Reasons vs. Causes :: essays research papers

Reasons vs. CausesReasons manifest us why we ought to consider (do) something. Causes tell us why we in fact do believe (do something). Reasons ar normative, causes atomic number 18 factual. Reasons adeptify, causes explain.(Caution the terms here are imprecise, and we use terms such as explanation or reason in different ways than just out cables lengthd.)Example. conceive of I say I believe that there are no triangles.? You say Why do you believe that?? You can be either asking for the cause of my effect or (more likely in this case) for my reasons for accept it. Suppose that you are interested in the explanation of why (as a matter of fact) I hold the belief. I may tell you (truthfully) that I hold this belief because my father told me so (perhaps kept formula so), so I kind of pay off come to hold the belief by default, as it were. In doing so I make no pretense to argue that this is a reason I may in fact believe that my father holds many false beliefs. I am only claim ing that as a matter of fact this is how I came to believe that there are no triangles. Ive told you what the cause is, not what my reasons are.Suppose that you are interested in the justification of my belief. You want to know why a(ny) rational person should think that there are no triangles. starring(predicate) facie, you might add, there are reasons to believe quite the contrary. Look most you there are triangles everywhere. And, you might cinch your argument by move one and only(a) like that There is at least one triangle. This one (you point). And you can draw others . . . So, triangles exist (Here is what I will say to you and what I will say to you will provide a reason for my believing that there are no triangles) The problem is that no matter how perfective aspect your triangle might appear, it never will conform to the standards of geometrical commentary of a triangle. The sides of this triangle are not fragments of a slap-up line (if you look closely, the segments will turn out not to be straight? at all but rugged. No matter how precise your instruments will be, when you get further and further down to the atomic level, you will have swarming electrons not straight lines And if you sum the angles, they are not going to be exactly 180.