Resisting knowledge, realizing values, and reasoning in complex contexts: Ecological reflections

In this article I explore the social, pragmatic, ecological contexts within which reasoning occurs, and without which it cannot function properly. A diverse set of perspectives are used to guide this exploration: (a) pragmatic critiques of studies showing failures to reason logically, (b) theoretical claims that reasoning is fundamentally social and argumentative, (c) a values-realizing account of resistance and truthfulness in social reasoning dilemmas, and (d) arguments related to the nature of rationality and resistance to scientific claims. Implications emerging from the integration of these sources point to improved prospects for a more ecological, values-realizing approach to theory, method, and application with respect to reasoning