Reasoning and Certainty Francic Bacon was aware that we could be fooled or misled inot accepting ideas and concepts which came from errors in thinking.He called them idols These are characteristic errors, natural tendencies, or defects that beset the mind and prevent it from achieving a full and accurate understanding of nature. Bacon points out that recognizing and counteracting the idols is as important to the study of nature as the recognition and refutation of bad arguments is to logic. Incidentally, he uses the word “idol” – from the Greek eidolon (“image” or “phantom”) –Thus a Baconian idol is a potential deception or source of misunderstanding, especially one that clouds or confuses our knowledge of external reality. Categorised into 4 groups Idols of the tribe Idols of the cave Idols of the market place Idols of the theatre

Tribe refers to the Human experience Beliefs Wishful thinking Over generalization Cave Refers to our upbringing Insularity Conservatism Novelty Authority Inertia Market Place Refers to language Meaning less words Double meaning words Jargon Theatre Refers to dogma and philosophy Idols

Reason Emotion Can emotion be rational? Perception Should we trust reason rather than perception Language Can vague language lead to bad reasoning Mathematics Can Mathematics be Reduced to logic Human Sciences Are human rational animals? History What Kind of bad reasoning can be found in history? The Arts Is there a link between creativity and rationality Ethics How important is Moral consistency in reasoning Religion Is faith rational Or irrational

Quotes He that will not reason is a bigot: he that cannot reason is a fool: and he that dares not reason is a slave. William Drummond The reasonable man himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all reason depends on the unreasonable man. George Bernard Shaw Two extravagances: to exclude reason and to admit only reason. Blaise Pascal