http://www.theoryofknowledge.net/ways-of-knowing/reason/real-life-situations-and-knowledge-questions-reason/

Real life situations and knowledge questions: Reason

Socrates- An Original Reasonerer

A popular, and one of the first people to use this method, Socrates would test the logic of things by asking people presumably basic questions about topics that are more diverse than they seem.

A good way to test reasoning is by truth tables.

It is way to test the validity of propositions. (Indicated by P and Q)
Propositions are statements that can be proven true of false, by it's truth value (indicated by the T or F).
Ex. September has 31 days

• Since it can be proven by fact, on a calendar, that September has 30 days instead of 30, this statement is a proposition.

There are different symbols that describe different things:

• Conjunction "and" ^- rule: if they are both the true, then the truth value is true; if one is false
• Disjunction  "or" v- rule: If one of the two proposition are true, then it is true

Pretty self -explanatory. If we replace S with 'dogs' and P with 'black' then this would be a bit clearer. On each vowel we would substitute the S and P so it would fit accordingly to the phrase.

Reasoning itself is not as simple as it sounds, although we all have the capacity of thinking logically, 'logic' or rather, 'reason' is divided into two categories; deductive and inductive. 

Deductive reasoning 'is a rule-governed method which allows a specific conclusion to be drawn from a set of general statements.' An example would be the following: 

   All TOK students must write an essay.
   Jasmine is a TOK student.
   Therefore, Jasmine must write an essay.

We know for a fact that all TOK students must write an essay, it is in the curriculum, hence required. I, Jasmine, am a TOK student so I must write this essay. 


Inductive reasoning 'allows a general conclusion to come from a collection of specific cases'. Such as: 

     x+2=3
     x+3= 4
     x+4=5

Because the sum increases by one, we can conclude that the variable is indeed one, we can prove this by the previous scenarios, which is what inductive reasoning is all about. 

-IB TOK book 



 
          

Tell me, is this a valid argument?

All Italians eat spaghetti.
Giovanni Ross eats spaghetti.
Therefore Giovnni Rossi is an Italian. 

How so?
How do you know?
Could it be, you used logic?

Plato obviously used reason, in posing with such gracefulness, you can sense the depth of his thoughts.

Reason, in our culture, is the privileged way of
knowing. This has been the case since The
Enlightenment of the 18th century and has roots that
go back at least to Socrates and Plato

http://moodle.houstonisd.org/LAMARHS/mod/resource/view.php?id=3776

rea·son

  [ree-zuhn]  Show IPA

noun

1.

a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc.: the reason for declaring war.

2.

a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.

3.

the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences.

4.

sound judgment; good sense.

5.

normal or sound powers of mind; sanity.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reason?s=t

Reasoning is knowledge.