconscious worldview common to an epoch #qualifies (0.75) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1165
• Philosophy works by replacing one common sense with another aligned to the ruling group #expands (0.75) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1507
• Ruling-class philosophy subordinates masses without positively transforming their thought #qualifies (0.70) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1504