Why Study Correct Reasoning?
Reasoning basically means “using reason.” Technically though, it refers to “logical thinking: the use of logical thinking in order to find results or draw conclusions” (“Reasoning,” 2009).
Reasoning and Argumentation
The verbal expression of reasoning (a mental process) is called “argument.” This is the reason reasoning is also called “argumentation.”
Reasoning is also one of the ways by which the mind infers or moves from one proposition to another. It also connotes forming judgment and thinking about cause and effect, truth and falsehood, and goodness or wickedness.
Applicably, reasoning may also mean knowingly making sense of things or applying logic like in validating something, verifying information, justifying beliefs, or (more importantly in this context) defending a position in a debate issue.
Becoming a better person
Perhaps, the best way to summarize the importance of possessing ‘correct reasoning’ (like via the study of Logic and Debate) is to say that it can significantly help a person to become a better individual in many aspects.
For one thing, it enables one to purify information—by detecting misinformation, bias, prejudice, propaganda, spin, deception, distortion, and the like—thereby minimizing or eliminating the risk of advocating untruthful beliefs. The disciplines can thus save us from making bad decisions and monumental mistakes, like devoting our time, resources, and life to a false religion or ideology.
Academically, it can make one a better student as its principles are beneficially applicable to other fields of study given proper contextualization. Furthermore, correct thinking helps us form a coherent system of various modes of thought.
Sensibly, logical and critical thinking skills also make a person better in his career training and job performance. They empower a medical practitioner, for instance, to examine and question, and if necessary, challenge and restructure the faulty assumptions and practices in the medical field. Enabling one ‘to think out of the box’, good thinking and correct reasoning even open the door for new techniques and new possibilities for the development of various lines of work.
Finally, reasoning and Debate can improve our personality and private life as they broaden our knowledge, understanding, foresight, and sense of direction. They form in us the value of constant self-evaluation, thereby providing us with self-knowledge and self-discovery and allowing self-renewal. You’ll see that they also provide us the capacity to judge well, enable us to form sound belief systems, and thereby provide us with a foundation for a rationally healthy life. (© 2013-present by Jensen DG. Mañebog/MyInfoBasket.com)
Continue reading: Some Reasons to Study Correct Reasoning
Also Check Out:
Reasoning and Debate: A Handbook and a Textbook by Jensen DG. Mañebog
INTERACTIVE ONLINE ACTIVITY
Go online to www.OurHappySchool.com. Through its search engine (upper right section), look for the article “Is boyfriend-girlfriend quarrel a debate?” Read the article and other students’ comments. Write a sensible comment on the issue. Print your published comment and submit it to your professor.
SUPPLEMENTARY ONLINE READING
Look for the article “Debate Tournament: Framework, Mechanics, Guidelines, etc.” through the search engine (upper right section) of www.OurHappySchool.com. The lecture teaches, among other things, many principles behind debating.