Rationalism
Versus
Empricism
1
Done by:Samaneh Soltani
Professor:Ali Rabi,Ph.D
2
What is Rationalism?
Rationalism is a belief or theory that
opinions and actions should be based
on reason and knowledge rather than
on religious belief or emotional
response,expounded by Rene
Descartes.
3
Rationalism is the belief in
A. Innate ideas
B. Reason
C. Deduction
4
A.Innate ideas
It means to have ideas before we born.
Are we born with knowledge?
The assumption is that we born as a
‘blank slot’ but Plato
believe that the human soul exists
eternally,and exists in
a world of form(or idea)before life.
5
B.Reason
Is the main source of
knowledge and 5 senses only
give you opinion,not
reason.e.g.Descartes’ wax
argument.
He states’’ we come to know
them by the power of our own
native intelligence,without any
sensory experience.
6
Wax has certain
characteristic,it may burn
and turn black,However,it
is still wax .
He concludes that these
characteristic are not
inherent to the wax itself
7
C.Deduction
Prove something
with certainty
rather than
reason.e.g
existance of
God(Descartes’)
8
What is Emprecism?
Empricism is the theory that all
knowledge is drived from senseexperience.Stimulated by the rise of
exprimental sience,it developed in 17th
and 18th centuries,expounded in particular
by John Locke,George Berkeley.
9
Empeicism is the belief in
A.Sense preception
B.Induction
C.No innate ideas
10
A.Sense preception
Main source of knowledge
1.simple:
Based on preception like,color,size,etc,
2.Complex:
Ideas are formed when simple ideas are
combined.
11
Question
Which building is
nearer?
12
John Locke believed that only with
experience could one form simple ideas be
combined into complex ideas.
B.Induction
It is belief that few
things,if any can
be proven
conclusively
(Descatres’)
13
We know of things by
using our sense
preception,we know that
the color of the chalk
board is green and that
the color of the day we
erase board is white.But
we can not without a
doubt conclude that these
preceptions agree with
the object themselves.
C.No innate ideas
14
References :
1.Guy Long Worth,Rationalism and Empricism
uiversity of warwick
2.Plato’s theory of form and thought on innate
ideas-Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy
3.New Evidence for innate ideas-blue brain group
4.Locke,J(1960)An Essay on Human
understanding,ed.R.Woolhouse,London:Penguin
books,1997.
5.Kenny,A,1986Rationalism,Empiricism and
idealism,Oxford:Oxford university Press.
15
16
17