Any theory emphasizing reason or intuition (usually in contrast to the senses, or, in ethics, to feelings and emotions), whether as the basis for acquiring knowledge, or as the basis for justifying moral judgments.
In these uses it contrasts with empiricism, and has similar varieties. The a priori is to rationalism what the a posteriori (or empirical) is to empiricism. In ethics, rationalism tends to be classed with intuitionism (though different from it) in opposition to moral sense theories.
The late 19th and 20th centuries’ use of ‘rationalism’ to contrast with belief in religious revelation is not common in philosophy.
Also see: continental rationalists
Source:
W von Leyden, Seventeenth Century Metaphysics (1968), especially ch. 3
Table of Contents
- 1 Videos
- 2 Related Products
- 2.1 Rationalism, Pluralism, and Freedom
- 2.2 Understanding Rationalism (Understanding Movements in Modern Thought)
- 2.3 Rationalism in Politics and other essays
- 2.4 Rationalism, Empiricism and Pragmatism: An Introduction
- 2.5 The New Inquisition: Irrational Rationalism and the Citadel of Science
- 2.6 Rationalism Records - Rnlsm007
- 2.7 Rationalism! 7inch, 45rpm, EP, PS, SC
- 2.8 Reasons without Rationalism
- 2.9 The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism: An Introduction to the Thought of Leo Strauss
- 2.10 From Rationalism to Existentialism: The Existentialists and Their Nineteenth-century Backgrounds
Last update 2020-06-17. Price and product availability may change.