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Philosophy vocabulary · Core Concepts

Reason

Meaning in philosophy, with examples

/ˈriːzən/nounCore term

In philosophy, reason means: The human ability to think logically, draw conclusions and judge what is true or right; also a consideration that counts in favor of a belief or an action.

In Turkish: akıl, us, gerekçe

How it is used

Two senses matter: reason as a faculty (uncountable: the Age of Reason, Kant's Critique of Pure Reason) and reasons as considerations (countable: a reason to believe, moral reasons). As a verb, reason means to think step by step.

Example sentences

  1. Rationalists hold that reason, not the senses, is the main source of knowledge.

  2. Do I have a reason to help strangers even when I don't want to?

Common collocations

  • pure reason
  • practical reason
  • a good reason
  • reasons for action
  • the Age of Reason
  • rationalismThe view that reason, rather than sense experience, is the main source of knowledge, and that some knowledge is innate or a priori.
  • argumentA set of statements in which some of them, the premises, are offered as reasons for accepting another one, the conclusion.
  • intuitionA judgment that seems true to us immediately, without our being able to give a full argument for it; in philosophy it is often used as evidence.
  • justificationThe reasons or evidence that make it rational to hold a belief, or the property a belief has when it is properly supported.

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