REASON

By reason is usually understood that power by which we distinguish truth from falsehood, and right from wrong; and by which we are enabled to combine means for the attainment of particular ends. Encyclopedie, h. t.; Shef. on Lun. Introd. xxvi. Ratio in jure aequitas integra. 2. A man deprived of reason is not criminally responsible for his acts, nor can he enter into any contract. 3. Reason is called the soul of the law; for when the reason ceases, the law itself ceases. A faculty of the mind by which it distinguishes truth from falsehood, good from evil, and which enables the possessor to deduce inferences from facts, or from propositions. Webster. Also an inducement motive, or ground for action, as in the phrase “reasons for an appeal.”