Editing Rationalism (section)

==Background<!--'Continental rationalism' and 'Continental Rationalism' redirect here-->==

Rationalism has a philosophical history dating from [[Ancient philosophy|antiquity]]. The [[analytic philosophy|analytical]] nature of much of philosophical enquiry, the awareness of apparently [[A priori knowledge|a priori]] domains of knowledge such as mathematics, combined with the emphasis of obtaining knowledge through the use of rational faculties (commonly rejecting, for example, direct [[revelation]]) have made rationalist themes very prevalent in the [[history of philosophy]].

Since the Enlightenment, rationalism is usually associated with the introduction of mathematical methods into philosophy as seen in the works of [[Descartes]], [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Leibniz]], and [[Spinoza]].<ref name="Bourke 263"/> This is commonly called '''continental rationalism'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, because it was predominant in the continental schools of Europe, whereas in Britain [[empiricism]] dominated.

Even then, the distinction between rationalists and empiricists was drawn at a later period and would not have been recognized by the philosophers involved. Also, the distinction between the two philosophies is not as clear-cut as is sometimes suggested; for example, Descartes and Locke have similar views about the nature of human ideas.<ref name="Rationalism vs. Empiricism"/>

Proponents of some varieties of rationalism argue that, starting with foundational basic principles, like the axioms of [[geometry]], one could [[deductive reasoning|deductively]] derive the rest of all possible knowledge. Notable philosophers who held this view most clearly were [[Baruch Spinoza]] and [[Gottfried Leibniz]], whose attempts to grapple with the epistemological and metaphysical problems raised by Descartes led to a development of the fundamental approach of rationalism. Both Spinoza and Leibniz asserted that, ''in principle'', all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, could be gained through the use of reason alone, though they both observed that this was not possible ''in practice'' for human beings except in specific areas such as [[mathematics]]. On the other hand, Leibniz admitted in his book ''[[Monadology]]'' that "we are all mere [[Empirics]] in three fourths of our actions."<ref name="Audi 771">Audi, Robert, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1995. 2nd edition, 1999, p. 771.</ref>

===Political usage===
In [[politics]], rationalism, since the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], historically emphasized a "politics of reason" centered upon [[rationality]], [[deontology]], [[utilitarianism]], [[secularism]], and [[irreligion]]<ref>Oakeshott, Michael, "[http://faculty.isi.org/catalog/resource/view/id/678 Rationalism in Politics]", ''The Cambridge Journal'' 1947, vol. 1 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913150754/https://faculty.isi.org/catalog/resource/view/id/678 |date=2018-09-13 }}. Retrieved 2013-01-13.</ref>{{snd}}the latter aspect's [[antitheism]] was later softened by the adoption of pluralistic reasoning methods practicable regardless of religious or irreligious ideology.<ref>[http://usj.sagepub.com/content/43/5-6/863.abstract Boyd, Richard, "The Value of Civility?", ''Urban Studies Journal'', May 2006, vol. 43 (no. 5–6), pp. 863–878] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401135541/http://usj.sagepub.com/content/43/5-6/863.abstract |date=2012-04-01 }}. Retrieved 2013-01-13.</ref><ref>[https://www.factcheck.org/spindetectors/about/ ''FactCheck.org Mission Statement'', January 2020] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102201015/https://www.factcheck.org/spindetectors/about/ |date=2019-11-02 }}. Retrieved 2020-01-01.</ref> In this regard, the philosopher [[John Cottingham]]<ref>Cottingham, John. 1984. ''Rationalism''. Paladi/Granada.</ref> noted how rationalism, a [[methodology]], became socially conflated with [[atheism]], a [[worldview]]:
{{quote|In the past, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, the term 'rationalist' was often used to refer to free thinkers of an anti-clerical and anti-religious outlook, and for a time the word acquired a distinctly pejorative force (thus in 1670 Sanderson spoke disparagingly of 'a mere rationalist, that is to say in plain English an atheist of the late edition...'). The use of the label 'rationalist' to characterize a world outlook which has no place for the supernatural is becoming less popular today; terms like '[[secular humanist|humanist]]' or '[[materialism|materialist]]' seem largely to have taken its place. But the old usage still survives.}}