n]
| 1. | a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc.: the reason for declaring war. |
| 2. | a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action. |
| 3. | the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences. |
| 4. | sound judgment; good sense. |
| 5. | normal or sound powers of mind; sanity. |
| 6. | Logic. a premise of an argument. |
| 7. | Philosophy.
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| 8. | to think or argue in a logical manner. |
| 9. | to form conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises. |
| 10. | to urge reasons which should determine belief or action. |
| 11. | to think through logically, as a problem (often fol. by out). |
| 12. | to conclude or infer. |
| 13. | to convince, persuade, etc., by reasoning. |
| 14. | to support with reasons. |
| 15. | bring (someone) to reason, to induce a change of opinion in (someone) through presentation of arguments; convince: The mother tried to bring her rebellious daughter to reason. |
| 16. | by reason of, on account of; because of: He was consulted about the problem by reason of his long experience. |
| 17. | in or within reason, in accord with reason; justifiable; proper: She tried to keep her demands in reason. |
| 18. | stand to reason, to be clear, obvious, or logical: With such an upbringing it stands to reason that the child will be spoiled. |
| 19. | with reason, with justification; properly: The government is concerned about the latest crisis, and with reason. |
rea·son (rē'zən) n.
v. intr.
[Middle English, from Old French raison, from Latin ratiō, ratiōn-, from ratus, past participle of rērī, to consider, think; see ar- in Indo-European roots.] rea'son·er n. Synonyms: These nouns refer to the intellectual faculty by which humans seek or attain knowledge or truth. Reason is the power to think rationally and logically and to draw inferences: "Mere reason is insufficient to convince us of its [the Christian religion's] veracity" (David Hume). |
reasoning
in philosophy, the faculty or process of drawing logical inferences. The term "reason" is also used in several other, narrower senses. Reason is in opposition to sensation, perception, feeling, desire, as the faculty (the existence of which is denied by empiricists) by which fundamental truths are intuitively apprehended. These fundamental truths are the causes or "reasons" of all derivative facts. According to the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, reason is the power of synthesizing into unity, by means of comprehensive principles, the concepts that are provided by the intellect. That reason which gives a priori principles Kant calls "pure reason," as distinguished from the "practical reason," which is specially concerned with the performance of actions. In formal logic the drawing of inferences (frequently called "ratiocination," from Latin ratiocinari, "to use the reasoning faculty") is classified from Aristotle on as deductive (from generals to particulars) and inductive (from particulars to generals).
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