By: Rodolfo Claros and Sandra Lopez

Famous Quotes

“The madman is not the man who has lost his reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything but his reason.” –G.K Chesterton

“He that does not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; and he that dares not to reason is a fool.” –William Drummond

Description of Reason

Reason is man's tool of understanding. It is the method of identifying entities through one's senses. It is the means of integrating those perceptions into concepts, gaining knowledge through this integration, integrating that knowledge into the rest of one's knowledge, and evaluating and manipulating ideas and facts.

Reason is the process of thinking. Its fundamental attribute is clarity. The use of vague notions, fuzzy feelings, or "instincts" is not reason. Reason requires clear, identifiable building blocks. It uses ideas, memories, emotions, and sensory input. The ideas must be clear and definable. The memories must be recognizable, and vivid. The emotions are recognized as emotions only, with no further meaning. The sensory input must be identified in order to be used.

Reason is the method of thinking in an organized, clear way to achieve knowledge and understanding. Since it is a means, its importance and significance is in its method. The ends toward which it is used defines the validity of the method. Understanding and knowledge is the criteria for evaluating the use of reason.

Knowledge is knowledge about reality. Its base is perception, and its method is reason. We gain knowledge through observing reality. We use our minds to identify what we have observed by gathering more perceptual information until we can understand what we see. Reason is the tool that allows us to determine how to gather more information, and what kind of information we need. Reason is then used to compare and combine that new information into the rest of our body of knowledge in order to acquire a more complete understanding.

Reason is organized. It is systematic and purposeful. It concentrates on fundamentals, and makes pertinent associations. Since clarity is the purpose of reason, it must use clear methods, as well as clear tools. It must use logic, deduction, and induction.

Key Terms

Deduction Induction

Definition

Reasoning from general to particular

Reasoning from particular to general

Example

All metals expand when heated.A is metalTherefore A expands when heated

Metal A expands when heated, just as metal B and C.All metals expand when heated.

Value

More certain, but less informative than induction

More informative, but less certain than deduction

History of Reason

The earliest sustained work on the subject of logic is that of Aristotle. In contrast with other traditions, Aristotelian logic became widely accepted in science and mathematics, ultimately giving rise to the formally sophisticated systems of modern logic.

Several ancient civilizations have employed intricate systems of reasoning and asked questions about logic or propounded logical paradoxes.

During the later medieval period, major efforts were made to show that Aristotle's ideas were compatible with Christian faith. During the later period of the Middle Ages, logic became a main focus of philosophers, who would engage in critical logical analyses of philosophical arguments.

The syllogistic logic developed by Aristotle predominated until the mid-nineteenth century when interest in the foundations of mathematics stimulated the development of symbolic logic (now called mathematical logic).

Importance of Reason in Education This is essential in General Problem Solving: It helps us to analyze

concepts, definitions, arguments and problems, and contributes to our capacity to organize ideas and issues to deal with questions of value. Communication Skills: Here our skills will be enhanced as we are able to present ideas through well-constructed systematic and reasoned arguments. Persuasive Powers: We will learn to build and defend our own views, to appreciate competing positions, and to indicate forcefully why we consider our own views preferable to alternatives. Writing Skills: Philosophical Logic and Reasoning teaches us interpretive writing through its examination of challenging texts, comparative writings through emphasis on fairness to alternative positions, argumentative writing through detailed portrayal of concrete examples and others. These are very important reasons why logic and reasoning matter in our daily lives. They can be applied in the trained academic person life, or to the normal individual who has a desire to analyze the issues facing him/her before making a final crucial decision. 

Problems with Reason

The 10 Deadly Fallacies

Ad ignorantium Claiming something is true because it cant be proved as false.

Hasty generalization Generalizing with insufficient evidence

Post hoc ergo propter hoc Confusing a correlation with a causal connection

Ad hominem Attacking/ supporting the person rather than the argument

Circular reasoning Assuming the truth of what you are supposed to be proving

Special pleading Using double standards to excuse an individual or group

Equivocation Using language ambiguosly

False analogy Assuming that because two things are alike in some respects they are alike in other respects

False dilemma Assuming that only two black and white

Loaded question A question that is biased because it contains a built-in assumption

Joke

Article

Reason and Logic by Ryan Robert Hallnett

Multimedia

Bibliography

http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Epistemology_Reason.html

Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Van de Laagemat, Richard.