Chapter 4 The Life of Reason

The Appeal to Reason The rational appeal is first an appeal to the individual who is considering an issue Is not an appeal to whatever you happen to think at any given moment In whatever mood you happen to be Not an appeal to your passions or emotions © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Appeal to Reason An appeal to you as a rational person The appeal to reason is universal Claiming to be correct for everyone who considers the question in this reasonable way Making an important decision in the heat of the moment is often a big mistake © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Appeal to Reason The use of reasoning to make decisions, can be characterized as an appeal to: Considerations that each person must address within his or her own mind As a reflective person, with concentration on distinguishing the different issues Considering all the relevant points, consequences © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reason and Philosophy The study of such connections is the study of logic The philosopher’s reasoning must also be related to the facts of our experience The philosopher’s primary tool is reason Encouraged to live our lives according to reason, to be reasonable, or rational © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reason and Philosophy What exactly is this ideal rational life and what are its advantages? It might be true that a life based on reason is better than one based on emotion The position that the world is inherently rational Or that people are basically reasonable © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reason and Philosophy The rational ideal says nothing about the way things actually are in the world Or the way people actually behave It simply asserts that the best practical guide to belief and action is: The principle of reason © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Advantages of Reason The rational ideal helps to resolve and coordinate: Important nonrational feelings and intuitions It is essential that most of our decisions be made quickly and automatically The problem with this method of decision making is that it will not work all the time © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Advantages of Reason The job of reason is not to replace it, but to complement it In resolving conflicts among intuitions and feelings, we are not trying to replace them: But simply to coordinate them The question we face is how best to handle conflicting opinions © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Advantages of Reason Reject dogmatism in favor of a kind of total relativism of opinion The appeal to reason fosters communication between people And supports the idea that, despite our differences, we do live in a common world In which it is possible to come to some agreement © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.