Rationalism holds that reason rather than experience is the chief source of knowledge. It asserts that some knowledge can be known a priori through reason alone. Major rationalists include Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. While rationalists believe in substantive a priori knowledge, empiricists deny this and assert that all knowledge comes from experience. Rationalism emphasizes innate ideas, logical necessity, and that knowledge through reason is more certain than knowledge gained through the senses. However, empiricists critique rationalism by arguing we have no way to verify innate ideas and that most ideas still rely on experience in some way.

1. RATIONALISM
Muhammad Munsif
Munsif123@slideshare

2. WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY OF RATIONALISM
 Encompasses several strands of thought all
of which usually share the conviction that
REALITY is actually rationale in nature and
that making the proper deductions is
essential in achieving knowledge.
 Latin word ratio, meaning reason-point of
view that states that reason plays the main
role in understanding the world and
obtaining knowledge

3. CONT…
 is “any view appealing to reason as a source of
knowledge or justification.” in which the criterion of
the truth is not sensory but intellectual and
deductive.
 The philosophical view that regards reason as the
chief source and test of knowledge. Holding the
reality itself has an inherent logical structure

4. EPISTEMOLOGY
 How do we know what we know?
 Types of knowledge
 Acquaintance: I know Oxford well.
 Know how: I know how to ride a bike.
 Propositional: I know that elephants are grey.
 Belief v. knowledge
 Knowledge has a justification or evidence

5. REASON AND EXPERIENCE
 The terms ‘rationalist’ and ‘empiricist’ can be
applied to
 theories of knowledge
 theories of concept acquisition
 theories of justification
 historical schools of thought
 Why choose reason or experience?
 Most rationalists allow knowledge from
experience.
 All empiricists use reasoning to establish
conclusions.

6. REASON AND EXPERIENCE
 Experience: just sense
experience? What about
religious experience?
 Reason: just
reasoning? What
about intuition?

7. A CLEAR DISTINCTION
 Rationalism: we can have substantive a priori
knowledge of how things stand outside the mind.
 Empiricism: we cannot.

8. SUBSTANTIVE KNOWLEDGE
 Substantive knowledge is knowledge of a
synthetic proposition. Trivial knowledge is
knowledge of an analytic proposition.
 An analytic proposition is true or false in virtue of
the meanings of the words.
 Not all analytic propositions are obvious: ‘In five
days time, it will have been a week since the day
which was tomorrow three days ago’ - true or
false?

9. A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE
 A priori: knowledge that does not require (sense)
experience to be known to be true (v. a posteriori)
 It is not a claim that no experience was necessary
to arrive at the claim, but that none is needed to
prove it.

10. TWO QUICK POINTS
 Empiricists do not claim there is no a priori
knowledge; they deny there is substantive a priori
knowledge.
 Rationalists (except for Plato) do not claim sense
experience can never provide knowledge.

11. INNATE IDEAS
 Some ideas are present from birth. Ideas that do
not provide the proof or suggestion of sense
experience, are concepts which are present from
birth.

12. CONT…
 It could be theoretically be discovered or thought
out from within the mind of each individual.
 Example is Desartes arguments for the existence of
God.

13. LOGICAL NECESSITY
 Some things cannot be otherwise.
 In order to pass your exam you have to study hard.
(empirical necessity)
 In order to have 3 things you have to have more
than two things. (logical necessity)

14. CONT…
 The question of whether God exists for example,
depends on your concept of God or whether in fact
you believe He exists. (empirical necessity)

15. METAPHYSICAL NECESSITY
a) It is logically possible that God does not exist;
b) However, the idea of God presupposes a perfect
being;
c) For a perfect being not to exist would be an
imperfection;
d) Therefore God must necessarily exist.

16. CONT….
 This argument - called the Ontological Argument -
assumes the existence of this third type of necessity
(metaphysical) which sits midway between what can
and cannot be otherwise.

17. KNOWLEDGE VIA REASON IS POWER
 Knowledge via reason is superior.
 Innate knowledge is superior because everything is
in the state of flux.
 Things are dying, things are born .
Can we trust this changing world?
If were to rely on reason were immune from change
since the law for math and physics aren’t subject to
change.

18. PROPONENTS AND HISTORY
1. Pythagoras – “All is Number”
2. Parmenides- “The world is a static whole and that
the realm of change and motion is an illusion.”
4. Socrates – “Know thyself”
5. Plato- Reason is above Perception
6. Aristotle – Syllogistic logic is the best method to
reach the ultimate truth.

19. CONT…
1. Rene Descartes “I think therefore I Am”
2. Benedict Spinoza – Man is not Free. All his actions
are determined, by some forces greater than he is.
3. G.W. Leibnez – Cause and Effect

20. CRITIQUE
1. Objections to innate ideas. How is it possible to
distinguish “remembering” from learning? If we
cant, doesn’t that make the idea redundant?
2. Most idea seems to rely in some way on the real
world to bring them out.

21. CONT…
3. If mathematical ideas are innate, wouldn’t we
already know the answers to complicated sum?
4. If ideas such as “God exists” are innate, why
doesn’t everyone believe that?

22. EDUCATIONAL IMPACTS
 1. Family should be as the basic foundation
of the state and should provide the first
educational experience of the individual.
 2. Education of the individual should attend
to the development of the physical, moral,
and intellectual aspects of his life.
 3. The individuals from birth should be
given basic education at home in
preparation for formal schooling.

23. CONT…
4. Education to be efficacious should develop
the total personality of the individual with
special stress on his intellectual growth.
5. Education must enable man to know, to say
and do all things. Because of this its ultimate
goal is the development of its capacity to think
rationally, reason out logically and act
prudently.

24. THANKS
FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION