This article is about the philosophical concept. For other uses, see Rationalism (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with rationality or rationalization.
René Descartes
Baruch Spinoza
Gottfried Leibniz
Part of a series on
Epistemology
Outline
Category
Index
Schools
Coherentism
Contextualism
Dogmatism
Empiricism
Fallibilism
Foundationalism
Infallibilism
Infinitism
Naturalism
Perspectivism
Pragmatism
Rationalism
Relativism
Skepticism
Solipsism
Structuralism
Concepts
Action
Analytic–synthetic distinction
A priori and a posteriori
Belief
Credence
Certainty
Data
Experience
Information
Justification
Induction
Knowledge
Meaning
Rationality
Reason
Truth
Wisdom
Domains
Applied epistemology
Evolutionary epistemology
Formal epistemology
Historical epistemology
Metaepistemology
Social epistemology
Virtue epistemology
Epistemologists
Aristotle
Sextus Empiricus
Edmund Gettier
Wang Yangming
René Descartes
David Hume
Immanuel Kant
W. V. O. Quine
more...
Related fields
Epistemic cognition
Epistemic logic
Philosophy of perception
Philosophy of science
v
t
e
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge"[1] or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification",[2] often in contrast to other possible sources of knowledge such as faith, tradition, or sensory experience. More formally, rationalism is defined as a methodology or a theory "in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive".[3]
In a major philosophical debate during the Enlightenment,[4] rationalism (sometimes here equated with innatism) was opposed to empiricism. On the one hand, the rationalists emphasized that knowledge is primarily innate and the intellect, the inner faculty of the human mind, can therefore directly grasp or derive logical truths; on the other hand, the empiricists emphasized that knowledge is not primarily innate and is best gained by careful observation of the physical world outside the mind, namely through sensory experiences. Rationalists asserted that certain principles exist in logic, mathematics, ethics, and metaphysics that are so fundamentally true that denying them causes one to fall into contradiction. The rationalists had such a high confidence in reason that empirical proof and physical evidence were regarded as unnecessary to ascertain certain truths – in other words, "there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience".[5]
Different degrees of emphasis on this method or theory lead to a range of rationalist standpoints, from the moderate position "that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge" to the more extreme position that reason is "the unique path to knowledge".[6] Given a pre-modern understanding of reason, rationalism is identical to philosophy, the Socratic life of inquiry, or the zetetic (skeptical) clear interpretation of authority (open to the underlying or essential cause of things as they appear to our sense of certainty). In recent decades, Leo Strauss sought to revive "Classical Political Rationalism" as a discipline that understands the task of reasoning, not as foundational, but as maieutic.
^"Rationalism". Britannica.com. 28 May 2023. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
^Lacey, A.R. (1996), A Dictionary of Philosophy, 1st edition, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1976. 2nd edition, 1986. 3rd edition, Routledge, London, 1996. p. 286
^Bourke, Vernon J., "Rationalism," p. 263 in Runes (1962).
^John Locke (1690), An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
^Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Rationalism vs. Empiricism" Archived 2018-09-29 at the Wayback Machine First published August 19, 2004; substantive revision March 31, 2013 cited on May 20, 2013.
^Audi, Robert, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1995. 2nd edition, 1999, p. 771.
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason...
Critical rationalism is an epistemological philosophy advanced by Karl Popper on the basis that, if a statement cannot be logically deduced (from what...
Economic rationalism is an Australian term often used in the discussion of macroeconomic policy, applicable to the economic policy of many governments...
Pancritical rationalism (literally "criticism of all things", from pan-, "all", also known as PCR), also called comprehensively critical rationalism (CCR),...
Moral rationalism, also called ethical rationalism, is a view in meta-ethics (specifically the epistemology of ethics) according to which moral principles...
Critical Rationalism: A Restatement and Defence (1994) is a book on the philosophy of science by the philosopher David Miller. Book reviews include those...
Theistic rationalism is a hybrid of natural religion, Christianity, and rationalism, in which rationalism is the predominant element. According to Henry...
thought to be attained through reason alone, as featured prominently in rationalism. This might also include a non-rational faculty of intuition, as defended...
Islamic rationalism are followers of the current of thought in the Islamic world that trusts reason, argues that God can be reached through reason and...
Laicism or religious rationalism refers to the policies and principles where the state plays a more active role in excluding religious visibility from...
part of classic rabbinic literature, though the decline of scholastic rationalism coincided with historical events which drew Jews to the Kabbalistic approach...
believes that subjective impressions (empiricism) or innate knowledge (rationalism) are the sole possible or proper starting point for philosophical construction...
rational intuition and therefore as not dependent on empirical evidence. Rationalism fully accepts that there is knowledge a priori, which is either outright...
It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empiricists argue that empiricism is a more reliable...
countering Rationalism and striving to advance a revival known as the Erweckung, or Awakening. In 1806, Napoleon's invasion of Germany promoted Rationalism and...
or mode of discourse characterized by skepticism towards scientific rationalism and the concept of objective reality (as opposed to subjective reality)...
Friedrich Nietzsche and novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, all of whom critiqued rationalism and concerned themselves with the problem of meaning. In the 20th century...
humanity as the time since the Enlightenment, a time steeped in logical rationalism, to the time right after the French Revolution. This second phase states...
In philosophy and in its current sense, rationalism is a line of thought that appeals to reason or the intellect as a primary or fundamental source of...
the autonomous theory of sense (ATS). Katz was a staunch defender of rationalism (although not in a Cartesian/Fregean sense) and the metaphysical import...
pointed out that critical rationalism only shows how theories can be falsified, but it omits how our belief in critical rationalism can itself be justified...
groundbreaking philosophical system which claimed to bring unity to rationalism and empiricism. Whether or not he was right, he did not entirely succeed...
This is a timeline of philosophy in the 17th century (17th-century philosophy). 1649 – Christina, Queen of Sweden (reigned 1632–1654) invited René Descartes...
Global Information
