From the beginning of time everyone has always had an opinion about something or someone, and only a few pause to ask whether their opinions are reasonable. We have always lived in a time of emotion-driven conclusions and confirmation bias disguised as conviction, but if truth exists, and it does; then it must have rules. And those rules are found in the discipline of logic: The very structure of reason itself.
Before we can talk about truth, morality, or meaning, we must understand how we think and whether our thinking follows the laws that make truth even possible, because reason, like gravity, does NOT bend for opinion or belief.
The Starting Point: Objective Reason
Objective reason is the commitment to think in alignment with reality, not preference. It means refusing to let feelings, tribes, or ideologies distort or dilute what is.
To think objectively is to surrender your ego to the order of truth, to say: I will follow the facts, even if they humble me.
The Stoics called this living in accordance with nature. The Bible calls it wisdom of truth. Both recognize that reality is not a democracy; it is a structure of cause, effect, and consequence. To reason objectively is to think in a way that reflects that order.
And that begins with the laws of logic; the timeless principles that guide every true statement and every sound argument.
The Foundation: The Basic Laws of Logic
The Law of Identity
A thing is what it is. (A = A)
This is the simplest and most foundational rule of thought. A tree is a tree. Truth is truth. A lie is a lie. You can not define something and then deny its definition.
Without this law, all distinctions will collapse. Everything would mean everything and therefore it would mean nothing. It is what happens when people say, “Well, that is true for you but not for me.” If truth can contradict itself, it ceases to exist.
Reason begins by affirming identity: A thing must first be something before we can know, test, or discuss it.
The Law of Non-Contradiction
A statement can not be both true and false at the same time and in the same sense.
Contradictions destroy meaning. If two statements directly oppose each other, they can not both be true simultaneously. An example would be: “The door is open” and “The door is not open” can not both be true in the same sense and moment.
You can not claim to believe in justice while defending injustice, without contradiction.
This law guards reality from chaos; it is very very much the cornerstone of integrity, and not just logic. To live truthfully, your actions must not contradict your words; your beliefs must not contradict themselves.
When people abandon this law, they do not just lose logic; they lose trust, coherence, and eventually, they lose themselves.
The Law of the Excluded Middle
A statement is either true or false; there is no middle ground.
This law holds that between being and non-being, no middle ground exists in logic. An example would be: “God exists” is either true or false; it can not be both or neither (and for some, they may be uncertain of which).
Either it is raining or it is not. Either you were honest or you were not. This does not deny complexity, but it insists on clarity, like some things may be unknown, but they are not both.
This law reminds us that truth is objective, not blurred by convenience or opinion. The purpose of reason is not to make us comfortable, but to help us see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.
The Principles of Objective Reasoning
Beyond these foundational laws, objective reason rests on several key tenets, habits or principles that ensures that reasoning stays grounded in truth rather than bias.
The Principle of Sufficient Reason
Everything that exists or happens has an adequate explanation or cause.
Rational thinking assumes that the world is intelligible; that events are not random or meaningless, and this is what drives investigation, science, and philosophy.
The Principle of Non-Arbitrariness
Beliefs should not be held without reason.
This says that an objective thinker avoids arbitrary assertions or opinions that lack evidence or logical justification.
The Principle of Consistency
All parts of a reasoning system must cohere logically.
If our beliefs or arguments contradict each other, at least one must be false or misunderstood. Consistency preserves intellectual integrity.
The Principle of Correspondence
Truth corresponds to reality.
Objective reasoning assumes that our statements or beliefs are about something real and that truth is determined by whether our ideas match what actually is.
The Principle of Evidence
Claims require adequate and proportional evidence.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Evidence should be empirical, logical, or testimonial depending on context but always sufficient for the claim.
The Principle of Impartiality
Reasoning must be free from bias, emotion, and personal interest.
Objectivity requires detachment, not inhuman coldness, but fairness: A willingness to follow the argument wherever it leads, even against our preferences.
The Principle of Coherence
Truths must fit together in a unified whole.
Objective reason tests individual truths against the broader web of knowledge. Like a claim that isolates itself from all others, something of the nature “only my opinion matters” will be a failed coherence in the bigger web of truth.
When Reason Becomes Relative
Once we abandon these laws, we drift into a dangerous illusion where the truth can be stretched to fit desire, and that whole idea becomes false.
This is how societies fall into confusion, how faith turns into fanaticism, and how science dwells in speculation without calling it speculation. When opinion replaces logic, when passion replaces principle, and when slogans replace thought, reason dies and with it, wisdom.
Objective thinking is humble. It admits we do not make truth, we discover it, and that once discovered, we are accountable to it.
The Moral Core of Objective Reason
Objective reason also depends on certain intellectual virtues, not logical laws, but character qualities that make reasoning honest:
- Intellectual humility – knowing the limits of one’s understanding.
- Intellectual courage – willingness to question comfortable beliefs.
- Intellectual integrity – refusing to distort truth for convenience.
- Intellectual fairness – treating all viewpoints with equal scrutiny.
- Love of truth – preferring reality over illusion or flattery.
The Moral Weight of Logic
The Bible links truth with righteousness not as abstract philosophy, but as moral integrity.
“Let your ‘Yes’ be Yes, and your ‘No’ be No.” – Matthew 5:37
“God is not the author of confusion.” – 1 Corinthians 14:33
To think truthfully is a moral act! Clarity of mind is not separate from purity of heart! And when we lie, distort, or manipulate reason to serve our will, we sin against both logic and love!
Thinking objectively is not just an intellectual discipline; it is very very much a spiritual one.
Read Also: The Courage to Think: Why Truth Often Offends Before It Enlightens
Read Also: The Socratic Method of Thinking and Investigating: The Art of Questioning Your Way to Truth
Read Also: The Cost of Truth: Choosing Duty Over Approval
Conclusion
Truth is not fragile, but our commitment to it can be. So my dearest reader, in a world of noise and narratives: It takes courage to think clearly! To hold your mind to the standard of logic! Your words to the standard of truth! And your heart to the standard of integrity!
Reason, at its best, is an act of worship. To think rightly is to honor the order of the world God made. Because and again: Truth does have rules and they are the very structure of reality. If you learn to think by them, you will not only see more clearly; you will live more wisely.
