UNCOMMON COMMON SENSE

Latti elaborates on the concept of common sense in this debut nonfiction work.

“I do believe that people would follow common sense concerning daily life matters, global matters, and challenges that are common to all,” writes the author, “because common sense thinking prevents human beings from making irrational decisions and mistakes.” In these pages, Latti, who holds an electronics degree from the University of Wales, expounds on his concept of common sense, beginning by wondering why it seems so scarce. “Why do people often fail to use common sense in the most obvious situations concerning their daily life matters,” he asks, “especially when common sense among human beings is claimed to exist and is quite common?” Latti equates his conception of common sense with good judgment, the “innate wisdom” that helps a person to evaluate a situation, make a sensible decision, and take appropriate action. The author examines the concept of common sense across various contexts, from cognition to spirituality, and, after extensive exploration, concludes that one of the most important factors in a person’s exercise of common sense is their belief system. Latti writes about his subject with obvious sincerity, and his discussions of its specific applications will interest some readers. He’s prone to cliches (“I believe that human life is like peeling an onion”), and quite a few of his observations are blandly obvious (“I believe that a healthy life often translates into a happier life”; “Human beings establish and develop various types of relationships”). Some of the author’s ‘common sense’ beliefs, like the existence of the soul (“an incorporeal, intangible, and invisible unknown entity”), are presented without any real evidence. Still, readers will find his clearly worded examination of the bedrock idea of common sense valuable in an era that feels sorely lacking in that quality.

A thoughtful, no-fuss approach to the subject of good and bad judgment.