Francisco de Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (El sueño de la razón produce monstruos), c. 1797

Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs.^[1] It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, mathematics, and art, and is normally considered to be a definitive characteristic of human nature.^[2] The concept of reason is sometimes referred to as rationality and sometimes as discursive reason, in opposition to intuitive reason.^[3]

Reason or "reasoning" is associated with thinking, cognition, and intellect. Reason, like habit or intuition, is one of the ways by which thinking comes from one idea to a related idea. For example, it is the means by which rational beings understand themselves to think about cause and effect, truth and falsehood, and what is good or bad.

In contrast to reason as an abstract noun, a reason is a consideration which explains or justifies some event, phenomenon or behaviour.^[4] The ways in which human beings reason through argument are the subject of inquiries in the field of logic.

Reason is closely identified with the ability to self-consciously change beliefs, attitudes, traditions, and institutions, and therefore with the capacity for freedom and self-determination.^[5]

Psychologists and cognitive scientists have attempted to study and explain how people reason, e.g. which cognitive and neural processes are engaged, and how cultural factors affect the inferences that people draw. The field of automated reasoning studies how reasoning may or may not be modeled computationally. Animal psychology considers the controversial question of whether animals can reason.

Etymology and related words[link]

In the English language and other modern European languages, "reason", and related words, represent words which have always been used to translate Latin and classical Greek terms in the sense of their philosophical usage.

• The original Greek term was "λόγος" logos, the root of the modern English word "logic" but also a word which could mean for example "language" or "explanation" or an "account" (of money handled).^[6]
• As a philosophical term logos was translated in its non-linguistic senses in Latin as ratio. This was originally not just a translation used for philosophy, but was also commonly a translation for logos in the sense of an account of money.^[7]
• French raison is derived directly from Latin, and this is the direct source of the English word "reason".^[4]

The earliest major philosophers to publish in English, such as Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke also routinely wrote in Latin and French, and compared their terms to Greek, treating the words "logos", "ratio", "raison" and "reason" as inter-changeable. The meaning of the word "reason" in senses such as "human reason" also overlaps to a large extent with "rationality" and the adjective of "reason" in philosophical contexts is normally "rational", rather than "reasoned" or "reasonable".^[8] Some philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, for example, also used the word ratiocination as a synonym for "reasoning".

Philosophical history[link]

Philosophy can be described as a way of life based upon reason, and in the other direction reason has been one of the major subjects of philosophical discussion since ancient times. Reason is often said to be reflexive, or "self-correcting," and the critique of reason has been a persistent theme in philosophy.^[9] It has been defined in different ways, at different times, by different thinkers.

Classical philosophy[link]

For many classical philosophers, nature was understood teleologically, meaning that every type of thing had a definitive purpose which fit within a natural order that was itself understood to have aims. Perhaps starting with Pythagoras or Heraclitus, the cosmos is even said to have reason.^[10] Reason, by this account, is not just one characteristic that humans happen to have, and that influences happiness amongst other characteristics. Reason was considered of higher stature than other characteristics of human nature, such as sociability, because it is something humans share with nature itself, linking an apparently immortal part of the human mind with the divine order of the cosmos itself. Within the human mind or soul (psyche), reason was described by Plato as being the natural monarch which should rule over the other parts, such as spiritedness (thumos) and the emotions. Aristotle, Plato's student, defined human beings as rational animals, emphasizing reason as a characteristic of human nature. He defined the highest human happiness or well being (eudaimonia) as a life which is lived consistently, excellently and completely in accordance with reason.^[11]

The conclusions to be drawn from the discussions of Aristotle and Plato on this matter are amongst the most debated in the history of philosophy.^[12] But teleological accounts such as Aristotle's were highly influential for those who attempt to explain reason in a way which is consistent with monotheism and the immortality and divinity of the human soul. For example, in the neo-platonist account of Plotinus, the cosmos has one soul, which is the seat of all reason, and the souls of all individual humans are part of this soul. Reason is for Plotinus both the provider of form to material things, and the light which brings individuals souls back into line with their source.^[13] Such neo-Platonist accounts of the rational part of the human soul were standard amongst medieval Islamic philosophers, and under this influence, mainly via Averroes, came to be debated seriously in Europe until well into the renaissance, and they remain important in Iranian philosophy.^[12]

Subject-centred reason in early modern philosophy[link]

The early modern era was marked by a number of significant changes in the understanding of reason, starting in Europe. One of the most important of these changes involved a change in the metaphysical understanding of human beings. Scientists and philosophers began to question the teleological understanding of the world.^[14] Nature was no longer assumed to be human-like, with its own aims or reason, and human nature was no longer assumed to work according to anything other than the same "laws of nature" which affect inanimate things. This new understanding eventually displaced the previous world view that derived from a spiritual understanding of the universe.

René Descartes

Accordingly, in the 17th century, René Descartes explicitly rejected the traditional notion of humans as "rational animals," suggesting instead that they are nothing more than "thinking things" along the lines of other "things" in nature. Any grounds of knowledge outside that understanding was, therefore, subject to doubt.

In his search for a foundation of all possible knowledge, Descartes deliberately decided to throw into doubt all knowledge – except that of the mind itself in the process of thinking:

At this time I admit nothing that is not necessarily true. I am therefore precisely nothing but a thinking thing; that is a mind, or intellect, or understanding, or reason – words of whose meanings I was previously ignorant.^[15]

This eventually became known as epistemological or "subject-centred" reason, because it is based on the knowing subject, who perceives the rest of the world and itself as a set of objects to be studied, and successfully mastered by applying the knowledge accumulated through such study. Breaking with tradition and many thinkers after him, Descartes explicitly did not divide the incorporeal soul into parts, such as reason and intellect, describing them as one indivisible incorporeal entity.

A contemporary of Descartes, Thomas Hobbes described reason as a broader version of "addition and subtraction" which is not limited to numbers.^[16] This understanding of reason is sometimes termed "calculative" reason. Similar to Descartes, Hobbes asserted that "No discourse whatsoever, can end in absolute knowledge of fact, past, or to come" but that "sense and memory" is absolute knowledge.^[17]

In the late 17th century, through the 18th century, John Locke and David Hume developed Descartes' line of thought still further. Hume took it in an especially skeptical direction, proposing that there could be no possibility of deducing relationships of cause and effect, and therefore no knowledge is based on reasoning alone, even if it seems otherwise.^[18][19]

Hume famously remarked that, "We speak not strictly and philosophically when we talk of the combat of passion and of reason. Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them."^[20] Hume also took his definition of reason to unorthodox extremes by arguing, unlike his predecessors, that human reason is not qualitatively different from either simply conceiving individual ideas, or from judgments associating two ideas,^[21] and that "reason is nothing but a wonderful and unintelligible instinct in our souls, which carries us along a certain train of ideas, and endows them with particular qualities, according to their particular situations and relations."^[22] It followed from this that animals have reason, only much less complex than human reason.

In the 18th century, Immanuel Kant attempted to show that Hume was wrong by demonstrating that a "transcendental" self, or "I", was a necessary condition of all experience. Therefore, suggested Kant, on the basis of such a self, it is in fact possible to reason both about the conditions and limits of human knowledge. And so long as these limits are respected, reason can be the vehicle of morality, justice and understanding.

Substantive and formal reason[link]

In the formulation of Kant, who wrote some of the most influential modern treatises on the subject, the great achievement of reason is that it is able to exercise a kind of universal law-making. Kant was able therefore to re-formulate the basis of moral-practical, theoretical and aesthetic reasoning, on "universal" laws.

Here practical reasoning is the self-legislating or self-governing formulation of universal norms, and theoretical reasoning the way humans posit universal laws of nature.^[23]

Under practical reason, the moral autonomy or freedom of human beings depends on their ability to behave according to laws that are given to them by the proper exercise of that reason. This contrasted with earlier forms of morality, which depended on religious understanding and interpretation, or nature for their substance.^[24]

According to Kant, in a free society each individual must be able to pursue their goals however they see fit, so long as their actions conform to principles given by reason. He formulated such a principle, called the "categorical imperative", which would justify an action only if it could be universalized:

Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.^[25]

In contrast to Hume then, Kant insists that reason itself (German Vernunft) has natural ends itself, the solution to the metaphysical problems, especially the discovery of the foundations of morality. Kant claimed that this problem could be solved with his "transcendental logic" which unlike normal logic is not just an instrument, which can be used indifferently, as it was for Aristotle, but a theoretical science in its own right and the basis of all the others.^[26]

According to Jürgen Habermas, the "substantive unity" of reason has dissolved in modern times, such that it can no longer answer the question "How should I live?" Instead, the unity of reason has to be strictly formal, or "procedural." He thus described reason as a group of three autonomous spheres (on the model of Kant's three critiques):

1. Cognitive-instrumental reason is the kind of reason employed by the sciences. It is used to observe events, to predict and control outcomes, and to intervene in the world on the basis of its hypotheses;
2. Moral-practical reason is what we use to deliberate and discuss issues in the moral and political realm, according to universalizable procedures (similar to Kant's categorical imperative); and
3. Aesthetic reason is typically found in works of art and literature, and encompasses the novel ways of seeing the world and interpreting things that those practices embody.

For Habermas, these three spheres are the domain of experts, and therefore need to be mediated with the "lifeworld" by philosophers. In drawing such a picture of reason, Habermas hoped to demonstrate that the substantive unity of reason, which in pre-modern societies had been able to answer questions about the good life, could be made up for by the unity of reason's formalizable procedures.^[27]

The critique of reason[link]

Hamann, Herder, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, Rorty, and many other philosophers have contributed to a debate about what reason means, or ought to mean. Some, like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Rorty, are skeptical about subject-centred, universal, or instrumental reason, and even skeptical toward reason as a whole. Others, including Hegel, believe that it has obscured the importance of intersubjectivity, or "spirit" in human life, and attempt to reconstruct a model of what reason should be.

Some thinkers, e.g. Foucault, believe there are other forms of reason, neglected but essential to modern life, and to our understanding of what it means to live a life according to reason.^[9]

In the last several decades, a number of proposals have been made to "re-orient" this critique of reason, or to recognize the "other voices" or "new departments" of reason:

For example, in opposition to subject-centred reason, Habermas has proposed a model of communicative reason that sees it as an essentially cooperative activity, based on the fact of linguistic intersubjectivity.^[28]

Nikolas Kompridis has proposed a widely encompassing view of reason as "that ensemble of practices that contributes to the opening and preserving of openness" in human affairs, and a focus on reason's possibilities for social change.^[29]

The philosopher Charles Taylor, influenced by the 20th century German philosopher Martin Heidegger, has proposed that reason ought to include the faculty of disclosure, which is tied to the way we make sense of things in everyday life, as a new "department" of reason.^[30]

In the essay "What is Enlightenment?", Michel Foucault proposed a concept of critique based on Kant's distinction between "private" and "public" uses of reason. This distinction, as suggested, has two dimensions:

• Private reason is the reason that is used when an individual is "a cog in a machine" or when one "has a role to play in society and jobs to do: to be a soldier, to have taxes to pay, to be in charge of a parish, to be a civil servant."
• Public reason is the reason used "when one is reasoning as a reasonable being (and not as a cog in a machine), when one is reasoning as a member of reasonable humanity." In these circumstances, "the use of reason must be free and public."^[31]

Reason compared to related concepts[link]

Reason compared to logic[link]

The terms "logic" or "logical" are sometimes used as if they were identical with the term "reason" or with the concept of being "rational", or sometimes logic is seen as the most pure or the defining form of reason. For example in modern economics, rational choice is assumed to equate to logically consistent choice.

Reason and logic can however be thought of as distinct, although logic is one important aspect of reason. Author Douglas Hofstadter, in Gödel, Escher, Bach, characterizes the distinction in this way. Logic is done inside a system while reason is done outside the system by such methods as skipping steps, working backward, drawing diagrams, looking at examples, or seeing what happens if you change the rules of the system.^[32]

Reason is a type of thought, and the word "logic" involves the attempt to describe rules or norms by which reasoning operates, so that orderly reasoning can be taught. The oldest surviving writing to explicitly consider the rules by which reason operates are the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, especially Prior Analysis and Posterior Analysis.^[33] Although the Ancient Greeks had no separate word for logic as distinct from language and reason, Aristotle's newly coined word "syllogism" (syllogismos) identified logic clearly for the first time as a distinct field of study. When Aristotle referred to "the logical" (hē logikē), he was referring more broadly to rational thought.^[34]

Reason compared to cause-and-effect thinking, and symbolic thinking[link]

As pointed out by philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke and Hume, some animals are also clearly capable of a type of "associative thinking", even to the extent of associating causes and effects. A dog once kicked, can learn how to recognize the warning signs and avoid being kicked in the future, but this does not mean the dog has reason in any strict sense of the word. It also does not mean that humans acting on the basis of experience or habit are using their reason.^[35]

Human reason requires more than being able to associate two ideas, even if those two ideas might be described by a reasoning human as a cause and an effect, perceptions of smoke, for example, and memories of fire. For reason to be involved, the association of smoke and the fire would have to be thought through in a way which can be explained, for example as cause and effect. In the explanation of Locke, for example, reason requires the mental use of a third idea in order to make this comparison by use of syllogism.^[36]

More generally, reason in the strict sense requires the ability to create and manipulate a system of symbols, as well as indices and icons, according to Charles Sanders Peirce, the symbols having only a nominal, though habitual, connection to either smoke or fire.^[37] One example of such a system of artificial symbols and signs is language.

The connection of reason to symbolic thinking has been expressed in different ways by philosophers. Thomas Hobbes described the creation of "Markes, or Notes of remembrance" (Leviathan Ch.4) as speech. He used the word speech as an English version of the Greek word logos so that speech did not need to be communicated.^[38] When communicated, such speech becomes language, and the marks or notes or remembrance are called "Signes" by Hobbes.

Reason, imagination, mimesis, and memory[link]

Reason and imagination rely on similar mental processes.^[39] Imagination is not only found in humans. Aristotle, for example, stated that phantasia (imagination: that which can hold images or phantasmata) and phronein (a type of thinking that can judge and understand in some sense) also exist in some animals.^[40] According to him, both are related to the primary perceptive ability of animals, which gathers the perceptions of different senses and defines the order of the things that are perceived without distinguishing universals, and without deliberation or logos. But this is not yet reason, because human imagination is different.

The recent modern writings of Terrence Deacon and Merlin Donald, writing about the origin of language, also connect reason connected to not only language, but also mimesis,^[41] More specifically they describe the ability to create language as part of an internal modeling of reality specific to humankind. Other results are consciousness, and imagination or fantasy. In contrast, modern proponents of a genetic pre-disposition to language itself include Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker, to whom Donald and Deacon can be contrasted.

As reason is symbolic thinking, and peculiarly human, then this implies that humans have a special ability to maintain a clear consciousness of the distinctness of "icons" or images and the real things they represent. Starting with a modern author, Merlin Donald writes^[42]

A dog might perceive the "meaning" of a fight that was realistically play-acted by humans, but it could not reconstruct the message or distinguish the representation from its referent (a real fight). [...] Trained apes are able to make this distinction; young children make this distinction early – hence, their effortless distinction between play-acting an event and the event itself

In classical descriptions, an equivalent description of this mental faculty is eikasia, in the philosophy of Plato.^[43] This is the ability to perceive whether a perception is an image of something else, related somehow but not the same, and therefore allows humans to perceive that a dream or memory or a reflection in a mirror is not reality as such. What Klein refers to as dianoetic eikasia is the eikasia concerned specifically with thinking and mental images, such as those mental symbols, icons, signes, and marks discussed above as definitive of reason. Explaining reason from this direction: human thinking is special in the way that we often understand visible things as if they were themselves images of our intelligible "objects of thought" as "foundations" (hypothēses in Ancient Greek). This thinking (dianoia) is "...an activity which consists in making the vast and diffuse jungle of the visible world depend on a plurality of more 'precise' noēta."^[44]

Both Merlin Donald and the Socratic authors such Plato and Aristotle emphasize the importance of mimesis, often translated as imitation or representation. Donald writes^[45]

Imitation is found especially in monkeys and apes [... but ...] Mimesis is fundamentally different from imitation and mimicry in that it involves the invention of intentional representations. [...] Mimesis is not absolutely tied to external communication.

Mimēsis is a concept, now popular again in academic discussion, that was particularly prevalent in Plato's works, and within Aristotle, it is discussed mainly in the Poetics. In Michael Davis's account of the theory of man in this work.^[46]

It is the distinctive feature of human action, that whenever we choose what we do, we imagine an action for ourselves as though we were inspecting it from the outside. Intentions are nothing more than imagined actions, internalizings of the external. All action is therefore imitation of action; it is poetic...^[47]

Donald like Plato (and Aristotle, especially in On Memory and Recollection), emphasizes the peculiarity in humans of voluntary initiation of a search through one's mental world. The ancient Greek anamnēsis, normally translated as "recollection" was opposed to mneme or memory. Memory, shared with some animals,^[48] requires a consciousness not only of what happened in the past, but also that something happened in the past, which is in other words a kind of eikasia^[49] "...but nothing except man is able to recollect."^[50] Recollection is a deliberate effort to search for and recapture something once known. Klein writes that, "To become aware of our having forgotten something means to begin recollecting."^[51] Donald calls the same thing autocueing, which he explains as follows:^[52] "Mimetic acts are reproducible on the basis of internal, self-generated cues. This permits voluntary recall of mimetic representations, without the aid of external cues – probably the earliest form of representational thinking."

In a celebrated paper in modern times, the fantasy author and philologist J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in his essay "On Fairy Stories" that the terms "fantasy" and "enchantment" are connected to not only "...the satisfaction of certain primordial human desires..." but also "...the origin of language and of the mind."

Logical reasoning methods and argumentation[link]

Looking at logical categorizations of different types of reasoning the traditional main division made in philosophy is between deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. Formal logic has been described as the science of deduction.^[53] The study of inductive reasoning is generally carried out within the field known as informal logic or critical thinking.

Deductive reasoning[link]

A subdivision of Philosophy is Logic. Logic is the study of reasoning. Deduction is a form of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises. Deduction is generally an inference by reasoning from the general to the specific. A deduction is also the conclusion reached by a deductive reasoning process. One classic example of deductive reasoning is that found in syllogisms like the following:

Premise 1: All humans are mortal.

Premise 2: Socrates is a human.

Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.

The reasoning in this argument is valid, because there is no way in which the premises, 1 and 2, could be true and the conclusion, 3, be false.

Inductive reasoning[link]

Induction is a form of inference producing propositions about unobserved objects or types, either specifically or generally, based on previous observation. It is used to ascribe properties or relations to objects or types based on previous observations or experiences, or to formulate general statements or laws based on limited observations of recurring phenomenal patterns.

Inductive reasoning contrasts strongly with deductive reasoning in that, even in the best, or strongest, cases of inductive reasoning, the truth of the premises does not guarantee the truth of the conclusion. Instead, the conclusion of an inductive argument follows with some degree of probability. Relatedly, the conclusion of an inductive argument contains more information than is already contained in the premises. Thus, this method of reasoning is ampliative.

A classic example of inductive reasoning comes from the empiricist David Hume:

Premise: The sun has risen in the east every morning up until now.

Conclusion: The sun will also rise in the east tomorrow.

Abductive reasoning[link]

Abductive reasoning, or argument to the best explanation, is a form of inductive reasoning, since the conclusion in an abductive argument does not follow with certainty from its premises and concerns something unobserved. What distinguishes abduction from the other forms of reasoning is an attempt to favour one conclusion above others, by attempting to falsify alternative explanations or by demonstrating the likelihood of the favoured conclusion, given a set of more or less disputable assumptions. For example, when a patient displays certain symptoms, there might be various possible causes, but one of these is preferred above others as being more probable.

Analogical reasoning[link]

Analogical reasoning is reasoning from the particular to the particular. An example follows:

Premise 1: Socrates is human and Socrates died.

Premise 2: Plato is human.

Conclusion: Plato will die.

Analogical reasoning can be viewed as a form of inductive reasoning^{[dubious – discuss]}, since the truth of the premises does not guarantee the truth of the conclusion. However, the traditional view is that inductive reasoning is reasoning from the particular to the general, and thus analogical reasoning is distinct from inductive reasoning.^[54]

Fallacious reasoning[link]

Flawed reasoning in arguments is known as fallacious reasoning. Reasoning within arguments can be bad because it commits either a formal fallacy or an informal fallacy.

Formal fallacies occur when there is a problem with the form, or structure, of the argument. The word "formal" refers to this link to the form of the argument. An argument that contains a formal fallacy will always be invalid. Consider, for example, the following argument:

1. If a drink is made with cocoa, it will be hot.
2. This drink was not made with cocoa.
3. This drink is not hot.

An informal fallacy is an error in reasoning that occurs due to a problem with the content, rather than mere structure, of the argument.

Traditional problems raised concerning reason[link]

Philosophy is sometimes described as a life of reason, with normal human reason pursued in a more consistent and dedicated way than usual. Two categories of problem concerning reason have long been discussed by philosophers concerning reason, essentially being reasonings about reasoning itself as a human aim, or philosophizing about philosophizing. The first question is concerning whether we can be confident that reason can achieve knowledge of truth better than other ways of trying to achieve such knowledge. The other question is whether a life of reason, a life that aims to be guided by reason, can be expected to achieve a happy life more so than other ways of life (whether such a life of reason results in knowledge or not).

Reason versus truth, and "first principles"[link]

Since classical times a question has remained constant in philosophical debate (which is sometimes seen as a conflict between movements called Platonism and Aristotelianism) concerning the role of reason in confirming truth. People use logic, deduction, and induction, to reach conclusions they think are true. Conclusions reached in this way are considered more certain than sense perceptions on their own.^[55] On the other hand, if such reasoned conclusions are only built originally upon a foundation of sense perceptions, then, the argument being considered goes, our most logical conclusions can never be said to be certain because they are built upon the very same fallible perceptions they seek to better.^[56]

This leads to the question of what types of first principles, or starting points of reasoning, are available for someone seeking to come to true conclusions. In Greek, "first principles" are archai, "starting points",^[57] and the faculty used to perceive them is sometimes referred to in Aristotle^[58] and Plato^[59] as nous which was close in meaning to awareness" or "consciousness.^[60]

Empiricism (sometimes associated with Aristotle^[61] but more correctly associated with British philosophers such as John Locke and David Hume, as well as their ancient equivalents such as Democritus) asserts that sensory impressions are the only available starting points for reasoning and attempting to attain truth. This approach always leads to the controversial conclusion that absolute knowledge is not attainable. Idealism, (associated with Plato and his school), claims that there is a "higher" reality, from which certain people can directly arrive at truth without needing to rely only upon the senses, and that this higher reality is therefore the primary source of truth.

Philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes, Maimonides, Aquinas and Hegel are sometimes said to have argued that reason must be fixed and discoverable—perhaps by dialectic, analysis, or study. In the vision of these thinkers, reason is divine or at least has divine attributes. Such an approach allowed religious philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas and Étienne Gilson to try to show that reason and revelation are compatible. According to Hegel, "...the only thought which Philosophy brings with it to the contemplation of History, is the simple conception of reason; that reason is the Sovereign of the World; that the history of the world, therefore, presents us with a rational process."^[62]

Since the 17th century rationalists, reason has often been taken to be a subjective faculty, or rather the unaided ability (pure reason) to form concepts. For Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz, this was associated with mathematics. Kant attempted to show that pure reason could form concepts (time and space) that are the conditions of experience. Kant made his argument in opposition to Hume, who denied that reason had any role to play in experience.

Reason versus emotion or passion[link]

Starting with the description of the rational and irrational soul found in Plato and Aristotle, which is explained above, western literature often treats reason as being opposed to emotions or feelings—desires, fears, hates, drives, or passions. This was an understanding of human nature developed, for example, by Stoic philosophy in Roman times. For example people might say their passions made them behave contrary to reason, or that their reason kept the passions under control (often expressed in colloquial terms as the dilemma between following "the head" (reason) "or the heart" (emotions)).

It has however also become common, already since David Hume, and more recently since the writings of Freud, to describe reason as actually being a slave to the passions, or at best an arbiter of conflicting desires, rather than their natural monarch. Reasoning that allows someone to pretend to that the object of their desire is demanded by logic alone is called rationalization.

Rousseau is notable as the philosopher who first proposed, in his second Discourse, that reason (along with political life) is not natural to mankind, and not even good for mankind.^[63] To discover what can really be said about what is natural to mankind, and what, other than reason and civil society, "best suits his constitution", Rousseau saw "two principles prior to reason" in human nature, one is an intense interest in our own well-being, and the other is a natural repugnance of seeing any sentient being, especially one like ourselves, perish and suffer.^[64] It is from these two passions that humans began to desire more than they could achieve, became dependent upon each other, and started to establish relationships of authority and obedience, effecting putting the human race into slavery. Rousseau says that he almost dares to assert that nature does not destine men to be healthy. Concerning the practical implications, according to Velkley, "Rousseau outlines certain programs of rational self-correction, most notably the political legislation of the Contrat Social and the moral education in Émile. All the same, Rousseau understands such corrections to be only ameliorations of an essentially unsatisfactory condition, that of socially and intellectually corrupted humanity."

This quandary presented by Rousseau was the inspiration of Kant's new way of justifying reason as freedom to create good and evil, which are therefore not to be blamed on nature or God. "In various ways, German Idealism after Kant, and major later figures such Nietzsche, Bergson, Husserl, Scheler, and Heidegger, remain pre-occupied with this problem of the justice of the metaphysical demands or urges of reason.^[65] The influence of Rousseau and these later writers is also large upon art and politics. Many writers (such as Nikos Kazantzakis) extol passion and disparage reason; while in politics modern nationalism is a direct result of Rousseau's argument that rationalist cosmopolitanism brings man ever further from his natural state.^[66]

Reason versus faith or tradition[link]

Though theologies and religions typically do not claim to be irrational, there is often a perceived conflict or tension between faith and tradition on the one hand, and reason on the other, as potentially competing sources of wisdom, law and truth.^[67][68] Defenders of traditions and faiths from claims that they are irrationalist for ignoring or even attempting to forbid reason and argument concerning some subjects, typically maintain that there is no real conflict with reason, because reason itself is not enough to explain such things as the origins of the universe, or right and wrong, and so reason can and should be complemented by other sources of knowledge, or in other words first principles. The counter claim to this is that such a defense does not logically explain why some arguments from reason would be forbidden or ignored, while others are favoured, which tends to be a property of all religion and traditional wisdom.

There are enormously wide differences between different faiths, or even schools within different faiths, concerning this matter.

Some commentators have claimed that Western civilization can be almost defined by its serious testing of the limits of tension between "unaided" reason and faith in "revealed" truths—figuratively summarized as Athens and Jerusalem, respectively. Leo Strauss spoke of a "Greater West" that included all areas under the influence of the tension between Greek rationalism and Abrahamic revelation, including the Muslim lands. He was particularly influenced by the great Muslim philosopher Al-Farabi. To consider to what extent Eastern philosophy might have partaken of these important tensions, Strauss thought it best to consider whether dharma or tao may be equivalent to Nature (by which we mean physis in Greek). According to Strauss the beginning of philosophy involved the "discovery or invention of nature" and the "pre-philosophical equivalent of nature" was supplied by "such notions as 'custom' or 'ways'", which appear to be really universal in all times and places. The philosophical concept of nature or natures as a way of understanding archai (first principles of knowledge) brought about a peculiar tension between reasoning on the one hand, and tradition or faith on the other.^[69]

Although there is this special history of debate concerning reason and faith in the Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions, the pursuit of reason is sometimes argued to be compatible with the other practice of other religions of a different nature, such as Hinduism, because they do not define their tenets in such an absolute way.^[70]

Reason in particular fields of study[link]

Reason in political philosophy and ethics[link]

Aristotle famously described reason (with language) as a part of human nature, which means that it is best for humans to live "politically" meaning in communities of about the size and type of a small city state (polis in Greek). For example...

It is clear, then, that a human being is more of a political [politikon = of the polis] animal [zōion] than is any bee or than any of those animals that live in herds. For nature, as we say, makes nothing in vain, and humans are the only animals who possess reasoned speech [logos]. Voice, of course, serves to indicate what is painful and pleasant; that is why it is also found in other animals, because their nature has reached the point where they can perceive what is painful and pleasant and express these to each other. But speech [logos] serves to make plain what is advantageous and harmful and so also what is just and unjust. For it is a peculiarity of humans, in contrast to the other animals, to have perception of good and bad, just and unjust, and the like; and the community in these things makes a household or city [polis]. [...] By nature, then, the drive for such a community exists in everyone, but the first to set one up is responsible for things of very great goodness. For as humans are the best of all animals when perfected, so they are the worst when divorced from law and right. The reason is that injustice is most difficult to deal with when furnished with weapons, and the weapons a human being has are meant by nature to go along with prudence and virtue, but it is only too possible to turn them to contrary uses. Consequently, if a human being lacks virtue, he is the most unholy and savage thing, and when it comes to sex and food, the worst. But justice is something political [to do with the polis], for right is the arrangement of the political community, and right is discrimination of what is just. (Aristotle's Politics 1253a 1.2. Peter Simpson's translation, with Greek terms inserted in square brackets.)

The concept of human nature being fixed in this way, implied, in other words, that we can define what type of community is always best for people. This argument has remained a central argument in all political, ethical and moral thinking since then, and has become especially controversial since firstly Rousseau's Second Discourse, and secondly, the Theory of Evolution. Already in Aristotle there was an awareness that the polis had not always existed and had needed to be invented or developed by humans themselves. The household came first, and the first villages and cities were just extensions of that, with the first cities being run as if they were still families with Kings acting like fathers.^[71]

Friendship [philia] seems to prevail [in] man and woman according to nature [kata phusin]; for people are by nature [tēi phusei] pairing [sunduastikon] more than political [politikon = of the polis], inasmuch as the household [oikos] is prior [proteron = earlier] and more necessary than the polis and making children is more common [koinoteron] with the animals. In the other animals, community [koinōnia] goes no further than this, but people live together [sumoikousin] not only for the sake of making children, but also for the things for life; for from the start the functions [erga] are divided, and are different [for] man and woman. Thus they supply each other, putting their own into the common [eis to koinon]. It is for these [reasons] that both utility [chrēsimon] and pleasure [hēdu] seem to be found in this kind of friendship. (Nicomachean Ethics, VIII.12.1162a. Rough literal translation with Greek terms shown in square brackets.)

Rousseau in his Second Discourse finally took the shocking step of claiming that this traditional account has things in reverse: with reason, language and rationally organized communities all having developed over a long period of time merely as a result of the fact that some habits of cooperation were found to solve certain types of problems, and that once such cooperation became more important, it forced people to develop increasingly complex cooperation—often only to defend themselves from each other.

In other words, according to Rousseau, reason, language and rational community did not arise because of any conscious decision or plan by humans or gods, nor because of any pre-existing human nature. As a result, he claimed, living together in rationally organized communities like modern humans is a development with many negative aspects compared to the original state of man as an ape. If anything is specifically human in this theory, it is the flexibility and adaptability of humans. This view of the animal origins of distinctive human characteristics later received support from Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

The two competing theories concerning the origins of reason are relevant to political and ethical thought because, according to the Aristotelian theory, a best way of living together exists independently of historical circumstances. According to Rousseau, we should even doubt that reason, language and politics are a good thing, as opposed to being simply the best option given the particular course of events that lead to today. Rousseau's theory, that human nature is malleable rather than fixed, is often taken to imply, for example by Karl Marx, a wider range of possible ways of living together than traditionally known.

However, while Rousseau's initial impact encouraged bloody revolutions against traditional politics, including both the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution, his own conclusions about the best forms of community seem to have been remarkably classical, in favor of city-states such as Geneva, and rural living.

Psychology[link]

Scientific research into reasoning is carried out within the fields of psychology and cognitive science. Psychologists attempt to determine whether or not people are capable of rational thought in a number of different circumstances.

Assessing how well someone engages in reasoning is the project of determining the extent to which the person is rational or acts rationally. It is a key research question in the psychology of reasoning. Rationality is often divided into its respective theoretical and practical counterparts.

Behavioral experiments on human reasoning[link]

Experimental cognitive psychologists carry out research on reasoning behaviour. Such research may focus, for example, on how people perform on tests of reasoning such as intelligence or IQ tests, or on how well people's reasoning matches ideals set by logic (see, for example, the Wason test).^[72] Experiments examine how people make inferences from conditionals e.g., If A then B and how they make inferences about alternatives, e.g., A or else B.^[73] They test whether people can make valid deductions about spatial and temporal relations, e.g., A is to the left of B, or A happens after B, and about quantified assertions, e.g., All the A are B.^[74] Experiments investigate how people make inferences about factual situations, hypothetical possibilities, probabilities, and counterfactual situations.^[75]

Developmental studies of children's reasoning[link]

Developmental psychologists investigate the development of reasoning from birth to adulthood. Piaget's theory of cognitive development was the first complete theory of reasoning development. Subsequently, several alternative theories were proposed, including the neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development.^[76]

Neuroscience of reasoning[link]

The biological functioning of the brain is studied by neurophysiologists and neuropsychologists. Research in this area includes research into the structure and function of normally functioning brains, and of damaged or otherwise unusual brains. In addition to carrying out research into reasoning, some psychologists, for example, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists work to alter people's reasoning habits when they are unhelpful.

Computer science[link]

Automated reasoning[link]

In artificial intelligence and computer science, scientists study and use automated reasoning for diverse applications including automated theorem proving the formal semantics of programming languages, and formal specification in software engineering.

Meta-reasoning[link]

Meta-reasoning is reasoning about reasoning. In computer science, a system performs meta-reasoning when it is reasoning about its own operation.^[77] This requires a programming language capable of reflection, the ability to observe and modify its own structure and behaviour.

Evolution of reason[link]

Many species reap benefits from communication. Dan Sperber believes that reasoning may have evolved to be carried out in groups fairly often.

A species could benefit greatly from better abilities to reason about, predict and understand the world. French social and cognitive scientist Dan Sperber, with his colleague Hugo Mercier, describes the idea that there could have been other forces driving the evolution of reason. Sperber points out that reasoning is very difficult for humans to do effectively, and that it is hard for individuals to doubt their own beliefs. Reasoning is most effective when it is done as a collective - as demonstrated by the success of projects like science. Sperber says this could suggest that there are not just individual, but group selection pressures at play. Any group that managed to find ways of reasoning effectively would reap benefits for all its members, increasing their fitness. This could also help explain why humans, according to Sperber, are not optimized to reason effectively alone.^[78] Patricia Cohen, writing for The New York Times, summarizes some of Mercier's thoughts on this "Argumentative Theory" (which states that reason is adapted to persuasion). To Cohen, the idea is that humans debate like lawyers: they often commit to one side of an argument and converse until the truth is discovered.^[79]

See also[link]

	Thinking portal
	Logic portal

References[link]

Further reading[link]

Look up reason in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Reason

• Beer, Francis A., "Words of Reason", Political Communication 11 (Summer, 1994): 185-201.
• Gilovich, Thomas (1991), How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life, New York: The Free Press, ISBN 0-02-911705-4 
• Tripurari, Swami, On Faith and Reason, The Harmonist, May 27, 2009.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)

Luther Vandross
Vandross performing with Diana Ross in New York in 2000
Background information
Birth name	Luther Vandross
Born	(1951-04-20)April 20, 1951 New York, New York, United States
Died	July 1, 2005(2005-07-01) (aged 54) Edison, New Jersey, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, adult contemporary, soft rock, soul jazz, quiet storm
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, Musician, record producer
Years active	1968–2005
Labels	Cotillion, Epic, Virgin, J, Legacy
Associated acts	Change, Chic, Dionne Warwick, Richard Marx, Whitney Houston
Website	luthervandross.com

Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums^[1] and won eight Grammy Awards^[2] including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance with My Father",^[3] co-written with Richard Marx.

Biography[link]

1951–1979: Early life and career[link]

Luther Vandross was born on April 20, 1951 at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, United States.^[4] He was the fourth child and second son to Mary Ida Vandross and Luther Vandross, Sr.^[4][5]

Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City in the NYCHA Alfred E. Smith Houses public housing development, Vandross began playing the piano at the age of three. He grew up in a musical family that moved to the Bronx when he was thirteen. His sister, Patricia, sang with the vocal group The Crests, who had a number two hit in 1958 with "16 Candles", though she left the group before the recording. Vandross's father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old. Luther Vandross was in a high school group, Shades of Jade, that once played at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He was also a member of a theater workshop, "Listen My Brother" who released the singles "Only Love Can Make a Better World" and "Listen My Brother", and appeared on the second and fifth episodes of Sesame Street in November 1969.

Vandross attended Western Michigan University for a year before dropping out to continue pursuing a career in music.

His next hit credit was on an album by Roberta Flack in 1972. He was the founder of the first-ever Patti LaBelle fan club. Luther also sang on Delores Hall's Hall-Mark album from 1973. He sang with her on the song "Who's Gonna Make It Easier for Me", which he wrote. He also contributed another song, "In This Lonely Hour." Having co-written "Fascination" for David Bowie's Young Americans, he went on to tour with him as a back-up vocalist in September 1974. Vandross wrote "Everybody Rejoice" for the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz and appeared as a choir member in the movie.

Vandross also sang backing vocals for Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Gary Glitter, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Donna Summer, Bette Midler, Chic, and Barbra Streisand.

Before his breakthrough, Vandross was part of a singing quintet in the late '70s named Luther, consisting of former Shades of Jade members Anthony Hinton and Diane Sumler, Theresa V. Reed, and Christine Wiltshire, signed to Cotillion Records. Although the singles "It's Good for the Soul", "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)", and "The Second Time Around" were relatively successful, their two albums, the self-titled Luther (1976) and This Close to You (1977), didn't sell enough to make the charts. Vandross bought back the rights to these albums after Cotillion dropped the group, preventing their later re-release.

Vandross also wrote and sang commercial jingles during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continued his successful career as a popular session singer during the late 1970s.

In 1978, Luther sang lead vocals for a disco band called Greg Diamond's Bionic Boogie on the song titled "Hot Butterfly." Also in 1978, he appeared on Quincy Jones's Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!, most notably on the song "I'm Gonna Miss You In The Morning" along with Patti Austin. Luther also sang with the band Soirée, where he was the lead vocalist on the track "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", and contributed background vocals to the album along with Jocelyn Brown and Sharon Redd, each of whom also saw solo success. He also sang the lead vocals on the group Mascara LP title song "See You in L.A." released in 1979. Luther shines with his impeccable singing supported by his group's co-members David Lasley and Ula Hedwig. Luther also appeared on the group Charme's 1979 album Let It In, most notably on a remake of Toto's hit single "Georgy Porgy".

1980–2003: Career success[link]

Vandross finally made his long desired career breakthrough as a featured singer with the vaunted pop-dance act Change, a studio concept created by French-Italian businessman Jacques Fred Petrus. Their 1980 hits, "The Glow of Love" (by Romani, Malavasi and Garfield) and "Searching" (by Malavasi), both featuring Vandross as lead singer, opened up the world for Vandross. And there was no doubt about whether Vandross liked the song "The Glow of Love". In an interview that Vibe Magazine did with him in 2001 Vandross said, "This is the most beautiful song I've ever sung in my life." Both songs were from Change's debut album The Glow of Love. Vandross was also originally intended to perform on their second and highly successful album Miracles in 1981, but declined the offer as Petrus didn't pay enough money. Vandross' decision rapidly led to a recording contract with Epic Records that same year but didn't stop him from doing some background vocals on "Miracles" and on the new Petrus created act, The B. B. & Q. band in 1981. During that hectic year Vandross jump-started his second attempt at a solo career with his debut album, Never Too Much. In addition to the hit title track it contained a version of the Burt Bacharach / Hal David song "A House Is Not a Home". The song "Never Too Much", written by himself, reached number-one on the R&B charts. This period also marked the beginning of frequent songwriting collaboration with bassist Marcus Miller, who played on many of the tracks and would also produce or co-produce a number of tracks for Vandross. The Never Too Much album was arranged by high school classmate Nat Adderley, Jr., a collaboration that would last through Vandross's career.^[6]

Vandross released a series of successful R&B albums during the 1980s and continued his session work with guest vocals on groups like Charme in 1982. Many of his earlier albums made a bigger impact on the R&B charts than on the pop charts. During the 1980s, Vandross had two singles that reached #1 on the Billboard R&B charts: "Stop to Love", in 1986, and a duet with Gregory Hines—"There's Nothing Better Than Love."^[7] Vandross was at the helm as producer for Aretha Franklin's Gold-certified, award-winning comeback album Jump to It. He also produced the disappointing follow-up album, 1983's Get It Right. In 1983, the opportunity to work with his main music influence, Dionne Warwick, came about with Vandross producing, writing songs, and singing on How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye, her fourth album for Arista Records. The title track duet reached #27 on the Hot 100 chart (#7 R&B/#4 Adult Contemporary),^[8] while the second single, "Got a Date" was only a moderate hit (#45 R&B/#15 Club Play).

In 1985, Vandross first spotted the talent of Jimmy Salvemini, 15 at the time, on Star Search. He thought Salvemini had the perfect voice for some of his songs. He contacted Salvemini, who was managed by his brother Larry. A contract was negotiated with Elektra records for $250,000 and Vandross agreed to produce the album. Luther even contacted old friends to appear on the album, Cheryl Lynn, Alfa Anderson (Chic), Phoebe Snow and Irene Cara. After the album was completed, Vandross, Jimmy, and Larry decided to celebrate. On January 12, 1986, they were riding in Vandross' convertible Mercedes when it crossed the yellow lines of the two lane street and smashed into two vehicles. All three men were rushed to the hospital. Larry Salvemini died during surgery, and Vandross and Jimmy Salvemini survived. At first, the Salvemini family was supportive of Vandross. In 1986, Vandross faced vehicular manslaughter charges as a result of Larry's death. Vandross pled no contest to reckless driving. The Salvemini family filed a wrongful death suit against Vandross. The case was quietly settled out of court with a payment to the Salvemini family for $700,000. The album called "Roll With It" was released later that year.

Vandross also sings background in Stevie Wonder's 1985 hit "Part Time Lovers".

In 1986, Vandross voiced a cartoon character named Zack for three Saturday morning animated PSA spots for ABC Television called 'Zack of All Trades'.

The 1989 compilation The Best of Luther Vandross... The Best of Love included the ballad "Here and Now", his first single to chart in the Billboard pop chart top ten, peaking at number six. He won his first Grammy award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1991.

In 1990, Vandross wrote and sang background for Whitney Houston in a song entitled "Why Do You Love?" which appeared on her "I'm Your baby Tonight" album. Vandross and Houston had been long time acquantances, probably having met doing sessions in the late 70s and early 80s.

More albums followed in the 1990s, beginning with 1991's Power of Love which spawned two top ten pop hits. He won his second Best Male R&B Vocal in the Grammy Awards of 1992 with the track "Power of Love/Love Power" winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in the same year. In 1992, "The Best Things in Life Are Free", a duet with Janet Jackson from the movie Mo' Money became a hit.

In 1993, Vandross had a brief non-speaking role in the Robert Townsend movie The Meteor Man. He played a hit man who plotted to stop Townsend's title character.

Vandross hit the top ten again in 1994, teaming with Mariah Carey on a cover version of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's duet "Endless Love". It was included on the album Songs (Luther Vandross album), a collection of songs which had inspired Vandross over the years. He also appears on Frank Sinatra's posthumous Duets album. At the Grammy Awards of 1997, he won his third Best Male R&B Vocal for the track "Your Secret Love". A second greatest hits album, released in 1997, compiled most of his 1990s hits and was his final album released through Epic Records. After releasing I Know on Virgin Records, he signed with J Records. His first album on Clive Davis's new label, entitled Luther Vandross, was released in 2001, and it produced the hits "Take You Out" (#7 R&B/#26 Pop), and "I'd Rather" (#17 Adult Contemporary/#40 R&B/#83 Pop) Vandross scored at least one top 10 R&B hit every year from 1981-1994.

In 1997, Vandross sang the American national anthem during Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana.

In September 2001, Vandross performed a rendition of Michael Jackson's hit song "Man in the Mirror" at Jackson's 30th Anniversary special, alongside Usher.

In 2002, he gave some of his final concerts during his last tour, The BK Got Soul Tour starring Vandross featuring Angie Stone and Gerald Levert.

In 2003, Vandross released the album Dance with My Father. The title track, which was dedicated to Vandross' memory childhood dances with his father, won Vandross and his co-writer, Richard Marx, the 2004 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. The song also won Vandross his fourth and final award in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category. The album was his first to reach number one on the Billboard album chart. The video for the title track features various celebrities alongside their fathers and other family members. The 2nd single released from that album, "Think About You" was the Number One Urban Adult Contemporary Song of 2004 according to Radio & Records.

In 2003, after the televised NCAA Men's Basketball championship, CBS Sports gave "One Shining Moment" a new look. Vandross, who had been to only one basketball game in his life, was the new singer, and the video didn't have any special effects like glowing basketballs and star trails like it did in previous years. This song version is in use today.^[9]

2003–2005: Illness and death[link]

Vandross suffered from diabetes and hypertension, both of which ran in his family.

On April 16, 2003, Vandross suffered a stroke at his home in Manhattan, New York. At the time of his stroke, he had just finished the final vocals for the album Dance With My Father. His collaborator on the album was pop star Richard Marx, whom Vandross had met in 1989. Vandross appeared briefly on videotape at the 2004 Grammy Awards to accept his Song of the Year Award, where he said, "When I say goodbye it's never for long because I believe in the power of love". Other than an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he was never seen in public again.

Vandross died on July 1, 2005 at John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey at the age of 54. The apparent cause of his death was a heart attack.

His funeral was in New York City on July 8, 2005. After two days of viewing, Vandross was entombed at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey. Much of his estate was left to friends and his godson Mark West.

Voice recognition[link]

In 2008, Vandross was ranked #54 on Rolling Stone magazine's List of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.^[10]

Tribute[link]

In 1999, Whitney Houston sang Vandross' "So Amazing" as a tribute to Vandross as he sat in the audience during the Soul Train Awards. Johnny Gill, El Debarge, and Kenny Lattimore provided background vocals. On July 27, 2004, GRP Records released a smooth jazz various artists tribute album, Forever, For Always, For Luther, with ten popular songs written by Luther. The album featured vocal arrangements by Luther, and was produced by Rex Rideout and Bud Harner. Rideout had co-authored songs and contributed arrangements and played keyboards on Luther's final three albums. The tribute album was mixed by Ray Bardani, who recorded and mixed most of Luther's music over the years. It featured an ensemble of smooth jazz performers, many of whom had previously worked with Luther.^[11] On September 20, 2005, the album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross was released. The album is a collection of some of Luther's songs performed by various artists, including Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Fantasia, Beyoncé Knowles, Donna Summer, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Babyface, Patti LaBelle, John Legend, Angie Stone, Jamie Foxx, Teddy Pendergrass, and Aretha Franklin. Aretha Franklin won a Grammy for her rendition of "A House Is Not a Home", and Stevie Wonder and Beyoncé won a Grammy for their cover of "So Amazing". The violin duo Nuttin' But Stringz did a remix of the song "Dance with My Father" for their album Struggle from the Subway to the Charts, which was released on October 3, 2006. On November 21, 2006, saxophonist Dave Koz released a followup to the earlier smooth jazz GRP tribute album, this time on his own Rendezvous Entertainment label, an album called Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II, also produced by Rex Rideout and Bud Harner. Dave Koz played on all the featured Luther Vandross tracks, which were recorded by various smooth jazz artists.^[12] In 2007, Deniece Williams included "Never Too Much" on her Love, Niecy Style CD. Williams said that she recorded the song to say "I love you" to her old friend. The music video "Bye Bye" from Mariah Carey sees Vandross' picture appear in the closing images. His image was included as a tribute along with various other deceased people with whom Carey had collaborated. On A Different Me, Keyshia Cole sings the outro to "Luther Vandross" on "Playa Cardz Right", which features rapper Tupac Shakur. Guitarist Norman Brown did a rendition of "Any Love" on his 1994 album After The Storm. R&B band 112 sampled Vandross' "Don't You Know That" to make their song "Love Me" on their second album Room 112. Saxophonist Boney James covers his rendition on his final track "The Night I Fell In Love" on Backbone in 1994. Author Craig Seymour wrote a book about Vandross called Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross. The book includes numerous interviews with Vandross. In 2009, Jadakiss sampled Vandross' "Promise Me" to make his song "The Things I've Been Through" on his album, "The Last Kiss". In 1998, well-known guitarist Peter White covered the Vandross song "Don't Want to Be a Fool", from the album Perfect Moment. In November 2006, Korean singer K included a cover of the Vandross song "Every Year, Every Christmas" on his Christmas single, ファースト・クリスマス ("First Christmas"), released in Japan. It was also later added to his tribute album, The Timeless Collection Vol. 1. In 2010, NPR included Vandross in its 50 Greatest Voices in recorded history, saying Vandross represents "the platinum standard for R&B song stylings." The announcement was made on NPR's All Things Considered on November 29, 2010. In late 2010, rapper Battman D.E. GannaBanna sampled Vandross' "Make Me A Believer" for his song "Wanna Luv U" on his debut album The World Is A MothaF**kin' Ghetto. Hip-hop duo Young Gunz featuring Rell sampled Vandross' "Better Love" to the make the song "No Better Love" on their 2004 Roc-A-Fella Records debut album, Tough Luv. Jacob Lusk performed "Dance With My Father" on American Idol season 10 as a tribute to his late father Gregory Lusk and as a tribute to Vandross on April 20, 2011. Smooth jazz urban saxophonist Alfonzo Blackwell covered the song on his 2001 Reflections CD, just two months after Vandross' self-titled release. Teddy Riley's protege rapper Queen Pen has been sampled on her song "All My Love" which based on Vandross' song of the same name that was produced by Riley on her 1997 debut release, My Melody. Other tribute artists include FiL Straughan, a singer based in London and New York, and Harry Cambridge.

New releases[link]

J Records released a song "Shine"—an upbeat R&B track that samples Chic's disco song "My Forbidden Lover"—reaching #31 on the R&B chart. The song was originally slated to be released on the soundtrack to the movie The Fighting Temptations, but it was shelved. This is evidenced by a reference to "fighting temptation" in two of the verses. A later remix of the song peaked at #10 on the Club Play chart. "Shine" and a track entitled "Got You Home" were previously unreleased songs on The Ultimate Luther Vandross, a greatest hits album on Epic Records/J Records/Legacy Recordings that was released August 22, 2006.

On October 16, 2007, Epic Records/J Records/Legacy Recordings released a 4 disc box set entitled Love, Luther. It features all of Vandross' R&B and pop hits throughout his career, as well as unreleased live tracks, alternate versions and outtakes from sessions that Vandross recorded. The set also includes "There's Only You", a version of which had originally appeared on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Made in Heaven.^[13]

Discography[link]

Tours[link]

• Forever Tour (1982)
• Give Me The Reason Tour (1987)
• Best of Love Tour (1990)
• The Power of Love Tour (1991)
• Songs Tour (1994)
• Your Secret Love Tour (1997)
• The BK Got Soul Tour (2002)

Awards[link]

See also[link]

• Luther Burger
• Craig Seymour

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Luther Vandross
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Official site
• Remembering Luther Vandross
• Luther Vandross at Allmusic
• Luther Vandross at the Internet Movie Database
• Luther Vandross at Find A Grave

v t e Luther Vandross Studio albums Never Too Much Forever, For Always, For Love Busy Body The Night I Fell in Love Give Me the Reason Any Love Power of Love Never Let Me Go Songs This Is Christmas Your Secret Love I Know Luther Vandross Dance with My Father Compilation albums The Best of Luther Vandross... The Best of Love One Night with You: The Best of Love, Volume 2 Love Is on the Way Always & Forever: The Classics Greatest Hits Smooth Love The Ultimate Luther Vandross Stop to Love The Very Best of Love The Essential Luther Vandross Artist Collection Love, Luther Lovesongs Other albums Live Radio City Music Hall 2003 Luther (the Luther Band) This Close to You (the Luther Band) The Glow of Love (Change) Notable singles "Never Too Much" "If This World Were Mine" (with Cheryl Lynn) "Since I Lost My Baby" "Superstar"/"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (medley) "Give Me the Reason" "Stop to Love" "There's Nothing Better Than Love" (with Gregory Hines) "Any Love" "Here and Now" "Power of Love/Love Power" (medley) "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (with Janet Jackson) "Endless Love" (with Mariah Carey) "Love the One You're With" / "Going in Circles" "Always and Forever" "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" "Dance with My Father" "Buy Me a Rose" "The Closer I Get to You" (with Beyoncé) "Shine" Related articles Luther Vandross discography Change (band) Forever, for Always, for Luther So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II Book:Luther Vandross

The Corrs are an Irish band which combine pop rock with traditional Celtic folk music. The brother and sisters are from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle); Sharon (violin, vocals); Caroline (drums, piano, bodhrán, vocals); and Jim (guitar, piano, vocals).

The Corrs have released five studio albums and numerous singles, which have reached platinum in many countries.^[1] Talk on Corners, their most successful album to date, reached multi-platinum status in Australia, and in the UK was the highest selling album of 1998. The band are only the second group in history to hold the number 1 and number 2 album positions simultaneously in the UK charts with Talk On Corners at number 1 and Forgiven Not Forgotten at number 2. The first group to achieve this accolade was The Beatles. Forgiven Not Forgotten was the second highest selling album in Australia in 1996, behind Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill. Their third studio album, In Blue went to number 1 in 17 countries.^[2]

The Corrs have been actively involved in philanthropic activities. They have performed in numerous charity concerts such as the Prince's Trust in 2004 and Live 8 alongside Bono in 2005. The same year, they were awarded honorary MBEs for their contributions to music and charity.^[3] The Corrs are on hiatus because Jim and Caroline are raising families, while Andrea and Sharon are pursuing solo careers.

History[link]

Early years[link]

The Corrs' parents are Gerry Corr, a manager of the payroll department of the Irish Electricity Supply Board, and his wife, Jean, a homemaker, who died in 1999 while waiting for a lung transplant. They raised their family in Dundalk, Ireland. The Corrs' paternal uncle, Peter Corr, was a professional footballer who played for Ireland and several clubs including Everton. Gerry and Jean performed together as a band called Sound Affair, and often brought their children to their performances,^[4] where they played songs by ABBA and the Eagles in local pubs.^[5]

With the encouragement of their parents, Jim took guitar lessons and Sharon played the violin. Caroline did not learn to play the drums until she was 17 and was helped by a boyfriend at the time and Andrea did not take up the tin whistle until she was 19. They were all taught the piano by their father.^[6] Throughout their teenage years the children practised in Jim's bedroom at a rented house. Andrea sang lead vocals, Sharon played the violin, and Caroline and Jim played the keyboards.^[7]

1990–1994: Early commercial success[link]

While Caroline and Andrea were still attending school, Jim and Sharon began playing as a duo, often at their aunt's pub, McManus's.^[8] In 1990, Jim and Sharon added their younger siblings, to form a quartet.^[5] Their career took off in 1991 when they auditioned for the film The Commitments. Jim, Sharon, and Caroline each had small parts as musicians, while Andrea had a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte.^[9] John Hughes noticed them when they auditioned for the movie, and agreed to become their manager.^[10]

In 1994, the American ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith, invited them to perform at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in Boston after seeing them play a gig at Whelan's Music Bar in Dublin.^[6] After an appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States,^[11] The Corrs joined Celine Dion's worldwide Falling into You Tour as a supporting act.^[12]

1995–1999: International fame[link]

Jason Flom, Atlantic Records's head of A&R, recommended that they meet with David Foster,^[13] a Canadian musician, producer, composer and arranger.^[14] The Corrs played live for Foster and he agreed to sign them to Atlantic Records. They extended their stay in the US for over five months to record their debut album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten.^[6] Forgiven, Not Forgotten featured six instrumental selections among its Celtic-influenced tracks. The album sold well in Ireland, Australia, Japan, Norway and Spain. Major success in the US and the UK, however, was not immediately forthcoming. Eventually, the album reached platinum status in the UK^[15] and Australia,^[16] and quadruple platinum in Ireland,^[11] making it one of the most successful debuts by an Irish group.^[12]

The Corrs' next album, 1997's Talk On Corners, was produced by Glen Ballard, who was respected for his collaboration with Alanis Morissette.^[17] The Corrs also collaborated with Carole Bayer Sager, Oliver Leiber, Rick Nowels, and Billy Steinberg.^[18][19] The album met with lukewarm response.It was successful in Ireland and entered the Australian album charts at number 3.^[18]

After the band recorded a version of Dreams for a fleetwood mac tribute album, they re-released Talk on Corners, with new remixes of "What Can I Do?", "So Young" and "Runaway".^[19] The special edition topped the charts worldwide, and again reached multi-platinum status in the UK^[20] and Australia.^[21]

In June 1998, The Corrs participated in the Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia charity concert. The concert was held in Modena, Italy and was hosted by Luciano Pavarotti. Other performers included Jon Bon Jovi, Céline Dion, Spice Girls and Stevie Wonder.^[22] The concert aimed to raise money to build the Pavarotti and Friends Liberian Children's Village, to provide refuge for children in Liberia.^[23]

The following year, The Corrs received a BRIT Award for Best International Band.^[24] They performed live on MTV's Unplugged on 5 October 1999 at Ardmore Studios, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.^[25][26] The resulting CD and DVD sold 2.7 million copies and featured live performances of previously released songs, plus a new song, "Radio", later featured on their third album, In Blue.^[24]

2000–2002: Mainstream success[link]

In 2000, The Corrs returned to mainstream success with their third album. Unlike their previous albums, In Blue moved towards mainstream pop. Nevertheless, In Blue hit number one in its first sales week in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria and debuted at #2 in France and Norway. It climbed to the top spot during its second week in Sweden and Spain.^[27]

The Corrs worked with Alejandro Sanz on In Blue, recording "Una Noche (One Night)", a duet between Sanz and Andrea Corr; Sanz played Andrea's love interest in the music video. In return, The Corrs performed "Me Iré (The Hardest Day)" with him on his album, El Alma Al Aire.^{[citation needed]} The Corrs collaborated with Robert Lange^[28] to produce a mainstream hit single, "Breathless", which reached number 34 in the Billboard Hot 100,^[29] number seven in Australia,^[30] number three in Ireland^[31] and New Zealand,^[32] and topped the charts in the UK.^[2] The album went straight to number one in the Irish Albums Chart, the third highest single-week sales in the history of the charts, behind U2's The Best of 1980-1990 and Oasis' Be Here Now.^[33] In Blue achieved platinum sales in the US,^[34] double platinum in the UK,^[35] and quadruple platinum in Australia.^[36]

During the production of the album, the Corrs' mother, Jean, died while waiting for a lung transplant.^[37] She was buried at St. Patrick's cemetery in Dundalk, and Bono, Larry Mullen, Brian Kennedy and Paul Brady were among the congregation at the funeral.^[38] "No More Cry", written by Andrea and Caroline Corr for the album, was written to help their father get over his grief.^[39]

In 2001, The Corrs released their first compilation album, Best of The Corrs. The album featured previously released songs and new tracks, such as the singles "Would You Be Happier", "Make You Mine" and "Lifting Me".^[40] The album did not chart highly in Ireland but reached platinum status in Australia.^[41] The Corrs collaborated with Josh Groban, recording Canto Alla Vita, for his eponymous debut album.^[42][43]

When the band returned to Ireland, they hosted another live concert at Ardmore Studios, where they previously performed for the MTV's Unplugged series.^[25] Guest performers included Bono from U2 and Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones. During the concert, Bono joined Andrea Corr for a duet of Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine" and a performance of Ryan Adams' "When the Stars Go Blue". Ronnie Wood joined the band onstage to play guitar on their version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" and the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday".^[44] These performances were recorded and compiled on a live album, VH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live in Dublin, which was released in the UK.^[45]

2003–2005: Later years[link]

(L-R) Sharon, Andrea and Jim Corr in concert

In 2003, Andrea Corr recorded "Time Enough for Tears", written by Bono and Gavin Friday^[46] for the film In America.^[47] This track was featured on The Corrs' 2004 album, Borrowed Heaven. Recorded over an 18-month period in Dublin and Los Angeles, Borrowed Heaven was produced by Olle Romo, who previously worked with Melanie C and Kelly Clarkson.^[48] The album marked The Corrs' return to the folk rock genre with a slightly heavier emphasis on guitars.^[49] Nevertheless, the album was not as successful as their predecessors, but at least successful enough to enter at No.2 in both the UK and Germany and reach silver status in the UK as well as gold in Germany.^[50] Jason Duffy temporarily joined the band as drummer,^[51] filling in for Caroline while she was pregnant with her second child and unable to tour.^[52] Borrowed Heaven was dedicated to the band's parents.^[53]

The band also dedicated their 2005 album Home to their deceased mother.^[54] It is regarded a traditional Irish album as the band covered traditional Irish songs^[55] taken from their mother's songbook to commemorate their 15 years as a band.^[56] The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and featured the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra.^[57] The songs on Home spanned the history of Irish music.^[57] It also included two songs in Irish, "Bríd Óg Ní Mháille (Brigid O'Malley)" and "Buachaill Ón Éirne (Boy from Lough Erne)".^[58] Home had success in Ireland, France (reaching #5) and Germany (reaching #12) and was certified silver in the UK.^[59]

2006–present: Children and a solo career[link]

The Corrs have been on hiatus since 2006.^[60] Sharon, Jim, and Caroline are raising their own families while Andrea pursues a solo career.^[61] Sharon married Gavin Bonnar, a Belfast barrister, on 7 July 2001.^[62] Since then, they have had two children, Cathal Robert Gerard^[63] and Flori Jean Elizabeth.^[64] Jim's child, Brandon, was born in 2006 to Gayle Williamson, his ex-fiancée and a former Miss Northern Ireland.^[65] Caroline married Frank Woods, a property developer in Majorca, Spain on 22 August 2002.^[66] They have three children, Jake, Georgina and Rihann.^[67][68] Andrea released her first solo album, Ten Feet High, on 25 June 2007. It was produced by Nellee Hooper, who has worked with Gwen Stefani and Madonna; Bono was an executive producer.^[69] The first single released from the album was "Shame on You (to Keep My Love from Me)". On 30 May 2011, Andrea released her second album, Lifelines, an album of cover songs, with The Blue Nile's "Tinseltown in the Rain" as the first single. As of 2009, Sharon is pursuing a solo career, her single "It's Not a Dream" was released on 29 August 2009.

The Corrs released their second compilation album, Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection, on 20 November 2006. The album consisted of several of the band's hits, as well as tracks that had not previously been released on Corrs albums, such as "I Know My Love", a collaboration with The Chieftains, and "All I Have to Do Is Dream", Andrea's duet with Laurent Voulzy. The album also featured remixes of "When the Stars Go Blue" and "Goodbye". The latter was released as a download-only single to promote the album. However, the album charted poorly, reaching number 24 in Ireland.^[1] On 25 September 2007, The Corrs released another compilation album, The Works. The album consists of three CDs that feature previously released songs. It performed worse than its predecessor, failing to chart at all.^[1][2]

Musical style and influence[link]

When asked to describe their genre, Caroline Corr said it was a "blend of modern rhythms and technology with acoustic instruments, violin, tin whistle, drums, and of course the voices, the marrying of these instruments is our sound".^[70] The Corrs' music is typically categorised as folk rock. This is evident in their first two albums, Forgiven Not Forgotten and Talk on Corners, although Andrea described the genre of Talk on Corners by saying "it [has] got more of an edgy feel, a little bit more guitar-orientated and also an Irish sound, which is in Forgiven, Not Forgotten."^[71]

In Blue moved to towards mainstream pop, placing heavy emphasis on synthesisers.^[18] The move attracted criticism from many; one Entertainment Weekly critic called it "a disheartening example of musical ethnic cleansing".^[18] A USA Today critic called it "the best mainstream pop album you're likely to come across".^[72]

Borrowed Heaven placed heavier emphasis on guitars, while retaining the original folk rock genre.^[49] Home is a traditional Irish album, where the band covered many traditional Irish songs.^[55] The album contained songs from different eras of Irish music, including a 1982 song written by the late Phil Lynott ("Old Town")^[57] while the 1,000-year-old "Return to Fingal" featured as a bonus track on the Japanese, limited German and Spanish editions.

The Corrs' main influences were their parents who were musicians^[73] and encouraged them to learn instruments. They drew inspiration from musicians such as The Eagles, The Police, The Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel and Fleetwood Mac,^[72] which Sharon said in an interview with CNN is the reason "our songs are very, very melodic and [harmonious]".^[73]

Philanthropy[link]

The Corrs have been active in supporting charitable and philanthropic causes and disaster relief. In 1996, the Corrs participated in the Pavarotti and Friends for the Children of Liberia charity concert. The concert was held in Modena, Italy and was hosted by Luciano Pavarotti.^[74] Among the other participating artists were Jon Bon Jovi, Natalie Cole, Pino Daniele, Céline Dion, Florent Pagny, Eros Ramazzotti, Spice Girls, Vanessa L. Williams, Stevie Wonder, Trisha Yearwood and Zucchero.^[22] The concert raised money that was used to build the Pavarotti and Friends Liberian Children's Village and to provide a refuge for orphans in Liberia during the civil war.^[23][75] The Corrs, along with Sinéad O'Connor, Van Morrison, Boyzone, U2 and Enya held a charity concert in 1998, to raise money for the victims of the Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland.^[76]

The Corrs' mother, Jean, died in Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, England.^[37] The Corrs showed their appreciation to the hospital by performing a one-off charity concert, held in 2001 at the Telewest Arena; it raised more than £100,000.^[77] The money was used to extend the William Leech Centre of the hospital, which is dedicated to research into lung treatment.^[78] The city of Newcastle presented them a limited edition painting of Tyneside's quayside in return.^[79]

The Corrs' played at a 2004 charity concert for The Prince's Trust, a UK-based charity that provides help, training, financial, and practical support to UK citizens aged between 14 and 30.^[80] They performed with Will Young, Blue, Avril Lavigne, Lenny Kravitz, Busted, Anastacia, Nelly Furtado, Sugababes and Natasha Bedingfield and raised more than £1 million.^[81][82]

They are ambassadors for the Nelson Mandela's "46664" campaign, where they performed live to raise awareness towards AIDS in Africa.^[83] The concert was held on 29 November 2003 in Cape Town, South Africa. The concert aimed to "[raise] awareness of HIV in South Africa and launched the 46664 campaign" and the money raised was donated to the Nelson Mandela Foundation for Aids.^[84] During the Edinburgh Live 8 on 2 July 2005, the Corrs performed "When the Stars Go Blue" alongside Bono to promote the Make Poverty History campaign,^[85] which aimed to increase awareness and pressure governments into taking actions towards relieving absolute poverty.

In recognition of their charity work, the Corrs were made honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 by Queen Elizabeth II.^[86]

Personal[link]

The Corrs are four siblings: Andrea Corr; Sharon Corr; Caroline Corr; and Jim Corr. After the release of Forgiven Not Forgotten in late 1995, Anthony Drennan (lead guitar/dobro) and Keith Duffy (bass guitar/percussion) joined the lineup for their Forgiven, Not Forgotten World Tour. Both Drennan and Duffy subsequently became permanent members of the touring ensemble and all subsequent recordings. During Caroline Corr's absence due to pregnancy for much of their 2004 Borrowed Heaven Tour, bass player Keith's brother, Jason, who was known as the former drummer of Michael Flatley in Lord of the Dance and Celtic Tiger Live took over. When Caroline reunited with the band, she did piano and percussion as it was easy for her as she progressed.

They had numerous producers working for their albums, using differing styles. For Forgiven, Not Forgotten they enlisted David Foster.^[13][14] They recruited Glen Ballard to produce Talk on Corners. Mutt Lange produced In Blue,^[28] Olle Romo produced Borrowed Heaven,^[48] and Home was produced by Mitchell Froom. Froom also produced The Corrs Unplugged.^[57]

Band members[link]

Current members

1. Andrea Corr - (lead vocals, tin whistle)
2. Sharon Corr - (violin, vocals)
3. Caroline Corr (drums, piano, bodhrán, vocals)
4. Jim Corr - (guitar, piano, keyboards)

Touring members

1. Anthony Drennan (lead guitar/dobro)
2. Keith Duffy (bass guitar/percussion)
3. Jason Duffy (Drum)

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Live albums[link]

Tours and other media[link]

Tours[link]

• Forgiven Not Forgotten tour (1996–1997)
• Talk On Corners Tour (1997–2000)
• In Blue Tour (2000–2001)
• Borrowed Heaven Tour (2004)
• The Corrs: In Concert

Video[link]

• The Corrs Live At the Royal Albert Hall
• The Corrs Live at Lansdowne Road
• The Corrs Unplugged
• The Corrs Live In London
• All The Way Home/Live in Geneva

Awards[link]

Many of the Corrs' songs have charted at #1 in numerous countries. They won one BRIT Award, in 1999,^[87] and have twice been nominated for Meteor Music Awards, in 2005^[88] and 2006.^[89] They were nominated for two Grammy awards in 2001 too: one for their song Breathless and for another one due to their instrumental song Rebel Heart.

See also[link]

• Music of Ireland
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Cornwell, Jane, The Corrs, London: Virgin Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85227-840-4

Footnotes[link]