William Atkinson 
The Art of Logical Thinking: Or the Laws of Reasoning (Classic Reprint) 

Reasoning is defined as: The act, process or art of exercising the faculty of reason ;the act or factdty of employing reason in argument; argumentation, ratiocination; reasoning power; disputation, discussion, argumentation. Stewart says: The word reason itself is far from being precise in its meaning. In common and popular discourse it denotes 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.