It Stands to Reason, But That is NOT Proof!

It Only Stands to Reason

Reasoning is a good thing. In and of itself, In a theoretical discussion, it is something that you can’t find anything wrong with provided it is done correctly. But in the context of life, it is not a perfect guide and can even mislead you.  Here is what I mean. Consider the following example.

         Mrs C was trying to convince everyone that Mr AR is a racist. The conversation focused on reasoning. Mrs C pointed out that Mr AR had been wronged by groups of a certain race. The wrongs had been repeated on several fronts, personal and professional, and Mr AR has acknowledged the problem. Then Mrs C says, “It only stands to reason that Mr AR will hate those groups and be a racist towards them.”  She goes on: “Why can’t you see it? Are you afraid to believe it? Are you a coward? Let him know he is wrong.” This argument can be convincing to some. After all, everyone wants to be “reasonable.”

         But Mr AR is NOT a racist.  So, what is wrong here?  It “stands to reason” that he is, but in fact he is not. How can we explain this? Several things could be said.

         Reason does not always determine what we do in life or how we feel; emotions can take over. A mother doesn’t stop loving a child because the child fails in some way or even if the child says, “I hate you!”. A child doesn’t stop caring for a parent even though they become old and irrational. A professional doesn’t give up a carefully chosen career because there are some bad colleagues in it. If someone tries to convince you that someone is a certain way or has done something - only because it makes sense - they could be very wrong. Emotions rather than reasoning may dictate that something different exists. Be careful.

         Also, Mrs C was using reasoning to INFER a fact about AR.  But inferring is not the same as directly observing. Also, even if something is directly observed, it may not mean what you think it means. Ruling out other explanations are important. Also, before you label someone with a negative behavior, it should be a repeated and clear behavior.

         We need to be careful when someone says, “It only stands to reason, so you should feel this way and act this way.” Standing to reason is not the only motivator in life. Our emotions can determine what we believe and how we act. Human beings are sometimes emotional and not solely rational. Maybe by saying that it only stands to reason, Mrs C is trying to recruit you for certain beliefs or activities. It is manipulative. Maybe Mrs C is desperate to convince you and others, maybe for less than honorable reasons.

Of course, sometimes reason is totally needed and accurate, as in mathematics and engineering. But it does not direct our behavior in other areas of living and not all the time.