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Groundwork in the Theory of ArgumentationIs There an Obligation to Reason Well?

Groundwork in the Theory of Argumentation: Is There an Obligation to Reason Well? [The chapter argues for that there is a prima facie moral obligation to (try to) reason well. Analyses are offered for the concept of obligation and the concept of morality to explicate what it is to be a moral obligation. What is entailed in reasoning well is spelled out in terms of a good reasoner: one who has mastered a wide range of specific reasoning techniques (distinguishing, defining, classifying, inferring, generalizing, etc.) and the different kinds of reasoning operation (arguing, problem solving, explaining, etc.), one who has wide general knowledge so as to know when additional knowledge is needed, and one who wants to reason well, enjoys doing so, and so for whom reasoning well is an important part of his or her life. The thesis of the chapter is backed by two lines of argument. One is the argument that we have a duty to maximize true beliefs and minimize false ones, and that reasoning well is a necessary means to these ends. The second is that reasoning well is constitutive of the social good of an open, democratic society and of the personal good of the growth of the mind.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Groundwork in the Theory of ArgumentationIs There an Obligation to Reason Well?

Part of the Argumentation Library Book Series (volume 21)
Editors: Tindale, Christopher W.
Blair, J. Anthony
Groundwork in the Theory of Argumentation — Aug 29, 2011
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References (6)

Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Copyright
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
ISBN
978-94-007-2362-7
Pages
3 –12
DOI
10.1007/978-94-007-2363-4_1
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[The chapter argues for that there is a prima facie moral obligation to (try to) reason well. Analyses are offered for the concept of obligation and the concept of morality to explicate what it is to be a moral obligation. What is entailed in reasoning well is spelled out in terms of a good reasoner: one who has mastered a wide range of specific reasoning techniques (distinguishing, defining, classifying, inferring, generalizing, etc.) and the different kinds of reasoning operation (arguing, problem solving, explaining, etc.), one who has wide general knowledge so as to know when additional knowledge is needed, and one who wants to reason well, enjoys doing so, and so for whom reasoning well is an important part of his or her life. The thesis of the chapter is backed by two lines of argument. One is the argument that we have a duty to maximize true beliefs and minimize false ones, and that reasoning well is a necessary means to these ends. The second is that reasoning well is constitutive of the social good of an open, democratic society and of the personal good of the growth of the mind.]

Published: Aug 29, 2011

Keywords: Reasoning; Obligation; Good reasoning; Ethics of belief

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