INTRODUCTION TO REASON What is it? Truth, Relativism, & Skepticism Do we really use reason? How is ‘Reason’ different from ‘Reasons’?

A CURIOUS INCIDENT Christopher says in Chapter 5 that dogs do not tell lies. How often do humans lie? How about you? Why do humans feel the need to lie so frequently? How do you tell a lie from the truth?

REASON One of the roles traditionally attributed to reason (roughly speaking it is the ability to figure out the truth) is to find balance or equilibrium between two extremes. Is this idea still relevant as a description of the role that reason plays in the search for self-knowledge? What does it mean for someone to be reasonable?

WHAT IS REASON? “Reason…involves different elements.” ◦Collective attempt to make sense of things. ◦Gives coherency and consistency to arguments based on legitimacy of “reasons.” ◦Is necessary for academic pursuits AND daily life. “The requirements of logical validity and rigour serve these various purposes.”

WHAT IS REASON, REALLY? How do you know how to move out from in front of an oncoming car? How do you know that 2+2=4? How do you decide whether or not you should skip class? You know these things through reason – you take what you know and/or have experienced and apply it to the situation at hand in order to formulate an answer. Some may call this logic, but that is only part of what reason is about.

TRUTH A large part of reason is determining what is true by examining knowledge claims closely. This becomes more difficult than you might think. Take a minute to write down at least five things that are in the left side of the cabinet at the front of the room. Now write down three odd place names that appear on the big map – things most people wouldn’t have heard of before.

TRUTH Does what you see and what you experience determine what you deem to be true? This belief is called “RELATIVISM” which is based on the ideas of language, culture, and experience determining your view of reality. It is directly opposed to the idea of “ABSOLUTE” TRUTH – which is something that is straightforward: plain objective fact, transparent and open, empirically and logically proven – CANNOT BE DISPUTED.

TRUTH So, do you believe in RELATIVE or ABSOLUTE truth? Why? What did you think of the different Truth Theories you read about? Which one made the most sense to you? Why? There is even another way to look at things that you may find quite strange…or you may embrace.

ON DOUBT & CERTAINTY What did you think of Descartes’ On Doubt & Certainty? Does he raise any points you have not considered before? Are any of his points valid or ‘reasonable’? Are any of his points a bit of a stretch? What do you think he meant by “I think, therefore, I am”?

SKEPTICISM Skepticism may be seen as a way of NOT knowing more than a way of knowing. Skeptics believe you can never be sure of anything because: 1. Our senses often deceive us. 2. We can never be sure if we are dreaming or not. 3. Our thoughts are an unreliable interpretation of reality. Does this offer a reliable framework of dealing with reality?

SKEPTIC VS. SKEPTICAL There is a true difference between being a ‘skeptic’ and being ‘skeptical.’ Skeptical (or PRACTICAL SKEPTICISM) is simply an awareness that people can be easily deceived and need to carefully examine things before accepting them as true. The ToK guide even promotes practical skepticism when it says “students should be able to…analyse critically knolwedge claims, their underlying assumptions, and their implications.”

TOOLS OF PRACTICAL SKEPTICISM 1. Beware of ‘Idols.’ Idols of the Tribe (the community) – what we, as humans want to believe to be true. ◦Belief ◦Wishful Thinking ◦Overgeneralization

In Chapter 67 Christopher explains to Mrs. Alexander about the false perceptions that many people have about rats. Are there any other generalizations about people/things that you can think of that are false? Do you have any perceptions about something that you know is probably false, but you hang on to it anyway? Why do false perceptions exist and persist? A CURIOUS INCIDENT

TOOLS OF PRACTICAL SKEPTICISM 1. Beware of ‘Idols.’ Idols of the Cave – due to our upbringing and education ◦Insularity ◦Conservatism ◦Novelty ◦Authority ◦Inertia

A CURIOUS INCIDENT In Chapter 139 Christopher claims that “sometimes people want to be stupid and do not want to know the truth.” To what extent do you agree with his claim? Explain.

TOOLS OF PRACTICAL SKEPTICISM 1. Beware of ‘Idols.’ Idols of the Market Place - the use of language may be misleading ◦Meaningless Words ◦Double Meaning Words ◦Jargon ◦Others that we have covered and more that we will cover shortly

TOOLS OF PRACTICAL SKEPTICISM 2. Beware of Harry Frankfurt of Princeton University wrote a book, On Bull He claims that BS is not an outright lie, nor is it misrepresentation, but information presented to promote a particular cause and gain an advantage for the

BS is an outright attempt to deceive, but it portrays indifference and skirts issues rather than presenting false (or even true, for that matter) information. BS IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT IS ALL AROUND YOU AND IS SO PREVALENT IN THE CULTURE OF THE UNITED STATES. A liar “is aware of and cares about the truth. The is unburdened by such concerns.”

USE OF REASON Some use of reason is done without thinking about it – some may call it instinct or common sense. The real question is: Do we take the time to really examine other peoples’ arguments and knowledge claims using reason and careful scrutinization or do we just accept most things blindly?

‘REASON’ VS. ‘REASONS’ ‘Reason’ is the human capacity to search for the truth by evaluating arguments ‘Reasons’ provide the backbone of an argument ◦‘reasons’ are the grounds on which arguments are based. ◦‘reasons’ can be valid or invalid ‘Reason’ comes into play to determine the validity of the argument – you will see this more when we deal with formal logic.

REASON What possibilities for knowledge are created by reason? What are the advantages of being able to reason about something rather than, say, feeling something, dreaming about something, wishing something to be the case? Can you think of any disadvantages of reason?