Rationalism
Tradition · 17th century, continental Europe, with Plato as an ancient precursor · Philosophy, stage 2: Map the schools
Rationalism is the position that reason, not sense experience, is the primary or most reliable source of knowledge. The 17th-century rationalists, above all Descartes, argued that certain truths can be known through reasoning alone, independent of and prior to experience, in the way mathematical truths are known. Plato is often described as an early rationalist in the broader sense: his theory of forms holds that the deepest truths are grasped by reason, not the senses, which set the pattern later rationalists worked from. Rationalism stands opposed to empiricism, which holds that experience is the ultimate source of knowledge, and the argument between the two runs through most of the history of epistemology.
What it claims
- Some knowledge can be gained through reason alone, without relying on sense experience.
- The senses are unreliable and can be systematically doubted.
- Mathematical and logical truths are the model for what genuine knowledge looks like.
- Reasoning step by step from clear and certain starting points can rebuild reliable knowledge.
Key ideas
People
Sources
- Rationalism vs. Empiricism Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- René Descartes Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Plato Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
