Rationalism – History of Rationalism

Rationalism is a frequently used concept in everyday language and philosophical content. In this respect, the meaning of rationalism in philosophy in everyday language is very different. The philosophy of rationalism suggests that the truth of knowledge can be based not in experience and sensation, but in mind and thought. In other words, he argues that the source of correct information is always reason. The concept of rationalism, which is used daily, means not accepting ideas that do not pass the filter of logic and reason, and being free from emotional obsessions and prejudices.

Rationalism philosophy; adopts that knowledge comes into being with the power of reason and thinking. According to this philosophy, our mind is equipped with some innate abilities and principles. We only need to use our logic in accordance with these principles in order to obtain precise information about all the objects that created the universe.

According to the representatives of rationalism, logic and mathematical knowledge are rational, they are unchanging and correct information for everyone. Therefore, philosophers can know all the facts about the universe in the same way. According to this philosophy, an exact example of knowledge is defined as mathematics. Rationalism argues that the true knowledge of the universe can only be obtained by methods beyond experimentation.

Socrates

Socrates, knowledge; He says that he is the knowledge of virtues and moral truths. In his opinion, the knowledge underlying these virtues cannot be acquired later through experiment or experience. Knowledge is an innate virtue. The human mind has all this information from birth. However, this information should be remembered and raised to the level of consciousness. Socrates also introduced the method of delivery and discussion in order to raise this information to the level of consciousness. The basis of this method lies in the belief that the truth can be found with disciplined and firm thinking. There is some innate information in mind; this information is common truth to everyone. These truths can be revealed through inquiry and discussion.

Throughout the discussion, Socrates does not introduce new information, only asks questions. With this, it aims to reveal the truths that people have in their own souls but are not conscious of them.

Plato

According to Plato, there are two areas of existence. These areas of existence are the universe of ideas and shadows.

The universe of ideals refers to the sphere of existence that, according to his opinion, is constantly existing, not in being, not found on any side of the space or the world of objects. The universe of shadows, on the other hand, is the world of objects that are always being formed and perceived by the senses.

According to Plato, the constantly changing and emerging universe can never be known. Therefore, true knowledge is always the knowledge of ideas. Therefore, knowledge is comprehended by reason and thought.

According to Plato, souls have come to earth many times. They also saw everything on earth and in the other world. Since everything on earth is interconnected, when spirits see one of them, they can obtain and remember the others through research. The conceptions that are true in the souls are first found unconsciously; they begin to move like a dream first, and become bright information with appropriate questions and research. In other words, learning for Plato is to remember things that were known in the past.

Aristotle

Aristotle’s concept of knowledge is based on the knowledge of the universals. But Aristotle also has some thoughts about sense knowledge. Because, in his opinion, the ideas that contribute to the existence of existence are in this world. So the idea is the forms of the objects found in this world.

According to Aristotle, there are two kinds of information; The first of these is knowledge based on sense data, and the second is scientific knowledge. But according to Aristotle, real knowledge is the knowledge of universals based on mental thought. The scientific knowledge is to grasp the universal, the means to reach is the mind, and therefore this knowledge is rational.

Hegel

Rationalism philosophy reached its peak with Hegel. According to him, a person can only reach certain information through reason. Therefore, according to Hegel, the basic science is logic. Logic, on the other hand, consists of explaining and developing the concepts that reason only derives from itself. But Hegel has found new laws regarding the laws of existence and reason, rejecting the traditional principles of logic. He named these laws he found dialectical laws. According to him, there is contradiction and change on the basis of movement and life, everything develops through the opposite. He explains this with the concepts of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. At the end of this opening, the being tends towards the eternal being which he named “Absolute Spirit”. Thus, by completing the stage of idea development, Hegel grasps the world of being intellectually.