Rationalism r alla filosofiska riktningar, som r centrerade kring frnuftet (ratio p latin), tnkandet och tingens logiska ordning.
Den troligen tidigaste rationalisten var Parmenides.
Rationalismen utvecklades under 1600- och 1700-talen d filosoferna Ren Descartes, Baruch Spinoza och Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz byggde upp metafysiska system. Rationalismen kom att prgla upplysningens tnkande, och drigenom den moderna vetenskapsuppfattningen. Enbart frnuftet r alla tings mtt, och med dess hjlp kan alla problem lsas.
En stark inspiration fr rationalisterna var det deduktiva vetenskapsidealet som har sin brjan i senantiken med Euklides Elementa dr han beskriver hur man ur ett ftal antaganden som r uppenbara fr var och en kan hrleda mngder av satser i geometrin som var och en kan hrledas tillbaka till grunden. Euklides beskrev det som senare kom att kallas euklidisk geometri. Euklides mest knda verk heter Stoicheia, eller Elementa p latin. I den sammanfattade han all d knd geometrisk kunskap. Verket r delat i 13 bcker, av vilka de sex frsta handlar om planfigurer och deras egenskaper, de tre fljande om talteori och de fyra terstende om irrationella tal och rymdgeometri. Euklides betydelse fr matematiken r ltt att inse, men fr filosofin r kanske den betydelse han fick fr rationalismen viktigare. Euklides geometri kom att bli av en stor intellektuell upplevelse om sann och ren vetenskap fr mnga unga intellektuella som genom rhundraden frskt att frverkliga deduktiva system p andra omrden n geometrin. Genom att utifrn grundlggande antagande bevisa en mngd geometriska satser gav Euklides ett exempel fr andra filosofer. Descartes, Hobbes och Spinoza frskte anvnda metoden fr filosofiska system i motsats till empirister, som John Locke, som menade att kunskapen inte kom frn tnkandet utan frn erfarenheten.
Ren Descartes bygger sin filosofi utifrn cogito ergo sum, jag tnker [allts] r jag. Utifrn att ha ifrgasatt och tvivlat p allt hittar han den fasta grunden i att han existerar och lyckas utifrn detta hrleda en komplett filosofi dr det mesta som behvs i en vrld och samhlle kan hrledas fram. Ren Descartes gjorde ocks viktiga insatser i matematik och naturvetenskap, till exempel brukar man tala om cartesiska koordinatsystem. Hans latinska namn r Cartesius.
P politikens omrde r Thomas Hobbes Leviathan bermd fr sin deduktiva uppbyggnad och sina skrmmande slutsatser om ledarens legitima och nrmast oinskrnkta makt i samhllet. Thomas Hobbes beskriver naturens mekaniska lagar som strikt styr allting i naturen, inklusive mnniskors beteende. Mnniskans naturliga beteende r enligt Hobbes egoistiskt, hennes strvan r att stta sig ver alla andra mnniskor genom att tillskaffa sig till exempel makt. I naturtillstndet, skriver Hobbes, blir hela livet ett allas krig mot alla (bellum omnium contra omnes)och livet blir sledes inte vrt att leva. Fr att undvika ett sdant tillstnd var det ndvndigt att utse en suvern, en envldshrskare vars funktion var att skydda mnniskorna mot varandra, en 'Leviathan, som i utbyte mot makt kan sknka trygghet t folket, tminstone inom staten. (se f Naturrtt)
Descartes var djupt missnjd med sin tids vetenskap och dess kunskapsteoretiska grund. Ett av hans ml var att med hjlp av reduktionism n fram till helt skra pstenden om vrlden. Han menade till exempel att man intuitivt kunde se (skda klart och tydligt) att en triangel hade tre sidor och att man genom deduktion kunde n sker kunskap. Det var med frnuftet, inte knslor eller sinnesintryck, som det var mjligt. Genom att ha ngra f enkla principer (frn latinets principia "brjan") som utgngspunkt menade de att man kunde frst och frklara vrlden. Descartes frskte skapa en sker grundval fr tnkandet och vetenskapen genom att tvivla p allt - inklusive matematikens satser. Det fanns dock en sak han inte kunde tvivla p, nmligen att han tnkte under sitt tvivel. Hrav kommer hans bermda cogito ergo sum "jag tnker, allts r jag". Sjlen blev grundvalen fr hans rationalism och mnniskan som "tnkande ting".
Aristoteles och senare skolastikens filosofer gav stor vikt t tanken p substanser. Substanser r tillvarons yttersta bestndsdelar. De kan inte delas och r sig sjlva nog. Rationalisterna tog, trots sitt motstnd mot skolastiskt filosofi; till sig substanslran. Descartes genomfr en strng dualism mellan tv substanser - tnkande substans (res cogitans) och utstrckt materia (res exstensa). Denna dualism har haft stor betydelse in i vr tid. Mnniskans kropp r en rent mekanisk automat styrd av sjlen. Men hur pverkar sjlen - denna eteriska substans - den fysiska substansen? Kan ett spke som gr genom vggar ocks ppna drrar av jrn? Detta var en sttesten som redan Descartes samtid kritiserade. Spinoza och Leibniz var djupt pverkade av Descartes men ville utveckla hans tankar och gra ngonting bttre. Spinoza genom att anta en monism det vill sga att allt bestr av en substans; Leibniz i sin tur genom att pst allt bestr av ett ondligt antal substanser.
Descartes dualism ledde honom till problemet med hur kropp och sjl interagerar. Hans efterfljare - cartesianerna - frskte lsa detta med att anta tanken p synkrona klockor, att viljeakter i sjlen parallellt yttrar sig i hndelser i yttervrlden. Yttersta garanten fr detta var Gud. Fr Spinoza fanns bara en substans och denna substans var Gud sjlv, det vill sga en immanent tanke p Gud. Vi r alla delar av Gud. Leibniz resonerade som s, att ingen substans r delbar. Materia r alltid delbart i mindre och mindre entiteter. - allts kan inte den yttersta substansen vara materiell. I sin s kallade Monadologi menade han att allt ytterst bestr av sm andliga punkter, som han kallade monader (av latinets monad "ensam enhet"). Rationalisterna tnkte ofta i den nya mekanistiska "dda" vrldsbildens termer men nskade ocks frsona den med en religis gudstro.
Fr rationalisterna fanns inte uppdelningen i praktisk och teoretisk filosofi, det vill sga att strikt syssla med hur vrlden br vara och hur den r. Moralfilosofi och metafysik sammanfaller. Att Spinozas huvudverk heter "Etiken" r drfr inte s mrkligt. I den mekanistiska vrldsbilden r allt understllt lagen om orsak och verkan; det r i grunden ett deterministiskt synstt. Men om allt r frutbestmt, hur kan d det harmonieras med mnsklig vrdighet, frihet och moral? Fr Descartes dualism utgr helt enkelt lsningen, att mnniskan i kraft av att vara ett tnkande ting har helt fri vilja och kan gra autonoma val. Hon br drfr fullt ansvar fr sina handlingar. Spinoza och Leibniz r bda verens om en strikt deterministisk syn p tillvaron men bda intar en position som frsker frena determinism med frihet , s kallad kompatibilism.
Filosofen Hans-Georg Gadamer talade ibland om att vi lever i vetenskapens tidslder. Rationalisterna frskte "rdda" gud frn ett stort och de universum - men brjan till ett avkristnat Europa kan nog sknjas redan p 1600-talet efter ett bigott 1500-tal. En dold agenda, dr frnuft, vetenskap och matematik styr vra liv fr delvis sgas ha rationalisterna sjlva som skribenter.
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