A Reasoned View?


What is a reasoned view? It cannot be simply the correct view. Someone might stumble upon the correct view by dumb luck, and Newton held thoroughly reasoned views that turned out centuries later to be incorrect. The name implies some other quality of the viewpoint - perhaps something about the way it is organized, argued, supported, and presented. Here at Ariadne's Thread, a reasoned view is one that has at least the following characteristics. This is, of course, an ideal that even well argued positions do not always meet.

  • The view is stated as the conclusion to an argument or a set of arguments.
  • Key concepts required to state or argue for the view are clearly defined
  • The assumptions and other premises required by the arguments are stated
  • Reasons for accepting at least some of the premises are given. Premises for which no reasons can be offered are identified as such.
  • The conclusion follows from the premises of the arguments.
  • The premises of the various arguments are internally consistent.
  • Standard objections to the view are acknowledged and replies are offered.