ˈrashən ə lˌizəm, -shnəˌli-, ˈraash-, ˈraish- noun
( -s )
1. : reliance on reason as the basis for establishment of religious truth
outbreaks of rationalism … manifested themselves in heretical movements — S.H.Cross
2.
a. : a theory that reason is in itself a source of knowledge superior to and independent of sense perceptions — contrasted with sensationalism
b. : a theory that philosophical knowledge may be arrived at by deduction from a priori concepts or necessary ideas : apriorism — compare intuitionism ; contrasted with empiricism
c. : elaboration and development of theories (as in pure mathematics) by reasoning alone without testing them by experience
d. : a view that an appeal to reason and experience rather than to the nonrational (as emotion, intuition, faith, revelation, or authority) is to be employed as the fundamental criterion in the solution of problems
3. : the technical and practical approach to architectural design as opposed to the traditional : functionalism