Good Reasons

"Ordinarily we keep our beliefs in our minds without worrying as to whether or not they are supported by good reasons. Nor is there anything wrong with this.

The need for reasons arises when something happens to cause us to doubt our beliefs. This occurs, often, when we make our beliefs public. To affirm or to state or to assert our views is to make claims for them. Whenever we make a claim for one of our opinions, we should be prepared to back up that claim with a reason or reasons.

When we offer a reason, there should be an evident connection between the reason and the opinion at issue. The reason should have a bearing upon the matter: it should be relevant. If a child offers the opinion that the moon is made of green cheese, it will not do to offer as a reason that the moon revolves around the earth. The alleged reason is not relevant.

The reason may be relevant, but insufficient. In this case, many reasons, each of them insufficient, may have to be supplied. Together, they may be adequate. If a child offers the opinion that 'The Cat In the Hat' is a good book, one reason in support of this view might be that the book is well-illustrated. But this is insufficient. It needs to be reinforced with other reasons, such as that the story is interesting, the characters lively and the writing readable. Each reason must have weight or credibility, and their combined weight should be greater than that of the opinion in question.

A single reason may be weightier than the opinion it supports, because the opinion is controversial, but the reason is one to which we generally subscribe or take for granted. If a child protests against going to school and gives as her/his reason that s/he is too ill to go, this single reason (if true) would be sufficient to justify her/hls claim. It is both strong and relevant.

Good reasons are always strong and relevant, but their strength may come from their acting singly or in combination."

From the manual to Accompany Elfie', p8.
Copyright: IAPC Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children. Used with permission.

Attached are six ACTIVITIES from the manual on "Wondering".