27. Avoiding Conclusions

Human reasoning is purposeful. We think about problems to resolve them. We make arguments so that through them we can arrive at conclusions. The premises of an argument are the means by which we get to the conclusion. As we have seen, they must be adequate to the job. If we jump to a conclusion when we possess insufficient evidence (weak premises), our argument will not be compelling.

Conclusions are meant to be arrived at. Argument, as the linguistic expression of human reasoning, is goal-oriented. To suppose that we engage in argument simply to hear ourselves talk is to trivialize it. It is one thing to acknowledge there are certain problems that may be insoluble, that certain conclusions are beyond our reach. But it is quite another thing to adopt the principle that problems as such are insoluble and conclusions as such unreachable. That is to use reason to undermine the very nature of reason.