--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the…" description: "\"“Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the use of logic, or at least some system of rules to expand and improve our knowledge and our decisions, we argu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/hugo-mercier-82330_logic_whereas-reason-is-commonly-viewed-as-the_2116590.jpg" --- # Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the use of logic, or… ![“Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the use of logic, or at least some system of rules to expand and improve our knowledge and our decisions, we argue that reason is much more opportunistic and eclectic and is not bound to formal norms. The main role of logic in reasoning, we suggest, may well be…” quote by Hugo Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/hugo-mercier-82330_logic_whereas-reason-is-commonly-viewed-as-the_2116590.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/hugo-mercier-82330_logic_whereas-reason-is-commonly-viewed-as-the_2116590.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/hugo-mercier-82330_logic_whereas-reason-is-commonly-viewed-as-the_2116590.jpg) > ““Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the use of logic, or at least some system of rules to expand and improve our knowledge and our decisions, we argue that reason is much more opportunistic and eclectic and is not bound to formal norms. The main role of logic in reasoning, we suggest, may well be a rhetorical one: logic helps simplify and schematize intuitive arguments, highlighting and often exaggerating their force. So, why did reason evolve? What does it provide, over and above what is provided by more ordinary forms of inference, that could have been of special value to humans and to humans alone? To answer, we adopt a much broader perspective. Reason, we argue, has two main functions: that of producing reasons for justifying oneself, and that of producing arguments to convince others. These two functions rely on the same kinds of reasons and are closely related.”” 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. Reason is an adaptive, flexible tool for justifying oneself and persuading others, not limited to formal logic. **In simple terms:** Reason helps us justify actions and convince people. Key Takeaway Use reason to clarify motives and influence others. Themes justification persuasion cognitive flexibility social interaction Mood analytical critical reflective Type philosophical psychological social. When to use this quote - debates - leadership - conflict resolution - marketing - personal decision making Key Concepts eclecticism rhetoric evolutionary psychology argumentation Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish genuine justification from self‑serving rationalization? - When might persuasive reasoning conflict with truth? A Different Perspective Reason can be misused to rationalize bias or manipulate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) ## Related quotes > [“You should not imagine that your reason can evolve to the extent of understanding God. Rather, if God is to shine divinely within you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/you-should-not-imagine-that-your-reason-can-evolve-to-the-extent-of/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“Those who invalidate reason, ought seriously to consider, 'whether they argue against reason, with or without reason; if with reason, then they establish the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-allen/those-who-invalidate-reason-ought-seriously-to-consider-whether-they-2/) [Ethan Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-allen/) > [Those who invalidate reason ought seriously to consider whether they argue against reason with or without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-allen/those-who-invalidate-reason-ought-seriously-to-consider-whether-they/) [Ethan Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-allen/) > [The claim is also sometimes made that science is as arbitrary or irrational as all other claims to knowledge, or that reason itself is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-claim-is-also-sometimes-made-that-science-is-as-arbitrary-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The nearer you approach to God, the less you reason and argue. When you attain Him, then all sounds—all reasoning and disputing—come to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-ramakrishna/the-nearer-you-approach-to-god-the-less-you-reason-and-argue-when-you/) [Sri Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-ramakrishna/) > [If you do not assume the law of non-contradiction, you have nothing to argue about. If you do not assume the principles of sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-murray/if-you-do-not-assume-the-law-of-non-contradiction-you-have-nothing-to/) [William J. Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-murray/) > [To reason, to argue. It is to walk with crutches in search of the truth. We come to it with a leap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/to-reason-to-argue-it-is-to-walk-with-crutches-in-search-of-the-truth/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [You're doing it again. Using reason to argue faith. Can't be done. Like playing croquet with a crochet hook. Sounds something like the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-doing-it-again-using-reason-to-argue-faith-can-t-be-done-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most people need a reason to argue - you just need a place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-d-barant/most-people-need-a-reason-to-argue-you-just-need-a-place/) [D.D. Barant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-d-barant/) > [Persons not habituated to reason often argue absurdly, because, from particular instances, they deduce general conclusions, and extend the result of their limited experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/persons-not-habituated-to-reason-often-argue-absurdly-because-from/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [The very day the world finds enough reason not to argue reasonably again, is the very day we all cease to be unique. Until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-very-day-the-world-finds-enough-reason-not-to-argue-reasonably/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mathematics is a language plus reasoning; it is like a language plus logic. Mathematics is a tool for reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/mathematics-is-a-language-plus-reasoning-it-is-like-a-language-plus/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Trying to understand the way nature works involves a most terrible test of human reasoning ability. It involves subtle trickery, beautiful tightropes of logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/trying-to-understand-the-way-nature-works-involves-a-most-terrible/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Logic is essentially a tool for getting at truth; it is the tool, for without it no reasoning is possible in any field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oderberg/logic-is-essentially-a-tool-for-getting-at-truth-it-is-the-tool-for/) David Oderberg ## 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 > [“Reason is flawed, but how badly? How should success or failure in reasoning be assessed? What are the mechanisms responsible? In spite of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-mercier/reason-is-flawed-but-how-badly-how-should-success-or-failure-in/) Hugo Mercier Explore all 3 Hugo Mercier quotes ## More Logic quotes > [Logic is essentially a tool for getting at truth; it is the tool, for without it no reasoning is possible in any field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oderberg/logic-is-essentially-a-tool-for-getting-at-truth-it-is-the-tool-for/) David Oderberg > [If we were to expect the unexpected, then the unexpected would become expected, so we might as well say expect the expected, but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-we-were-to-expect-the-unexpected-then-the-unexpected-would-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/when-dealing-with-people-remember-you-are-not-dealing-with-creatures/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“What you owe your critics are your RESULTS not explanations not defence just RESULTS.Evidence terminates Arguments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fela-durotoye/what-you-owe-your-critics-are-your-results-not-explanations-not/) [Fela Durotoye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fela-durotoye/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) F. A. Harper > [Companies are not charitable enterprises: They hire workers to make profits. In the United States, this logic still works. In Europe, it hardly does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/companies-are-not-charitable-enterprises-they-hire-workers-to-make/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Trying to understand the way nature works involves a most terrible test of human reasoning ability. It involves subtle trickery, beautiful tightropes of logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/trying-to-understand-the-way-nature-works-involves-a-most-terrible/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [The dialectic is neither fiction nor mysticism, but a science of the forms of our thinking insofar as it is not limited to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/the-dialectic-is-neither-fiction-nor-mysticism-but-a-science-of-the/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [Intuitionists think that there are cases in which, say, some identity statement between real numbers is neither true nor false, even though we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-f-heck/intuitionists-think-that-there-are-cases-in-which-say-some-identity/) [Richard F. Heck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-f-heck/) > [There's a simple arithmetical logic at work. Build more unaffordable and not always architecturally sympathetic apartments, watch the rents rise, the tarts leave, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/there-s-a-simple-arithmetical-logic-at-work-build-more-unaffordable/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) [Browse all 3,202 Logic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whereas reason is commonly viewed as the use of logic, or at least some system of rules to expand and improve our knowledge and our decisions, we argue that reason is much more opportunistic and eclectic and is not bound to formal norms. The main role of logic in reasoning, we suggest, may well be a rhetorical one: logic helps simplify and schematize intuitive arguments, highlighting and often exaggerating their force. So, why did reason evolve? What does it provide, over and above what is provided by more ordinary forms of inference, that could have been of special value to humans and to humans alone? To answer, we adopt a much broader perspective. Reason, we argue, has two main functions: that of producing reasons for justifying oneself, and that of producing arguments to convince others. 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