Can common sense knowledge be common? On Thomas Reid’s self-evident truths from the perspective of anthropological linguistics

Elżbieta Łukasiewicz

The aim of the paper is to consider from the perspective of contemporary anthropological linguistics the plausibility of universal, self-evident truths based on innate principles of cognition as they were propounded by Th omas Reid in his philosophy of common sense. The key problem is whether it is possible to trace any innate principles that would underlie common sense, practical knowledge and comprise truths which are selfevident, clear and directly accessible to all members of homo sapiens. Reid’s assumptions are considered in the light of contemporary research on the conceptualization of colour, basic emotions, ethnobotany and spatial cognition.

Keywords: common sense · Reid · innate principles · self-evident truths · basic colour terms · ethnobotany · basic emotions · spatial cognition

Elżbieta Łukasiewicz – Ph.D in linguistics, Assistant Professor at the Department of Philology and Applied Linguistics, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz. Research interests in theoretical linguistics, theories of language change, anthropological linguistics and cognitive science.   »  

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