Reason 101

What is reason?  How does one act rationally?  And why should we?

Simple questions.  After all, the name of our site is Reason to Freedom, implying we know and care about the answers.  True.  Here at RtF we do envision civilization advancing to the point of widespread elementary reason, from which liberty, happiness, and abundance naturally will follow.

The answers need to be practical.

I.e., it won’t do to simply refer readers to Ayn Rand or to her intellectual offshoots, most of whom address the issue of rational philosophy more academically, albeit exquisitely.  No, the better plan for us commoners here at RtF is to supply first aid, to build a rudimentary bridge from the far side of the "reason gap" to this side—where advanced care is possible from higher practitioners of the art.

In a previous column I identified the reason gap as the psychological separation between people who base their beliefs and actions predominantly on faith and people who base their beliefs and actions predominantly on reason.  (I estimated at least 25 million votes for the Bush-Cheney copresidency came from people on the "far side" of the reason gap.) 

We at RtF want freedom.  Therefore, we want a humane political system.  To obtain a humane political system we must spend the cycles to persuade people that aggressing upon others is incorrect.  If this persuasion is to be successful, a significant number of these people must first be reasonable.

That is the practical task at hand: to breathe the living energy of the universe—evidenced in the smooth functioning of the rational, creative mind—into the "reason have-nots" and into the "reason barely haves."  The task is daunting.  But nature abhors a vacuum, and, as proved in Europe by The Enlightenment, a little bit of reason goes a long way.

Reason is the "faculty that perceives, identifies, and integrates the material provided by man’s senses."(1)  The antithesis of reason is faith, "the acceptance of something as true without sensory evidence or logical demonstration."  (I realize the word faith has other connotations, but "belief, in absence of reason" is my stipulated meaning in this analysis.)

It is only in the context of a philosophy that reason makes sense.

The short version of what philosophy is can be expressed as: "What exists?" (metaphysics), "How do you know?" (epistemology), and "So what?" (ethics, politics).

For example, if you hold a view of the universe, a philosophy, that mankind is forever doomed to be a plaything of the gods, his fate set by forces beyond his control, then whether or not you do much thinking or reasoning doesn’t matter much.  If fate trumps reason, why bother?  More currently, if God gives you eternal life for believing in him, what difference does it make if you try to noodle out life’s little problems?

I’m trying to say reason is only important in the context of a philosophy of reason, and the pillars of reason are for all intents and purposes pillars of rational philosophy.  The table below proposes some essential concepts I’ve refined as hallmarks of practical reason.

[click on each Pillar for an expanded discussion of each —Ed.]

Note  -  I acknowledge an intellectual debt to Ayn Rand.  However, unlike Rand’s approach to her audience in Galt’s Speech(7), I’m assuming a friendly audience who may want to learn.

This has been a disquisition on reason, and my presentation is what some would call an outline of common sense practical philosophy.  Readers should feel free to quote its contents with attribution.  My objective is to:

1. provide guideposts, particularly for the young of mind, who seek a reason-based life
2. dispel several intellectual fallacies and remove common roadblocks on the path to reason
3. promote this website, give readers a reference for related opinion and commentary
4. encourage a community of minds to meet regularly and socialize with kindred spirits
5. lay the foundation for a society of liberty

Think of this column as the condensed Reader’s Digest version of what reason is all about.  Don’t forget the referenced sites, particularly The Objectivist Center, and please use our forums at Reason to Freedom to get the discussion launched in the direction of the best way to achieve our lofty goals.