rationalism

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rationalism Philosophical theory that knowledge about the nature of the world can be obtained solely by reason, without recourse to experience. Rationalist philosophers, such as Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza, argued that reality could be logically deduced from ‘self-evident’ a priori premises. It contrasts with empiricism. In theology, rationalism holds that faith be explicable by human reason rather than divine revelation.

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