Reason Commons A Renaissance of Common Sense.
You can disagree and still get somewhere.
Bring a problem you care about. Reason Commons helps you work through it with AI, make the reasoning visible, and find a next step you can stand behind.
Use it on your own or think it through with other people.
A downloadable skill for AI-assisted thinking.
Put the reasons on the table.
You share a goal. You see different ways to get there.
Sometimes the next useful move is to understand what each person is trying to protect.
An illustrative example
Two positions
Sales
“We need to launch on Friday.”
Delivery
“We need to delay the launch.”
What each person is protecting
Sales
“Customers have planned around our promise.”
Delivery
“An unreliable release could disrupt their work.”
A question to investigate
What, exactly, have we promised customers for Friday?
You still have a decision to make. Now you have a clearer place to begin.
Common sense needs somewhere to meet.
A team can care about the same outcome and still pull in different directions. Each person sees demands, risks and possibilities the others may be missing.
Reason Commons helps you put that thinking somewhere you can work on it together. You can examine an explanation, question an assumption, or keep a disagreement in view while deciding what to do next.
The aim is to make progress on the problem you brought.
How it works
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Start with what’s happening.
Describe the situation in your own words. Begin with a goal, a recurring problem, or a decision you’re struggling to make.
The conversation helps you develop a picture you can inspect and correct.
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Work on the connection that matters.
Look at why one thing might lead to another, what else would need to be true, and what evidence could change your mind.
Choose a useful question or a manageable test.
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Come back to what happened.
Keep the reasoning so you can return to it. Compare what you expected with what happened, and revise the parts that need to change.
The next conversation can begin with what you’ve learned.
Your reasons have a place.
An idea can be yours without becoming a position you must defend forever.
Reason Commons keeps contributions distinct from endorsement. You can build on part of the reasoning and question another part. A disagreement remains visible, along with the reason for it.
Agreement means you are willing to rely on something for now. Better evidence can change it.
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Customers can rely on us.
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Sales
“We need to launch on Friday.”
“Customers have planned around our promise.”
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Delivery
“We need to delay the launch.”
“An unreliable release could disrupt their work.”
There’s a method beneath the conversation.
Reason Commons draws on the Theory of Constraints and the Logical Thinking Process: ways to examine goals, causes, conflicts and possible changes.
You can begin in ordinary language. The structure develops as it becomes useful.
The illustrative example arranged as a conflict: a shared concern, what each person is protecting, and the two positions.
A shared concern
Customers can rely on us.
What each person is protecting
Sales “Customers have planned around our promise.”
Delivery “An unreliable release could disrupt their work.”
Two positions
Sales “We need to launch on Friday.”
Delivery “We need to delay the launch.”
A few practical questions
What am I downloading?
A skill for an AI assistant that can load skill instructions and work with files. The package includes instructions, supporting references and helper scripts.
It guides a conversation and maintains the developing reasoning in a working file. Setup depends on the assistant you use.
Can I use it alone?
Yes. You can work through your own reasoning or use it to facilitate a conversation with other people.
Do we have to agree?
You can keep track of what has been proposed, what people have accepted for now, and what remains disputed. Acceptance records a working position; it does not establish truth or unanimity.
Who makes the decision?
You do. AI helps you develop and examine the reasoning. You decide what to rely on and what action to take.
Bring the problem that keeps coming back.
Start on your own, or with someone who sees another part of it.
reason-commons.zip 110 KB
Start with:
“Here’s what we’re trying to do, and here’s where we’re stuck.”