Page - 100 - in Reflective Cosmopolitanism - Educating towards inclusive communities through Philosophical Enquiry

100 REfLECTIvE COsMOPOLITANIsM We obviously cannot produce a closed list of good and bad reasons, but we can work on certain criteria with the students. These criteria should help them recognize if the rea- sons that are being used in each situation are good, appropriate or adequate, or just mere excuses. Three possible criteria for defining the quality of a reason could be: 1. Being relevant to the situation. There must be a connection or a clear relation be- tween the action or discourse and the reason that justifies the action. 2. Being based on reliable evidence. 3. Being strong or consistent enough to justify our action or our discourse. 4. Being based on something known by the other, helping to make the issue easier to understand. You can find further resources on the concept of “good and bad reasons” in the manual to Ella, episode 2, leading idea 6 “Reasoning”, discussion plans and exercises, in the manual to Tina and Amir, episode 2, discussion plan “Reasons for decision-making”, and in the manual to Hanadi, episode 3, episode 2, “Correlation, causes, reasons”. Exercise: The relevance of a reason Sometimes, when we ask about the reason or reasons that lead to someone’s actions, we can see that they are not good reasons. They sometimes answer with reasons that have nothing to do with what we asked, that are not consistent, or that are based on opinions rather than evidence. Bearing in mind the criteria previously mentioned, determine which sentences are examples of good reasons and which are not. Reasons Good Poor I like playing volleyball because I have good friends on the team. I like playing football because I am a very good player and I score lots of goals. I like playing basketball because I have great fun. Playing rugby is great: you can kick all your teammates. I like playing football because the sandwiches at half-time are delicious. I hurt my ankle, so I had better not go dancing. I am not going to play football because I prefer basketball. I prefer not to play football because I am a very bad player and I feel embarrassed. I am not going to play football because my teammates push me around and hit me. I overslept, so I could not get to class. I did not come to class yesterday because I was ill. I did not come to class yesterday because I met some friends and we went to play football. I did not come to class yesterday because I had to help my par- ents.