Do educated people lose common sense...

Perhaps the difference is that the educated know the ins and outs of the law so well they can figure something is technically legal even if it would only take a microsecond to figure that it's morally a bad decision to make.

Where a less educated person might decide something is immoral but do it anyway, the more educated person might figure something is immoral but then work out a way to justify it using lots of clever reasoning.

"A friend of mine tells me..." Really?

Let's consider how we might actually figure this out. For starters, on what is your friend's premise based? And to contrast what contango said, the premise is that educated people don't know the difference between right and wrong, not that they know ways around being caught.

1) Nice job, using anecdotes. Good on you.
2) Common sense has nothing to do with morality, or ethics (maybe slightly with ethics). What is usually thought of as common sense is only common in people with the same intellectual, social, and moral backgrounds. Telling someone who disagrees with a moral stand that they have 'no common sense' is useless, and morally wrong in itself, since it just shows you have no empathy.
3) Going with the above, morality changes with experience. Aside from simple mental maturity that increases with age, your experiences with other people and different experiences impacts what you feel if you are placed in a similar situation. For example, I am a lot more accepting of euthanasia than I used to be. It is still illegal in my country, but having seen some of the people that want to be euthanized and their pain and suffering, it's not so clear-cut anymore. Similarly, I used to be a lot more financially right-wing than I currently am, because I have realized from experience that it is the government's duty to advocate for and offer protection to those who do not have the means or the ability to help themselves.

Autumnleaf said:

as it pertains to right and wrong? A friend of mine tells me some people get too educated to know the difference between simple right and wrong. What do you think?

In my friend's defense it does seem that many educated people are more than willing to lie and cheat as it pertains to sex and money. Then again, maybe poor people are just as morally challenged.

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Uh, what? You mean in a "ivory tower, lost touch with reality" sense right? I can see that, but education generally leads to much more harm than good. (in every way, including morally)

In the context of moral debate in my experience, "common sense" is generally a synonym for "beliefs for which I have no justification." So I wouldn't be too concerned with losing that aspect of my "common sense."

Case in point: That poster in the thread about male gynecologists who kept pointing to "common sense" as the reason why men shouldn't be allowed to practice gynecology. I also often hear people justifying homophobic sentiments with "common sense."

m9lc said:

In the context of moral debate in my experience, "common sense" is generally a synonym for "beliefs for which I have no justification." So I wouldn't be too concerned with losing that aspect of my "common sense."

Case in point: That poster in the thread about male gynecologists who kept pointing to "common sense" as the reason why men shouldn't be allowed to practice gynecology. I also often hear people justifying homophobic sentiments with "common sense."

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Yeah. Common sense is regular reasoning and understanding which is universal enough to become "common". That doesn't mean it can't be wrong. If your statement's only qualifying attribute is "common sense" than it's far from substantiated.

Not to mention that it's a subjective, narrowly useful term.

Autumnleaf said:

A friend of mine tells me some people get too educated to know the difference between simple right and wrong.

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A friend of mine tells me that education tends to equip you with a sense for complexity. So it´s possible that being educated causes you to question everything that is presented as "simple".

In my friend's defense it does seem that many educated people are more than willing to lie and cheat as it pertains to sex and money. Then again, maybe poor people are just as morally challenged.

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My friend doesn´t understand your point here: Educated people lose a sense for morality but the others are just as immoral?
My friend also asks me to pass this question to you: What is it with the distinction "educated" vs. "poor"?

I think that you have some people (1) that haven't yet understood morality; (2) those that try to be moral but go about it in a legalistic way; (3) those that want to be moral but question what that means and what is moral; (4) those that have come closer to understanding the complexities of morality and act moral.

The educated people you speak of are probably number 3. Also they might think morality is relative because they are able to question it and therefore not mind going against it.

m9lc said:

In the context of moral debate in my experience, "common sense" is generally a synonym for "beliefs for which I have no justification."

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Pretty much this. Unfortunately, "common sense" arguments are often just disguised anti-intellectualism.

It probably depends on the nature of the education. Probably a professional ethicist will at least be able to dazzle you in a debate, even if you initially disagree with him.

Autumnleaf said:

as it pertains to right and wrong? A friend of mine tells me some people get too educated to know the difference between simple right and wrong. What do you think?

In my friend's defense it does seem that many educated people are more than willing to lie and cheat as it pertains to sex and money. Then again, maybe poor people are just as morally challenged.

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It depends on the education that they get.

I can see that happening to people who major in philosophy (where every little thing has to be analyzed to the nth degree and no decision can be made without deep though) Or if someone goes to law school where they might be taught to look for loopholes in the common notation of what's right & wrong.

I have a college degree in computer science, a good job, and a decent amount of money, and I've never stolen, cheated, or lied to enhance my own personal situation in life. Are you maybe referring to the rich people like the one's from Enron?

Do educated people lose common sense...

Autumnleaf said:

as it pertains to right and wrong? A friend of mine tells me some people get too educated to know the difference between simple right and wrong. What do you think?

In my friend's defense it does seem that many educated people are more than willing to lie and cheat as it pertains to sex and money. Then again, maybe poor people are just as morally challenged.

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They are taught in college that morality is relative. That most societies have religious moral codes that they adhere to. Since religions are man-made, so then are their moral codes. So since morality is ultimately subjective, it would be in their best interest to capitalize on it whenever they can to their financial, sexual, etc., benefit.

Cuddles222 said:

Do educated people lose common sense...




They are taught in college that morality is relative. That most societies have religious moral codes that they adhere to. Since religions are man-made, so then are their moral codes. So since morality is ultimately subjective, it would be in their best interest to capitalize on it whenever they can to their financial, sexual, etc., benefit.

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I think you are talking about ethics. Morality is necessarily dependent on nothing; an individual can base them on whatever they want. Whereas ethics are based on what society deems appropriate. Ethics are still subjective though, and moralities influence ethics.

Just wondering, though. What about cults? Do the members of some cults actually believe that it is okay to rape girls, perform ritual human sacrifices, and abuse children, or do they get 'bent' into it by the personality leader of the cult? Can they be counted as mentally ill?

Cuddles222 said:

Do educated people lose common sense...




They are taught in college that morality is relative. That most societies have religious moral codes that they adhere to. Since religions are man-made, so then are their moral codes. So since morality is ultimately subjective, it would be in their best interest to capitalize on it whenever they can to their financial, sexual, etc., benefit.

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I'll take a secular morality over a dogmatic, "infallible", and outdated religious one any day.

Cuddles222 said:

Do educated people lose common sense...




They are taught in college that morality is relative. That most societies have religious moral codes that they adhere to. Since religions are man-made, so then are their moral codes. So since morality is ultimately subjective, it would be in their best interest to capitalize on it whenever they can to their financial, sexual, etc., benefit.

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I don't recall being taught that. What class was that in?

People as a majority are immoral without something keeping them in check. education has a habit of teaching people not to let themselves be limited by these things, least normally.
I'd say it's more of a people problem than an education problem.

Autumnleaf said:

as it pertains to right and wrong? A friend of mine tells me some people get too educated to know the difference between simple right and wrong. What do you think?

In my friend's defense it does seem that many educated people are more than willing to lie and cheat as it pertains to sex and money. Then again, maybe poor people are just as morally challenged.

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Nonsense, education doesn't depreciate knowledge... it might confuse some people but learning is learning. I don't believe in the idea of being too smart for your own good. I think that's an idea ignorant people made up to make themselves feel better.

Cuddles222 said:

Do educated people lose common sense...




They are taught in college that morality is relative.

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Is that what you´ve been told in sunday school?

That most societies have religious moral codes that they adhere to. Since religions are man-made, so then are their moral codes.

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Well, funny thing is: If we´d assume that the different religious moral codes were god-made, we´d run into even greater problems.

So since morality is ultimately subjective, it would be in their best interest to capitalize on it whenever they can to their financial, sexual, etc., benefit.

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Doesn´t follow.

JGG said:

I don't recall being taught that. What class was that in?

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It's just common sense, at least among people where education stopped somewhere before high school ended.