"In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that 'regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge' or 'any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification'..."
The philosophical theory that knowledge comes primarily from reason and deduction.
"...in contrast to other possible sources of knowledge such as faith, tradition, or sensory experience."
"...a methodology or a theory 'in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive'."
"In a major philosophical debate during the Enlightenment, rationalism was opposed to empiricism."
"The rationalists emphasized that knowledge is primarily in-born and the intellect, the inner faculty of the human mind, can therefore directly grasp or derive logical truths."
"On the other hand, the empiricists emphasized that knowledge is not primarily in-born and is best gained by careful observation of the physical world outside the mind, namely through sensory experiences."
"Rationalists asserted that certain principles exist in logic, mathematics, ethics, and metaphysics that are so fundamentally true that denying them causes one to fall into contradiction."
"The rationalists had such a high confidence in reason that empirical proof and physical evidence were regarded as unnecessary to ascertain certain truths – in other words, 'there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience'."
"Different degrees of emphasis on this method or theory lead to a range of rationalist standpoints, from the moderate position 'that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge' to the more extreme position that reason is 'the unique path to knowledge'."
"In recent decades, Leo Strauss sought to revive 'Classical Political Rationalism' as a discipline that understands the task of reasoning, not as foundational, but as maieutic."