rationalism

[ rash-uh-nl-iz-uhm ]

noun

1. the principle or habit of accepting reason as the supreme authority in matters of opinion, belief, or conduct.
2. Philosophy.
   1. the doctrine that reason alone is a source of knowledge and is independent of experience.
   2. (in the philosophies of Descartes, Spinoza, etc.) the doctrine that all knowledge is expressible in self-evident propositions or their consequences.
3. Theology. the doctrine that human reason, unaided by divine revelation, is an adequate or the sole guide to all attainable religious truth.
4. Architecture. (often initial capital letter)
   1. a design movement principally of the mid-19th century that emphasized the development of modern ornament integrated with structure and the decorative use of materials and textures rather than as added adornment.
   2. the doctrines and practices of this movement. Compare functionalism ( def 1 ).

rationalism

/ ˈræʃənəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. reliance on reason rather than intuition to justify one's beliefs or actions
2. philosophy
   1. the doctrine that knowledge about reality can be obtained by reason alone without recourse to experience
   2. the doctrine that human knowledge can all be encompassed within a single, usually deductive, system
   3. the school of philosophy initiated by Descartes which held both the above doctrines
3. the belief that knowledge and truth are ascertained by rational thought and not by divine or supernatural revelation

Derived Forms

• ˌrationalˈistic, adjective
• ˌrationalˈistically, adverb
• ˈrationalist, noun

Other Words From

• ration·al·ist noun
• ration·al·istic ration·al·isti·cal adjective
• ration·al·isti·cal·ly adverb
• anti·ration·al·ism noun
• anti·ration·al·ist noun adjective
• anti·ration·al·istic adjective
• non·ration·al·ism noun
• non·ration·al·ist noun
• nonra·tion·al·istic adjective
• nonra·tion·al·isti·cal adjective
• nonra·tion·al·isti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of rationalism¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; rational + -ism

Example Sentences

Liberals tend to suffer from what I call naïve rationalism — the belief that political behavior, like voting, is driven by a sober assessment of the facts.

From Salon

Prof Selove said: "This MA will allow people to re-examine the assumption that the West is the place of rationalism and science, while the rest of the world is a place of magic and superstition."

From BBC

Oakeshott was horrified by this, and was also disturbed by the postwar British welfare state; this was the impetus for his denunciation of political rationalism.

From Salon

But it's not an incident caused by just one crazy person, but it happened because of social factors — an extreme rationalism that we have in society.

From Salon

But his arrogant rationalism feels like a betrayal to Jenny, who resents living in a scary house she had reservations about from the start.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attitude
• doctrine
• idea
• ideology
• logic
• outlook
• reasoning
• system
• tenet
• theory
• thinking
• thought
• truth
• view
• viewpoint
• wisdom