Rationalism

From the point of view of philosophy, rationalism is defined as the theory of knowledge which regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge. It can also include any view that uses reason as source of knowledge and justification.

Rationalism was a rival to another school of thought – empiricism. Empiricism states that knowledge comes from sensory experience. It states that the role of empirical evidence is paramount in the formation of ideas, rather than innate ideas or traditions.

Rationalism is featured in the ethics segment of the UPSC Exam. As such the details about rationalism will be useful for candidates who attempt the exam this year.

Overview of Rationalism

Rationalism has its roots in antiquity. Rationalist themes had a  very good appeal in the realm of philosophy for the following reasons:

• The analytical nature of enquiry
• Awareness of different domains of knowledge like mathematics
• Emphasis on obtaining knowledge using rational means

Since the age of Enlightenment in the late 18th century  rationalism was commonly associated with the word of mathematical philosophy by the likes of Descartes and Spinoza among others.

Usually, rationalism was opposed to empiricism, where the rationalists believed that reality has an intrinsically logical structure. Because of this, the rationalists argued that certain truths exist and that the intellect can directly grasp these truths.

Due to a varying degree of emphasis on the method or theory lead to a rise of various views about the nature of rationalism. The most common ones being:

• That reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge
• Reason is the unique path to knowledge

Rationalism had its fair share of criticism with  American Psychologist William James for being out of touch with reality. He further added that rationalism represents the universe as a closed system as opposed to it being an open system.

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Application of Rationalism

To put it into perspective, how rationalism can be applied to different aspects of. Below are some of the known applications

1. Rationalism in Religion: Usually it is believed that rationalism and religion cannot go hand in hand as it warrants the debate that reason and revelation cannot qualify as sources of ultimate truth. In fact both were also in self-contradictory to each other.

In fact theologians  sought to find authenticity in religious scriptures through new interpretive principles. However with the rise of increasing freedom of thought and acceptance of scientific views, rationalism has lost much of its shine, if not much of the controversial excitement it generated.

2. Ethical Rationalism:  Rationalism in ethics is a proverbial hot potato. For starters it consists of a series of rules like keeping promises, returning loans etc. There was an argument stating that if these rules were specific enough to be useful then there would be exceptions. On the other hand, without exceptions, they would often prove to be tautologies; the rule of law for example.

After enduring a period of eclipse, however, during which noncognitive theories of ethics and relativism had preempted the field, rationalistic views, which agree in holding that moral standards do not depend upon the varying attitudes of persons or peoples, received renewed attention in the mid-20th century.

3. Rationalism in Metaphysical:  There are two ways of reasoning to better understand the metaphysical doctrine: One is a logical argument and the other a causal argument. With removing the internal relations one could not be removed without affecting the terms of relations both the arguments held.

Many rationalists hold the view that causal relations are logical one. In fact a casual law is stated in a specific manner, then it would reveal a connection in which the character of the cause logically necessitates that of its effects.

To know more about the differences between Ethics and Values, visit the linked article

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