ABSTRACT
After noting the endangered role of reason today, the chapter argues that it has a crucial, but not a defining, part to play in the search for truth. Two ways of accounting for this questioning of reason are then discussed. The first is the inappropriate idolisation of reason based solely on logic and empirical/scientific evidence. This has led to scientism – a false fact/opinion divide becoming prominent in everyday thinking. The second reason relates to the search for objective certainty. The chapter argues that we need to accept a partial and provisional form of certainty, which accepts the inevitable role played by subjective factors in thinking related to experience as persons. The chapter closes with suggestions towards five criteria for discernment to guard against the danger of runaway subjectivity: being comprehensible, being non-dogmatic, being workable in practice, being in line with moral awareness, and seeking to be as comprehensive as possible.
