Hazlitt’s Common Sense

Abstract

Explains the centrality of the idea of common sense in Hazlitt’s philosophical thought and writing practice. Compares his model of common sense to that developed by the eighteenth-century philosopher Thomas Reid. Extends the comparison to an analysis of Hazlitt’s and Reid’s ideas regarding the use of common language for philosophy. Suggests that for Hazlitt, common sense is simultaneously a moral and an aesthetic principle. Briefly explores the implications of Hazlitt’s poetics of familiarity for current discussions of romanticism and gender.