NATURE+OF+REASON

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** Nature of reason **  • One of the roles traditionally attributed to reason 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?
 * FROM THE TOK SUBJECT GUIDE (2009)**

 • What is the difference between reasoning about means and reasoning about ends? Is one more prevalent or more valuable than the other?

 • What is the role of reason in the creation and recognition of patterns in nature and in social life?

 • Is reason purely objective and universal, or does it vary across cultures? Is logic purely objective and universal?

 • Formal logic is the study of form in argument, irrespective of the subject matter. Is it really possible to study the logic of an issue independent of its content, and how beneficial is it to do so? Does the answer to this question depend upon the subject matter under consideration? Does it depend on the area of knowledge to which the subject matter belongs?

 • What is the relationship between reason as a way of knowing and logic in its different forms (inductive, deductive, intuitive, natural)? Is it possible and worthwhile to “translate” everyday arguments into formal logical structure, and what might be lost in the translation? How does the commonsense use of “it’s logical”, meaning “it makes sense to me”, differ from its technical meaning of “it has a valid argument form”?