This paper in the sociology of knowledge explores the influence of common sense on the theories produced by the human sciences. These theories very often include principles drawn from what can be called commonsensical linguistics, epistemology and logics. Because of their familiarity, these principles go often unnoticed, or are perceived as `going without saying', however. So, a theory can easily be perceived as true while it is false, or as more valid than it deserves to be, if it includes beside its explicit statements implicit unnoticed commonsensical statements, which, although valid in everyday life, are not of universal validity. The theory developed in the paper identifies a typical process by which theories or ideas can easily gain much more credibility than they deserve. It is illustrated by several famous examples drawn from economics, sociology and the philosophy of science.
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