Reason rationalizes reality for him [Dr Nathan] as it does for the rest of us, in the Freudian sense of providing a more palatable or convenient explanation, and there are so many subjects about which we should not be reasonable. J G Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition
A display of reason rather than a threat of force should be the determining factor in the intercourse among nations. Calvin Coolidge, inaugural address 4th March 1925
2Nothing does Reason more right, than the coolness of those that offer it. For truth often suffers more by the Heat of its defenders, than from the arguments of its opposers. William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude
As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles. Bertrand Russell, An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
Never get angry. Never make a threat. Reason with people. Mario Puzo, The Godfather
It turned out I was pretty good in science. But again, because of the small budget, in science class we couldn’t afford to do experiments in order to prove theories. We just believed everything. Actually, I think that class was called Religion. Religion class was always an easy class. All you had to do was suspend the logic and reasoning you were being taught in all the other classes. George Carlin, Brain Droppings
Reason itself is fallible, and this fallibility must find a place in our logic. Nicola Abbagnano
Scepticism is the agent of reason against organized irrationalism – and is therefore one of the keys to human, social and civic decency. Stephen Jay Gould
If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we would know the mind of God. Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, 1988
There’s always a sense of reasoning in Leonardo’s prophecies. And there’s also often a moral and ethical reading to them; even if he himself explained that the prophecies could be described as brain-teasers. Almost as if he, the author of them, was a mad man. Alessandro Vezzosi, Director Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci
God so commanded, and left that command
Sole daughter of his voice; the rest, we live
Law to our selves, our reason is our law. John Milton, Paradise Lost 9:652
Lesson #8: Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning. Robert S McNamara, The Fog of War, director Errol Morris, music Philip Glass, 2003
Human reasoning, argued [Thomas] Aquinus, derives from God. Robert Bartlett, Inside The Medieval Mind I: Knowledge, 2008
An angry man is again angry with himself when he returns to reason. Publilius Syrus
He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak. Michel de Montaigne
The being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority, but that of reason. Mary Wollstonecraft
Reason is science. David Attenborough
Nothing is law that is not reason. John Powell, 1765
Belief is so often the death of reason. Game of Thrones s5e8: Hardhome, HBO 2015
How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule? Anthony Ashley Cooper, A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm, 1708
No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary. William of Occam, ‘Occam’s Razor’, attributed
Men are never convinced of your reasons, of your sincerity, of the seriousness of your sufferings, except by your death. So long as you are alive, your case is doubtful; you have a right only to their skepticism. Albert Camus, The Fall
It is the moment when our resolution seems about to become irrevocable – when the fatal iron gates are about to close upon us – that tests our strength. Then, after hours of clear reasoning and firm conviction, we snatch at any sophistry that will nullify our long struggles, and bring us the defeat that we love better than victory. George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss
We live not according to reason but according to fashion. Seneca
I think the real dishonesty of the government’s position is that Tony Blair could not be frank with the British people about the real reason why he believed Britain had to be part of invasion, which was to prove to the United States president that we were his most reliable, most sound ally. That was why he committed himself to President Bush. I don’t deny that Tony Blair genuinely believed there were weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq but the evidence for it was always very thin. The reality is he believed in the evidence because he needed to believe the evidence. Robin Cook, Foreign Secretary 1997-2001, televised interview
I think most people are more susceptible to prejudice than to reason. Roger Ebert
Reason leads to basic laws and premises about the world works; from that we can get a better and more just humane society. Matthew Collings, This is Civilisation II, BBC 2007
Welcome to the death of the age of reason. House of Cards US s5e12: Chapter 64, Frank, Netflix 2017
It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Acts 6:2
Freedom or prison – what’s the difference? A man must develop unwavering will power subject only to his reason. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The First Circle
Force shites upon Reason’s back. Benjamin Franklin
Fanatic is often the name given to people of action by people who are lazy. Bryant H McGill
There is no place in a fanatic’s head where reason can enter. Napoleon Bonaparte
Discretion is the perfection of reason, and a guide to us in all the duties of life. Walter Scott
Let your desires be ruled by reason. [Appetitus Rationi Pareat] Cicero
Language is a form of human reason, and has its reasons which are unknown to man. Claude Levi-Strauss, The Savage Mind, 1962
Can we reason with them? No. Daniel C Dennett, lecture AAI 2007, ‘Good Reasons for Believing in God’
The senses are of the earth, the reason stands apart from them in contemplation. Leonardo da Vinci