--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Common sense is the folklore of philosophy." description: "\"Common sense is the folklore of philosophy.\" — Antonio Gramsci" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/antonio-gramsci-12150_common_common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosop_1509286.jpg" --- # Common sense is the folklore of philosophy. ![“Common sense is the folklore of philosophy.” quote by Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/antonio-gramsci-12150_common_common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosop_1509286.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/antonio-gramsci-12150_common_common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosop_1509286.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/antonio-gramsci-12150_common_common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosop_1509286.jpg) > “Common sense is the folklore of philosophy.” [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Common sense is the popular version of philosophical ideas. **In simple terms:** Common sense simplifies philosophy. Key Takeaway Question assumptions behind “common sense”. Themes philosophy common sense folklore Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - public discourse - media analysis Key Concepts knowledge culture critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - When does common sense hinder progress? - How can philosophy be made accessible? A Different Perspective Common sense can be misleading without deeper analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Folklore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folklore/) [Folklore Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folklore-philosophy-4191859/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Sense Folklore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-folklore-4191860/) ## Related quotes > [Common sense is not something rigid and stationary, but is in continuous transformation, becoming enriched with scientific notions and philosophical opinions that have entered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/common-sense-is-not-something-rigid-and-stationary-but-is-in/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Common sense is very uncommon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-greeley/common-sense-is-very-uncommon/) [Horace Greeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-greeley/) > [It is a strange irony that the principles of science should seem to deny the necessary conviction of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-joseph-henderson/it-is-a-strange-irony-that-the-principles-of-science-should-seem-to/) [Lawrence Joseph Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-joseph-henderson/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In tantra we don't believe in commandments. We believe in the moment and the truth that is applicable for that moment, as best we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-tantra-we-don-t-believe-in-commandments-we-believe-in-the-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The First Amendment makes confidence in the common sense of our people and in the maturity of their judgement the great postulate of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/the-first-amendment-makes-confidence-in-the-common-sense-of-our/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [ As we have seen after every other \[Donald\] Trump controversy, this one only increased their enthusiasm for him. His supporters thought the idea of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/as-we-have-seen-after-every-other-donald-trump-controversy-this-one/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Below the 40th latitude there is no law; below the 50th no god; below the 60th no common sense and below the 70th no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley/below-the-40th-latitude-there-is-no-law-below-the-50th-no-god-below/) [Kim Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) ## More by Antonio Gramsci > [A social group can, indeed must, already exercise 'leadership' before winning governmental power (this is indeed one of the principal conditions for the winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/a-social-group-can-indeed-must-already-exercise-leadership-before/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/i-m-a-pessimist-because-of-intelligence-but-an-optimist-because-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [All men are intellectuals, but not all men have in society the function of intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/all-men-are-intellectuals-but-not-all-men-have-in-society-the/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [How many times have I wondered if it is really possible to forge links with a mass of people when one has never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/how-many-times-have-i-wondered-if-it-is-really-possible-to-forge/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-challenge-of-modernity-is-to-live-without-illusions-and-without/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [The people themselves are not a homogeneous cultural collectivity but present numerous and variously combined cultural stratifications which, in their pure form, cannot always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-people-themselves-are-not-a-homogeneous-cultural-collectivity-but/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Indifference is the dead weight of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/indifference-is-the-dead-weight-of-history/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [My practicality consists in this, in the knowledge that if you beat your head against the wall it is your head which breaks and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/my-practicality-consists-in-this-in-the-knowledge-that-if-you-beat/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“We need to free ourselves from the habit of seeing culture as encyclopedia knowledge, and men as mere receptacles to be stuffed full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/we-need-to-free-ourselves-from-the-habit-of-seeing-culture-as/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [The abolition of the class struggle does not mean the abolition of the need to struggle as a principle of development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-abolition-of-the-class-struggle-does-not-mean-the-abolition-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [From the moment when a subordinate class becomes really independent and dominant, calling into being a new type of State, the need arises concretely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/from-the-moment-when-a-subordinate-class-becomes-really-independent/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/pessimism-of-the-intellect-optimism-of-the-will/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [What are the "maximum" limits of acceptance of the term "intellectual"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/what-are-the-maximum-limits-of-acceptance-of-the-term-intellectual/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [This is really the common mentality of prisoners: they read with great attention all the articles that deal with illnesses and send away for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/this-is-really-the-common-mentality-of-prisoners-they-read-with-great/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Before puberty the child's personality has not yet formed and it is easier to guide its life and make it acquire specific habits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/before-puberty-the-child-s-personality-has-not-yet-formed-and-it-is/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) [Explore all 49 Antonio Gramsci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Common sense is the folklore of philosophy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antonio Gramsci" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosophy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosophy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/antonio-gramsci-12150_common_common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosop_1509286.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/antonio-gramsci-12150_common_common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosop_1509286.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/antonio-gramsci-12150_common_common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosop_1509286.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Common sense is the folklore of philosophy.” — Antonio Gramsci", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Antonio Gramsci", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Common sense is the folklore of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosophy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/common-sense-is-the-folklore-of-philosophy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```