Journal 3: Reason

Top 3 Key Ideas:

The key idea to remember in this section is the importance of reasoning  in our lives and how it applies to the decisions we make.  Reason is a part of each of us, and we use this gift to judge right and wrong, true from false, and ridiculous from practical.  However, before we are able to reason, we must first have a basic knowledge.  This knowledge can be experienced by a person first hand.  By doing so the person can gain information by seeing, smelling, or touching a reality.  Second, knowledge may be gained through the insight of an authority, who is a person who has information that the other person doesn't have.  Lastly, we may gain information through reasoning.  By doing so, we use the knowledge that is already present in our minds and through this we make decisions that can lead us to deduce things that we don't out rightly know.  Thus, reason allows us to "have knowledge," which we have not experienced nor been told.  However, in our reasoning we must be careful not to make any thinking errors and be sure we critically think about the issue.

1.  There are Five Common Thinking Errors that humans are prone to commit. First,  Non Sequiturs are when a conclusion doesn't follow logically form the premiss used to support it. Second, False and Vague Premises are when the basic premises of are argument is not valid, because of this the conclusion of the discussion is not correct. Third, Ad Hominem is a type of reasoning we use that attacks the person, rather than the argument.  Fourth, Begging the Question is when a point is being argued to be valid, but in the process it is already assumed to be true.  Lastly, Red Herrings are an inflammatory comment thrown into a discussion to distract from the real issue at hand. 2.  We must all Be Intellectually Humble in our lives. It is vital that we realize that nobody, even ourselves, knows everything.  Although, we may think we are smart,we aren't an authority on every topic.  We must learn from and appreciate others' knowledge, thoughts, and ideas. 3.  Aristotle gives us some answers on how to pursue happiness.  We must have bodily goods, meaning we must have good health.  Second,  we  have to have at least some external goods or wealth.  Finally, we must also have "goods of the soul," which is our family, friends, and other loved ones who care for us in life.  In addition, we must develop a good moral character that makes good decisions and has good habits.

-An image that reminds me of this section on  Reason is Jeopardy's Ken Jennings.  Ken is a trivia guru and has a vast amount of knowledge, but even he doesn't know everything.  He eventually lost on the show after winning over 2 million dollars.  Utilizing knowledge gained from his experiences and other authorities on topics, along with using his reason, Ken was able to succeed. However, he was also intellectually humble because he doesn't know everything.

Link!

-A question which I will take with me to ponder from this section is "why are there so many arrogant people in the world even though nobody knows everything."  Some people feel that they are vastly superior to others because they think they know more or are more important.  But, the reality of the issue is that everybody is ignorant to an extent, even ourselves, and we must realize this.

-After studying knowledge and reason I have learned that there are many things people don't know.  However, I will try to respect others' viewpoints and I will avoid making the mistake of using the Five Common Thinking Errors when discussing an issue.