Rationalism is the belief that your life should be based on reason and logic, rather than emotions or religious beliefs. Coleridge was to spend the next thirty years attacking rationalism. the belief that your actions should be based on scientific thinking rather than emotions or religious beliefs. Philosophical view that regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge. Rationalism has long been the rival of empiricism, the doctrine that all knowledge of matters of fact ultimately derives from, and must be tested by, sense experience. As against this doctrine, rationalism holds reason to be a faculty that can lay hold of truths beyond the reach of sense perception, both in certainty and in generality. In stressing the existence of a "natural light," rationalism also has been the rival of systems claiming esoteric knowledge, whether from mystical experience, revelation, or intuition, and has been opposed to various irrationalisms that tend to stress the biological, the emotional or volitional, the unconscious, or the existential at the expense of the rational
(philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge is acquired by reason without resort to experience
is the view that all ethical concepts and practices have a basis in rationality; ethical standards and values can be justified and explained by appealing to the reflections and judgments of reason Kantianism is a rationalistic approach to ethics
a philosophical principle that reason alone is the source of all human knowledge
the theological doctrine that human reason rather than divine revelation establishes religious truth
An epistemological theory which asserts that all knowledge ultimately derives from logic, reason, or other operations of the mind
The theory which holds that reason is the unique source of knowledge as against empiricism which holds that perception is the source of knowledge
the doctrine that reason is the right basis for regulating conduct (philosophy) the doctrine that knowledge is acquired by reason without resort to experience the theological doctrine that human reason rather than divine revelation establishes religious truth
The key watchword of the Enlightenment was rationalism, meaning a firm trust in the ability of the human mind to solve earthly problems and much less faith in the centrality of God as an active, fundamental force in the universe
The doctrine or system of those who deduce their religious opinions from reason or the understanding, as distinct from, or opposed to, revelation
a world view that holds reason itself to be the ultimate source of knowledge and superior to sense perception alone
Generally contrasted with empiricism, a view that magnifies the role played by unaided reason in the acquisition and justification of knowledge A preference for reason over sense perception, and an insistence upon deduction and logical consistency
the position that reason alone, without the aid of sensory information, is capable of arriving at some knowledge, at some undeniable truths
{i} practice of accepting reason as the supreme authority in determining conduct or opinion; doctrine that the mind is the source of all knowledge (Philosophy)
The philosophical position which asserts that all knowledge can be derived from reason, without appeal to experience
The system that makes rational power the ultimate test of truth; opposed to sensualism, or sensationalism, and empiricism
The doctrine or system of those who deduce their religious opinions from reason or the understanding, as distinct from, or opposed to, revelation (See Empiricism)
A theory which makes the mind the measure and arbiter of all things, including religious truth A product of the Enlightenment, it rejects the supernatural, divine revelation, and authoritative teaching by any church
The theory that reason is in itself a basis for knowledge superior to and independent of all other ways of knowing
The belief that knowledge is aquired through rational analysis of innate or built-in principles See also textbook glossary for Nativism (See Empiricism)
The doctrine that scientific theories, and any other claims to knowledge, can and should be rationally criticized, and, if they have empirical content, can and should be subjected to tests which may falsify them
If you describe someone as a rationalist, you mean that they base their life on rationalist beliefs. see also rationalism. someone who bases their actions on rationalism
If you describe someone as rationalist, you mean that their beliefs are based on reason and logic rather than emotion or religion. White was both visionary and rationalist