Kant’s Cave: How common is 'Common Sense'? - Anja Steinbauer
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NB This event will now take place at the Café of St. Hilda's East Community Centre, 18 Club Row, London E2 7EY. The nearest station (just a few minutes walk) is Shoreditch High Street (Overground).
We can go back to the earliest beginnings of the Western philosophical tradition to find references to what we might call “common sense”. Heraclitus states that “thinking is common to all”. However, this seemingly optimistic statement is soon qualified by his lament that people don’t understand, and therefore don’t recognise the importance of, his own philosophical message: they clearly don’t think well enough. The lights are on but no-one’s home, he seems to say. But is he really disappointed at the poor quality of common thought or because others don’t think like him? So, yes, we all think, but what is it that is really shared? What is common about common sense, if it exists at all? In my talk at Kant’s Cave I would like to explore with you the possible meanings, uses and value of the idea of “common sense”. We will discuss thinkers from Kant and Voltaire to Gadamer and Hannah Arendt.
Event video teaser here
Dr. Anja Steinbauer is a London-based philosopher, Sinologist, and the President of Philosophy For All (PFA). Passionate about making philosophy vibrant and accessible to everyone, she has dedicated her career to public philosophy, pioneering engaging formats that bridge academic thought with everyday life. She is an editor for Philosophy Now magazine and lecturer at the London School of Philosophy.
This event is sponsored by the Royal institute of Philosophy.
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