REASON 



4946 



REBATE 



manufactories of these machines are in and 

 about Chicago. Han-esters are now found in 

 every wheat-growing country; it is estimated 

 that over 2,000,000 of them are in operation in 

 the world. Somewhere on the fertile earth tlu> 

 whir of the harvester may be heard every day 

 in the year. See MOWING MACHINE. W.F.R. 



Consult Ardrey's^lJn erica n Agricultural Imple- 

 ments; Stabler's Overlooked Pages of Reaper 

 History. 



REASON, re'z'n, or REASONING. Reason- 

 ing is sometimes called the third, or final, step 

 in thinking. It consists in comparing two 

 judgments or propositions and forming a con- 

 clusion as to their agreement or disagreement. 

 In formal reasoning the general proposition is 

 called the major premise, and the special propo- 

 sition the minor premise. The conclusion is 

 made on the ground of the major premise. 

 These premises and the conclusion form the 

 syllogism, which may be stated as follows: 

 All wood floats. 



This object is a piece of wood. 

 Therefore, this object will float. 



Ordinarily the general proposition is not stated, 

 because a knowledge of it is taken for granted. 

 We say that this piece of wood will float be- 

 cause it is generally known that all wood floats. 

 The validity of the conclusion rests upon the 

 validity of the general proposition and the 

 care with which the comparison has been 

 made. The validity of the conclusion in the 

 example given is beyond question, because 

 the truth of the general proposition has been 

 established for centuries, and the object in 

 hand was wood; but had the object been 

 iron painted to resemble wood the conclu- 

 sion would not have been valid. Many false 

 conclusions are drawn because of hasty and 

 careless observation. Altogether too many 

 people reason like this: 



All crows are black. 



This bird is black. 



Therefore, this bird is a crow. 



The reasoner fails to take into consideration 

 the fact that other birds besides crows are 

 black, and it is possible that he has classified 

 a blackbird as a crow. He has also overlooked 

 the further fact that other characteristics be- 

 sides color must be considered in classifying 

 birds. Such hasty conclusions are what we 

 commonly call snap judgments. 



In the process of reasoning one judgment 

 logically leads to another. We arrive at our 

 conclusion because of the relation of the propo- 

 sitions compared. The general proposition is 



a truth which has been established through 

 long and extensive observation, not simply of 

 one individual but of many, and is based upon 

 all the facts learned through these observations. 

 Sometimes further observation leads to the 

 discovery of new facts which modify the gen- 

 eral proposition. Then all conclusions based 

 upon it must also be modified. 



General propositions are formed by inductive 

 reasoning, and conclusions are arrived at 

 through deductive reasoning. These processes 

 are explained under INDUCTIVE METHOD and 

 DEDUCTIVE METHOD. 



Cause and Effect. The person with a well- 

 trained mind has his knowledge so classified 

 that he reasons from cause to effect. When a 

 washerwoman says, "It is going to rain ; I must 

 take my wash in," she is acting from what she 

 has learned through past experiences. This 

 process of reasoning, however, is the same as was 

 that of Newton, when, from observing the fall 

 of the apple, he reached the conclusion that all 

 the heavenly bodies attract each other. The 

 difference in the problems is in the vastness of 

 their application. We also reason from effect 

 to cause. When we find pools of water in the 

 road in the morning, we infer that it rained 

 during the night because we know that rain 

 causes such an effect. In both cases the same 

 relation of proposition is maintained. 



Independent Thinking. A great majority of 

 people accept without question the conclusions 

 of others instead of thinking out their own 

 problems and arriving at their own conclusions. 

 Pupils in school rely upon the teacher and upon 

 their classmates for the solution of problems in 

 mathematics, the analysis of sentences in gram- 

 mar and for any other help they can get. The 

 result of so much assistance is that when they 

 leave school these young people are sadly lack- 

 ing in that mental vigor that they need in solv- 

 ing the problems of life. Parents and teachers 

 should train the children under their charge to 

 do independent thinking and logical reason- 

 ing. W.F.R. 



Consult Pillsbury's Psychology of Reasoning; 

 Sully's The Human Mind. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 

 Deductive Method Judgment 



Inductive Method Thought 



RE 'BATE, in mercantile law, is the same as 

 discount, such as deducting the interest for 

 prompt payment, or giving a certain per cent 

 off for cash, or offering a definite reduction to 

 secure favors or good will. 



