Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who follows reason and not, authority in thought or speculation; a believer in the supremacy of reason over prescription or precedent.
- noun In theology, one who applies rational criticism to the claims of supernatural authority or revelation; specifically, one of a school or party, originating in Germany in the eighteenth century, who maintain as an ultimate conclusion that the human reason is of itself, and unaided by special divine inspiration, adequate to ascertain all attainable truth, and who accordingly, in interpretation of the Scripture, regards it as only an illustration and affirmation, not as a divine revelation, of truth. See
rationalism , 2 . - noun A believer in metaphysical rationalism.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who accepts rationalism as a theory or system; also, disparagingly, a false reasoner. See Citation under
reasonist .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A person who follows the
philosophy ofrationalism .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun someone who emphasizes observable facts and excludes metaphysical speculation about origins or ultimate causes
- adjective of or relating to or characteristic of rationalism
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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What seems to go hand-in-hand with this definition of SF as profoundly rationalist is the application of an oppositional definition as regards Fantasy.
The Ghetto Within The Ghetto Hal Duncan 2005
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What seems to go hand-in-hand with this definition of SF as profoundly rationalist is the application of an oppositional definition as regards Fantasy.
Archive 2005-12-01 Hal Duncan 2005
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This led them to adopt the intellectualist thesis, or what we would call the rationalist thesis, regarding the mind's perception of metaphysical essences.
Robert Desgabets Easton, Patricia 2006
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What disturbs the so-called rationalist in the mystic's attitude is his propensity to see mysteries where there are none and to fail to see those that we cannot possibly escape.
The Mind in the Making The Relation of Intelligence to Social Reform James Harvey Robinson 1899
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Burke was a conservative rationalist, which is something like an altruistic pessimist.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 7 Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Orators Elbert Hubbard 1885
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JONATHAN (bounding up, tossing his long hair aloft, and pacing up and down): A rationalist is a man who lives exclusively by his reason, which means: by the power of his mind to grasp reality, which means: by the power of his mind to think, which means: by his own power to think, which means ...
LewRockwell.com 2009
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Within one century the world has seen traditional religion fail, to be replaced by "rationalist" ideologies that often proved more weird and sinister than the most arcane supernaturalism.
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They typically unfold with panelists praising the reemergence of Islam's "rationalist" theological school (Mu'tazilism), deriding the medieval implementation of Shariah law, and triumphantly calling for a philosophical overhaul in Muslim societies that will most certainly overcome the day's crisis.
Abbas Barzegar: Rethinking Islamic Reform: Finding Tough Answers the Hard Way Abbas Barzegar 2010
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They typically unfold with panelists praising the reemergence of Islam's "rationalist" theological school (Mu'tazilism), deriding the medieval implementation of Shariah law, and triumphantly calling for a philosophical overhaul in Muslim societies that will most certainly overcome the day's crisis.
Abbas Barzegar: Rethinking Islamic Reform: Finding Tough Answers the Hard Way 2010
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I would have no objection, for example, to being labeled a "rationalist" because that implies a methodology used in evaluating issues rather than a pre-determined position on any given subject.
Jeff Schweitzer: A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as...Liberal 2009
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