Reason \Rea"son\ (r[=e]"z'n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Reasoned} (r[=e]"z'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Reasoning}.] [Cf. F. raisonner. See {Reason}, n.] 1. To exercise the rational faculty; to deduce inferences from premises; to perform the process of deduction or of induction; to ratiocinate; to reach conclusions by a systematic comparison of facts.
2. Hence: To carry on a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to formulate and set forth propositions and the inferences from them; to argue.
Stand still, that I may reason with you, before the Lord, of all the righteous acts of the Lord. --1 Sam. xii. 7.
3. To converse; to compare opinions. --Shak.
Reasoning \Rea"son*ing\, n. 1. The act or process of adducing a reason or reasons; manner of presenting one's reasons.
2. That which is offered in argument; proofs or reasons when arranged and developed; course of argument.
His reasoning was sufficiently profound. --Macaulay.
Syn: Argumentation; argument.
Usage: {Reasoning}, {Argumentation}. Few words are more interchanged than these; and yet, technically, there is a difference between them. Reasoning is the broader term, including both deduction and induction. Argumentation denotes simply the former, and descends from the whole to some included part; while reasoning embraces also the latter, and ascends from the parts to a whole. See {Induction}. Reasoning is occupied with ideas and their relations; argumentation has to do with the forms of logic. A thesis is set down: you attack, I defend it; you insist, I reply; you deny, I prove; you distinguish, I destroy your distinctions; my replies balance or overturn your objections. Such is argumentation. It supposes that there are two sides, and that both agree to the same rules. Reasoning, on the other hand, is often a natural process, by which we form, from the general analogy of nature, or special presumptions in the case, conclusions which have greater or less degrees of force, and which may be strengthened or weakened by subsequent experience.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has questioned the reasoning of the 1973 ruling.
The reasoning was that by placing more private capital at risk, thrifts would be less likely to engage in imprudent practices that have depleted the thrift-insurance fund and will cost $166 billion over 10 years to remedy.
"The companies' reasoning for a share swap was perfect, but the price they concluded was ridiculous, crazy," he says.
As Justice Sandra O'Connor put it during the oral argument, the state's no-pay reasoning could just as easily throw people out of their already built homes without compensating them.
Louisville was hot to trot throughout that period, but UK, traditionally the state's top basketball dog, said no, reasoning it had more to lose than to gain.
This was the same reasoning, by the way, that lay behind the Reagan administration's desire to bomb the Rabta industrial complex before the Libyans had had the opportunity to complete its construction.
"Her reasoning is, you don't put the actor onstage before the show starts," Spencer is quoted as saying. "She thinks the convention is the show.
Nobel's testament dictated that the peace prize be awarded by a committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament, but his reasoning remains a mystery.
Opponents of the cut and now some summiteers have asked, why not take the president's reasoning to its logical conclusion?
Under this reasoning, a city could announce that there can be no buildings taller than 10 stories, then announce that owners will be "compensated" by allowing them to occupy the buildings for five years before leveling them.
This reasoning has clearly failed to galvanize the market.
Aside from the fact that journalistic explanations of daily interest-rate moves are a weak reed for policy, this reasoning is seriously incomplete.
This reasoning has helped trigger rallies in lumber at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and in various metals, including aluminum, copper, zinc and nickel.
The bondholders unearthed an 1889 railroad mortgage squabble and declared, "The Court's reasoning is equally applicable here."
"No reasoning and appeals for common sense and for parental wisdom, however, worked with the parents of the other 15 deserters," he said.
Which is the same reasoning that Puerto-Rican born Yvette Hernandez _ the non-voter _ uses in asserting her right to vote in a plebiscite.
The reasoning for such speculation is that: (1) When conditions permit, business tends to pass on rather than absorb additional costs.
The difficulty with that reasoning is that it ignores the perverse effects the policy has on both included and excluded banks.
Dr. Cooley concentrated his investments far to the west of downtown, reasoning that Houston would grow in that direction.
For if the reasoning above has any validity, it helps expose the real goals of nationalists and opponents of free trade, particularly in Canada.
Harry Helmsley was found incompetent to stand trial on the criminal charges in that case because of memory loss and reasoning problems caused by several slight strokes.
But as Duke University law professor William Van Alstyne notes, by this reasoning a defendant could be held liable in New York for a bad apple even if he sold all his apples in California.
At a Federalist Society meeting this past January, Judge Bork defended Brown's reasoning against critics who insisted that the 14th Amendment was not intended to prohibit segregated schools.
His reasoning: The federal government's deficit problems will spark a rise in inflation that could send gold up to about $500. He told his subscribers to put 15% of their investable funds in gold or gold stocks.
Finmare's reasoning was faultless.
David C. Jordan, a Justice Department attorney who prosecuted the case, agreed with Doumar's reasoning, but said in his letter the Sherman antitrust law allows only the imprisonment of executives, not corporations.
Other firms with heavy arbitrage trading losses, including L.F. Rothschild Holdings Inc., retained their departments, reasoning that a one-time loss didn't justify quashing years of work.
The appeals court said it would give the reasoning behind its judgment on Monday.
Indeed, part of my reasoning for leaving at this time is the confidence I have in my colleagues at the Federal Reserve and in the economic team you have assembled in your administration," he continued.
This line of reasoning sent soybean prices sharply higher a week ago before the meetings in Europe between Bush and Gorbachev.