Philosophy Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [reason]

137 questions
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What is the name of this kind of reasoning? (Not a logical fallacy.)

Alice and Bob are playing rock-paper-scissors. Alice typically throws rock. Bob, while thinking to himself, is naïve and wants to throw paper, but also knows that Alice is sneaky and so will anticipate that Alice will throw paper and chooses to…
Fomalhaut
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can 'intuition' or 'instinct' be considered as a part of 'reason'?

For example, if someone believes existence of god as a consequence of intuitive and instinctive thought, can we say he used reason to believe that?
Vito
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What is the difference between a reason and sufficient reason?

I am having trouble deciding between the difference and whether this difference really is real. For example, quantum mechanics has indeterministic effects. The time at which an atom decays has a certain probability or an electron’s position after it…
user62907
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What is the reason of this case?

Say we have 3 people: A, B and C. A has a ball in their hand but B and C don't. The following occurs: A, gives their ball to B, then B, gives their ball to C. Now if I ask you the question; Why does C have a ball? or What is the reason that C has a…
Başar Görgün
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Definition of "reason"

After seeing the interview of Jordan Peterson about the gender pay gap I was discussing about this topic with my flatmate. Rather than discussing about the gender pay gap here, my question is about the definition of "reason". Assume that one cause…
Dan
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Is religious fundamentalism necessarily irrational?

By religious fundamentalism I mean any system of belief that thinks the truth to be the literal reading of a text revealed by an omniscient being. By irrational I mean being not being based upon reason, and even more specifically - contrary to…
Sam
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Does the discovery of Earth- like planets make it reasonable to assume that life also exists on those planets?

There has been much interest recently around the discovery of Earth- like planets. While thinking of the possibility of life on those planets, I came to the realization that assuming there is no life on those planets, given that they are Earth…
stackex555
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How does one solve a dilemma between instinct and reason?

Philosophy is often said to expound upon rational instincts that one feels behind things. But what if something happens that results in a conflict between what you find reasonable and what pulls at your instincts? For example, suppose I have a dream…
Baby_philosopher
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If the PSR is false, can one simply assert the absence of an explanation if one fails to find any?

The principle of sufficient reason states that everything must have a reason. Let us suppose that this is false. Let us further suppose that one comes across something and cannot find a current existing explanation for it. Given the falsity of PSR,…
user62907
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Do degrees of reasonableness have an ontological basis?

For example, assume these two propositions. A.) My mother is real B.) The earth is a sphere How does one show, as a matter of fact that believing in A.) is more reasonable than B.)? One may point to B.) as most would do intuitively and claim that…
user62907
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When must justifying a belief allow for new evidence?

When must justifying a belief allow for new evidence? I suppose it depends on context. "Apodeictic" beliefs (which are necessarily true) are clearly established or beyond dispute, so don't need returning to except to make sense of them. Scientific…
user66760