Motivation is important too, but it’s not what I meant. A very simple example would be Theorem: Every subspace Y of a second-countable topological space X is s

Motivation is important too, but it’s not what I meant. A very simple example would be Theorem: Every subspace Y of a second-countable topological space X is second-countable. Reason: Intersecting each set in a basis for X with Y yields a basis for Y. Proof: [formal symbolic stuff involving open sets and unions, and mentioning cardinality, etc.] (I’m not claiming ‘reason’ is the best word for this — it probably isn’t. But it’s not the same thing as motivation.) > The "Reason" as result is true is that it follows from the previously established axioms via logical reasoning. One could argue this is not the reason a result is true; it’s the reason we know it’s true. The fact that true statements follow from established truths by logical reasoning is more a property of the formal system (which hopefully is sound and consistent) than it is to do with the notion of truth itself.