reason
Sign in to saveReason is the capacity to consciously apply logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking truth. It is associated with activities considered characteristic of humans, including philosophy, religion, science, language, and mathematics, and is generally considered a distinguishing ability possessed by humans. The term "reason" is sometimes used to refer to rationality, although the latter is more about its application.
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Reason is the mental ability to think logically and draw valid conclusions from information in order to find the truth. It's considered a distinctly human capacity that underlies many of our important activities, such as science, philosophy, mathematics, and language.
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Article
35 sectionsContents
- Etymology and related words
- Philosophical history{{anchor|History_of_reasoning}}
- Classical philosophy
- Christian and Islamic philosophy
- Subject-centred reason in early modern philosophy
- Substantive and formal reason
- The critique of reason
- Reason compared to related concepts
- Reason compared to logic
- Reason compared to cause-and-effect thinking, and symbolic thinking
- Reason, imagination, mimesis, and memory
- Logical reasoning methods and argumentation
- Deductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning
- Analogical reasoning
- Abductive reasoning
- Fallacious reasoning
- Unreasonable decisions and actions
- Traditional problems raised concerning reason
- Reason versus truth, and "first principles"
- Reason versus emotion or passion
- Reason versus faith or tradition
- Reason in particular fields of study
- Psychology and cognitive science
- Behavioral experiments on human reasoning
- Developmental studies of children's reasoning
- Neuroscience of reasoning
- Computer science
- Automated reasoning
- Meta-reasoning
- Evolution of reason
- Reason in political philosophy and ethics
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Reason is the capacity to consciously apply logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking truth. It is associated with activities considered characteristic of humans, including philosophy, religion, science, language, and mathematics, and is generally considered a distinguishing ability possessed by humans. The term "reason" is sometimes used to refer to rationality, although the latter is more about its application.
Reasoning involves using more-or-less rational processes of thinking and cognition to extrapolate from one's existing knowledge to generate new knowledge, and involves the use of one's intellect. The field of logic is the study of how humans can use formal reasoning to produce logically valid arguments and true conclusions. Reasoning may be subdivided into forms of logical reasoning, such as deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, and abductive reasoning.