--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reason is flawed, but how badly? How…" description: "\"“Reason is flawed, but how badly? How should success or failure in reasoning be assessed? What are the mechanisms responsible? In spite of their often ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/hugo-mercier-82330_failure_reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-shoul_3007436.jpg" --- # Reason is flawed, but how badly? How should success or… ![“Reason is flawed, but how badly? How should success or failure in reasoning be assessed? What are the mechanisms responsible? In spite of their often bitter disagreements, parties to these polemics have failed to question a basic dogma. All have taken for granted that the job of reasoning is to…” quote by Hugo Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/hugo-mercier-82330_failure_reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-shoul_3007436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/hugo-mercier-82330_failure_reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-shoul_3007436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/hugo-mercier-82330_failure_reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-shoul_3007436.jpg) > ““Reason is flawed, but how badly? How should success or failure in reasoning be assessed? What are the mechanisms responsible? In spite of their often bitter disagreements, parties to these polemics have failed to question a basic dogma. All have taken for granted that the job of reasoning is to help individuals achieve greater knowledge and make better decisions. If you accept the dogma, then, yes, it is quite puzzling that reason should fall short of being impartial, objective, and logical. It is paradoxical that, quite commonly, reasoning should fail to bring people to agree and, even worse, that it should often exacerbate their differences. But why accept the dogma in the first place?”” [Hugo Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-mercier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questions the assumption that reasoning is impartial, showing it often deepens disagreements rather than resolves them. **In simple terms:** Reason isn’t always neutral. Key Takeaway Critically examine reasoning processes. Themes reasoning bias conflict Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - debate - policy making - education - media analysis - null Key Concepts cognitive science philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do we trust reasoning uncritically? - How can we improve rational discourse? A Different Perspective Reason can be manipulated to reinforce divisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Dogma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-dogma-3479483/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Reason Flawed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-flawed-4804248/) [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) [Reasoning Assessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning-assessed-4804249/) [Reasoning Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning-fail-2374468/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success or failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-or-failure/) [Taken for granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-for-granted/) ## Related quotes > [“Excuses are a form of poison. They paralyze you with false reasoning and you fail to act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lopez-jr/excuses-are-a-form-of-poison-they-paralyze-you-with-false-reasoning/) [Peter Lopez Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lopez-jr/) > [In truth, there are only two kinds of people; those who accept dogma and know it, and those who accept dogma and don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-truth-there-are-only-two-kinds-of-people-those-who-accept-dogma/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Go your own way. Question everything. Accept nothing. Accept no dogma, no cant. There are too many people walking around thinking they're sacred cows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-dimanno/go-your-own-way-question-everything-accept-nothing-accept-no-dogma-no/) [Rosie DiManno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-dimanno/) > [I know that there are many persons to whom it seems derogatory to link a body of philosophic ideas to the social life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/i-know-that-there-are-many-persons-to-whom-it-seems-derogatory-to/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Whatever your plan, you never invest your own self-worth in its ultimate success or failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/whatever-your-plan-you-never-invest-your-own-self-worth-in-its/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [The student of biology is often struck with the feeling that historians, when dealing with the rise and fall of nations, do not generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-ross/the-student-of-biology-is-often-struck-with-the-feeling-that/) [Ronald Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-ross/) > [“The rise or fall, success or failure of your dreams is largely dependent on the association you build yourself around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-rise-or-fall-success-or-failure-of-your-dreams-is-largely/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [If you were to plot my success or failure, it goes, it very seldom stays on a high plateau.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-beck/if-you-were-to-plot-my-success-or-failure-it-goes-it-very-seldom/) [Jeff Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-beck/) > [I tell you all this because it's worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-tell-you-all-this-because-it-s-worth-recognizing-that-there-is-no/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I don't want the burden of the success or failure of a film entirely on my shoulders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biju-menon/i-don-t-want-the-burden-of-the-success-or-failure-of-a-film-entirely/) [Biju Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biju-menon/) > [Success or failure in business is caused more by mental attitude even than by mental capacity. Banish the fear-attitude; acquire the confident attitude. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dill-scott/success-or-failure-in-business-is-caused-more-by-mental-attitude-even/) [Walter Dill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dill-scott/) > [The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to do what's right? 2) Am I committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/the-answers-to-these-questions-will-determine-your-success-or-failure/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity successful men act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/success-or-failure-depends-more-upon-attitude-than-upon-capacity/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Consider the core of the mind to be a wagon, with will-power to be carried about in it. Push it to a place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takuan-soho/consider-the-core-of-the-mind-to-be-a-wagon-with-will-power-to-be/) [Takuan Soho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takuan-soho/) ## More by Hugo Mercier > [“take reason out of the interactive context in which it evolved, and nothing guarantees that it will yield adaptive results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-mercier/take-reason-out-of-the-interactive-context-in-which-it-evolved-and/) [Hugo Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-mercier/) > [“Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the use of logic, or at least some system of rules to expand and improve our knowledge and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-mercier/whereas-reason-is-commonly-viewed-as-the-use-of-logic-or-at-least/) [Hugo Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-mercier/) [Explore all 3 Hugo Mercier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-mercier/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Reason is flawed, but how badly? How should success or failure in reasoning be assessed? What are the mechanisms responsible? In spite of their often bitter disagreements, parties to these polemics have failed to question a basic dogma. All have taken for granted that the job of reasoning is to help individuals achieve greater knowledge and make better decisions. If you accept the dogma, then, yes, it is quite puzzling that reason should fall short of being impartial, objective, and logical. It is paradoxical that, quite commonly, reasoning should fail to bring people to agree and, even worse, that it should often exacerbate their differences. But why accept the dogma in the first place?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hugo Mercier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-mercier/reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-should-success-or-failure-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-mercier/reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-should-success-or-failure-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/hugo-mercier-82330_failure_reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-shoul_3007436.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/hugo-mercier-82330_failure_reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-shoul_3007436.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/hugo-mercier-82330_failure_reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-shoul_3007436.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reason is flawed, but how badly? How should success or failure in reasoning be assessed? What are the…” — Hugo Mercier", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hugo Mercier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-mercier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Reason is flawed, but how badly?...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-mercier/reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-should-success-or-failure-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-mercier/reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-should-success-or-failure-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```