What is a real-life example of reason providing us a false statement on reality?

We think in syllogisms. If A, and If B, then C.


There are 256 ways to put a syllogism together.


Of the 256, only 15 by Aristotle's count are ';valid.'; By other accounts there are 24.


But just being valid isn't enough. The syllogism must also be ';sound.';





';A deductive argument is said to be valid if and only if it takes a form that makes it impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion nevertheless to be false. Otherwise, a deductive argument is said to be invalid.





';A deductive argument is sound if and only if it is both valid, and all of its premises are actually true. Otherwise, a deductive argument is unsound.';


http://www.iep.utm.edu/v/val-snd.htm





The job of reason is to discover the syllogism that is both valid AND sound, and since we are no longer taught logic in school (as were the Founding Fathers) we have no means of determining when we are right or wrong except by experience.





Too bad. Experience often kills.What is a real-life example of reason providing us a false statement on reality?
If true reason provided a truly false statement on reality, wouldn't it then cease being reason.





Or for that matter, wouldn't it have never been reason to begin with.





If by definition reason reflects truth in reality, then it is never the case that reason provided a false statement on reality.








However, if by reason you simply mean logic, then you can have a consistent logical statement that does not accurately reflect reality.





eg.


All animals can fly.


All humans are animals.


Therefore, all humans can fly.





This syllogism is consistent logically but provides a false statement on what we would consider objective reality.What is a real-life example of reason providing us a false statement on reality?
Zeno's paradox of motion.





You have to cross an infinite number of points to reach a destination, therefore it will take an infinite number of steps, an infinite amount of time and you can never get there. You can't move.





I heard a story about a discussion of this paradox, where an audience member, to refute it, got up and walked across the room.





Point being, empiricism trumps rationalism. ';Ivory-tower'; rationalism, without reference to sense-evidence is error-prone and loses its validity without constant fact-checking.





Such is much of the problem with theoretical physics. It's all rationalism and if there's a mistake anywhere in there, the whole thing falls apart. To really get at reality, you need to look at it, not just think about it.
Reason does not imply possession of all the facts, so here is one:


1. I live in Ancient Greece, and Thales says that everything is basically made of water


2. Thales is much smarter than everybody else


3. Therefore, everything is basically made of water.





This is a fallacious argument from authority.





You say tht some things cannot be proven with reason, which I agree with. However, with the addition of empirical evidence, we should always come to correct conclusions.
George Bush is our president, so he should be at least SOMEWHAT educated.





You see, it is a reasonable statement, but it is deceiving.
Read anything written by any creationist