practical reason

American  

noun

1. (in Kantian ethics) reason applied to the problem of action and choice, especially in ethical matters.

---

practical reason British  

noun

1. the faculty by which human beings determine how to act

2. reasoning concerning the relative merits of actions

3. the principles governing arguments which issue in actions or intentions to act

---

Etymology

Origin of practical reason

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

There’s probably some very practical reason for it, like funding, but it’s really lovely.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024

Many real-life animals known as hematophages that sustain themselves on blood for a more practical reason — survival.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2024

The chief practical reason for its existence, he said, was to guarantee peace across the continent.

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2023

Perhaps the most practical reason that companies may hold on to remote work in a recession is that it is difficult to revoke.

From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2023

I think about stepping closer to him, not for any practical reason, but just because I want to see what it would be like to stand that close to him; just because I want to.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth