The World According to Herb McCormack by J.E. Rose

An Ode to Scottish Common Sense Realism 

Three Scottish Common Sense Realists: Marian (Aunt Muggy), Ray and Herb

My father-in-law, Herb McCormack (1912-2011) was a good man. I’d say he was a man who in a multitude of ways reflected what made America a great country: fear of God, love of family, hard work. He long ago passed to his heavenly reward . But his legacy–what I’m calling, “The World According to Herb McCormack” still lives in our family, particularly in his daughter, my wife, Cindy. I write this article with fond affection for Herb and that legacy. But I also write with a gentle concern for the larger historical and philosophical ground on which Herb stood: Scottish Common Sense Realism (SCSR). I am not blind to a certain irony in that last sentence: connecting him to a philosophical movement. Herb had no interest in philosophical frameworks and would no doubt have scoffed to hear me say he did. As I will show, this is the essence of SCSR! So it is really not an indictment against Herb to say it. But it does reflect a serious faultline under his feet. The faultline was not just under his feet but remains under the feet of the current generation as well. That’s what I want to talk about here. And not 

A Really Quick History of SCSR

Henry Ford reportedly said that “history is bunk” reflecting his own version of SCSR. I doubt Herb would have known Ford said it or that it would matter if he did . But for both men, it reflected not so much a rejection of history as a minimization of its relevance and significance in the routines of daily life. 

In the 1700s, a Scottish thinker named Thomas Reid (1710-1796) promoted a movement to fight back against academic skeptics who argued that we cannot actually prove the real world exists outside our own minds. That’s a long story in itself and one I’m not here to tell. But when Reid’s idea crossed the Atlantic to America, it spread like wildfire. Founders like John Witherspoon—who signed the Declaration of Independence and led Princeton University—loved SCSR.. It became the dominant philosophy in early American colleges, seminaries and churches because it gave a young, building nation a solid, practical foundation for truth and law, rather than endless, confusing academic debates.

I’m sure Herb was aware of many historical and contemporary events in the world. He wasn’t an ignorant man by any means. And even though he watched Walter Cronkite’s evening news he didn’t watch it the same way many would. When Cronkite reported on the Viet Nam war protests or the first moon landing, Herb certainly heard it. He understood certain aspects of it. But it didn’t stir deep fears or passions in him. It didn’t really change how he lived his day. After all, the lawn needed mowing! And guess what? Herb was right! The lawn did need mowing and though the war and the moon were real and had a degree of importance, the events did not appear to have the same urgency as the dandelions in the yard. 

A Really Simple Description of SCSR “Theory”

The main idea behind SCSR was that God created humans with built-in mental tools. Herb was a sincere Christian and faithful to his church. He believed that God created him and made his senses, along with basic rational skills, to understand how the world works. Though he trusted his perceptions, his common sense realism made him suspicious of the perceptions of others! This made him doubt other viewpoints on many matters. Of course, there were many things that mattered to Herb (not just the lawn). In his church, the people mattered, as did the sermon and the choice of songs (it mattered whether they were the “right ones”). 

Notice, “everything that mattered.” Herb wouldn’t worry too much about other perspectives if they seemed disconnected from him, He grumbled a bit about cultural shifts (like the Beatles' rock and roll when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show). But unless his daughter Cindy tried to listen to it on her radio  it didn’t affect him. And, by the way, Cindy did not care for the new music! 

If you are like the McCormacks, you won’t care about this next paragraph! But I am not a McCormack and I do care about the broader theoretical and theological framework reflected in SCSR. So, I will just talk about that for a moment. 

When SCSR landed in America it met an established theological tradition called “Deism.” You may know that Thomas Jefferson and other founders were deists. They believed in God but were more likely to call it “providence.” Providence is an impersonal god at best. Providence is a “divine watchmaker” who makes the watch, winds it up, and then leaves it for other business. 

Now, what happens when you cross a deist with a common sense realist? You get the distinctively American philosopher William James, the father of American Pragmatism. Herb wouldn’t care about this paragraph but it does matter! American Pragmatism–the view that the only thing that matters is what “works” also made him and other thinkers believe that the only thing that is “true” is what works. If you don’t get the problem with that you are likely at risk right now of your own blind spots. This version of truth infected like a plague entire generations of Americans and continues the contagion today. 

A Really Important Warning About American and Scottish Realism Today

When Herb decided that certain historical events, cultural shifts or opposing viewpoints "didn't matter" because they fell outside his immediate common-sense radar, he was running a risk. Actually, three of them. 

The Blindspot of Creeping Secularization 

Relying too much on his own sensory perception and basic rational skills meant he could see some things clearly but miss others. This is how blindspots work. When Herb was driving his car he would check the mirrors before backing up and changing lanes. But unless he did a physical headcheck over his right shoulder he would not see the car on his back bumper because it was in the blindspot. This was a danger in his life also. His assumption that things that did not impact him directly were not important was a blindspot. It’s what we call “secularization.” It has undermined God’s people for generations and continues to do so. 

The Illusion of Neutrality 

I’m sorry to say that men like Herb often fail to realize how every experience and event in life has a theological significance, even when we don’t understand it.  Herb’s SCSR made him believe there was a vast category of "neutral" or “unimportant” realities in the world that didn't require rigorous biblical critique—things that were just matters of taste, trivial trends, or "other people's silly perceptions." He might naturally dislike them but as long as they didn’t require him to change his daily routines he would just grumble about them. But this kind of neutrality is a dangerous illusion. Everything was made by God and therefore everything has significance.  

The Fragility of “What Matters”

While Herb trusted his own perceptions implicitly, his common-sense realism made him deeply suspicious of the perceptions of others, making it hard to accept differing viewpoints on "everything that mattered." This very tension created a fragile view of reality. The fact is, our perception of what matters begins to change when we do not control events. 

When you combine suspicion toward others with an indifference toward wider cultural shifts you are standing on shifting sand. Jesus warned what happens when the rain comes down and the flood rises: “the house on the sand falls flat.”

Herb’s faith was not perfect (nor is my own) but God was gracious to him and even when the sand began washing away under his feet (various illnesses, deaths and upheaval) there was a solid rock under the sand that held him up. But let’s shift the focus to Herb’s brother, Ray. He imbibed the same realistic philosophy of life that Herb did but with a profound difference; Ray made no faith claims.How did his SCSR play out in his life when the rains came down and the floods came up? 

I’m not going to tell Ray’s entire story here other than to talk about the last couple years of his life. His niece, Cindy, was diligent and dutiful to visit him once a month until the last weeks of his life. Even though he was virtually deaf, making conversation especially difficult, she was deeply burdened for his soul and tried every way she could think of to share the truth of heaven and the gospel with him. He would always rebuff the effort with variations on the perspective, “I am fine the way I am.” 

This is the greatest danger of SCSR, untethered from Christian faith. What mattered to Ray? Not what should. His perspective of reality was so skewed by his blindspots that, sadly, he most likely went into a Christless eternity because he presumed, “I am fine the way I am.” 

A Last Word

I must reaffirm my previous statement of respect and gratitude for Herb and the others like him, Christian or not, who built this country. My article is not a critique of a man but of a faulty philosophy of life. My theological mentor was Cornelius Van Til. Not coincidentally, he wrote extensively about the dangers of SCSR, and American Pragmatism. He did so from a decidedly biblical perspective grounded in an unwavering conviction of three truths relevant to this discussion: 

God’s Absolute, Sovereign Control of All Creation

The Westminster Confession of Faith and Reformed theology emphasize the absolute lordship of Christ over all creation and culture. There is no square inch of human existence that "doesn't matter" or can be safely ignored under a blanket of pragmatic indifference. When well-meaning realists like Herb gloss over “inches” of reality that do not seem to matter to them, they still matter to God. Even the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show mattered. 

The Depravity of Sin and the Fall of the Mind

Herb’s suspicion of other viewpoints is a classic symptom of CSR’s failure to recognize that everyone's reasoning faculties (including his own) are finite and affected by the Fall. Van Til would say there is no “common ground” where all human beings can agree about reality based on their sensory experience. “Seeing is believing” utterly fails to provide a solid foundation. The only bedrock is the objective, infallible Word of God.

The Pragmatic Trap

Herb’s framework unknowingly mirrored the very thing SCSR would eventually mutate into: American Pragmatism. By measuring the significance of an idea or cultural shift strictly by its immediate "practical value" or impact on his immediate circle, he was using a utilitarian metric rather than a covenantal one. What so many have failed to realize is that it is but a short step from, “common sense is what works” to “truth is what works.”  The opposite is implied: If it doesn't work (says who?) it must not be true.