Short Notes on a Possible Critical Common Sense in front of Actual Challenges

Abstract

Based on elements of classical philosophy, the British common sense and the Frankfurt School, the author proposes a critically guided common sense, which could be used to evaluate historical tendencies and specially the modernization efforts in the Third World. It rejects the pretensions of truth of rationalist theories and also the epistemic and ethic relativism. Avoiding extremes, this theorem rejects the existence of obligatory laws and periods of historical development is one of these extremes; the other one is the position which states that cultural models are incomparable and unmeasurable. It is reasonable, for instance, to take a middle line between universalism and particularism and also to reach a fruitful synthesis between both currents.