ABSTRACT
Reason is the human capacity to provide convincing accounts for beliefs, values and actions. In other words, it is the capacity to make convincing judgements (what to believe, what to value and what to do). In theoretical reason, it means judging what constitutes justified beliefs. In practical reason, it means judging what the best course of action is to adopt. It involves three interrelated dimensions of analysis, synthesis and communication. In analysis, the issue at hand is subdivided into smaller parts; in synthesis, these parts are put together in a causal, and therefore hierarchical, relationship; and in communication, this relationship is expressed through symbols, such as words, numbers or images.
