anti-rationalism
Distrust of logic
Anti-rationalism is skepticism toward reason as the primary or reliable path to truth.
It encompasses philosophical positions that emphasize emotion, intuition, faith, or tradition over logical analysis.
Anti-rationalist thought appears in religious contexts that privilege revelation over argument, in romantic movements celebrating feeling over intellect, and in postmodern critiques questioning reason's claims to objectivity: His anti-rationalism led him to trust gut instinct over careful analysis.
Doctrine dismissing logical thought
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
- intuitionismKnowledge through direct insight
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
Kierkegaard · Nietzsche · subjectivism · relativism · mysticism · phenomenology · vitalism · voluntarism
Instinctive immediate understanding
- emotionComplex psychological state
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
- countercultureRejection of mainstream values
authenticity · spontaneity · creativity · feeling · expressionism · subjectivity · art · imagination
Trust without proof
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
- spiritualityConnection to the sacred
- transcendenceSurpassing usual limits
divine · theology · belief · sacred · numinous · ineffable · devotion · prayer
Politics favoring ordinary citizens
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
- emotionalismExcessive appeal to feelings
tribalism · propaganda · conspiracy · distrust · anti-intellectualism · sentiment · traditionalism · reactionary
irrationalism
Doctrine dismissing logical thought
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
- intuitionismKnowledge through direct insight
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
postmodernism · Kierkegaard · Nietzsche · subjectivism · relativism · mysticism · phenomenology · vitalism · voluntarism · Schopenhauer
intuition
Instinctive immediate understanding
- emotionComplex psychological state
- instinctInnate behavioral tendency
- romanticismEmotional, imaginative worldview
counterculture · authenticity · spontaneity · creativity · feeling · expressionism · subjectivity · art · imagination · passion
faith
Trust without proof
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
- spiritualityConnection to the sacred
transcendence · divine · theology · belief · sacred · numinous · ineffable · devotion · prayer · contemplation
populism
Politics favoring ordinary citizens
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
emotionalism · tribalism · propaganda · conspiracy · distrust · anti-intellectualism · sentiment · traditionalism · reactionary · ideology
anti-rationalismrationalism
Reason as knowledge source
rationality · reason · logical thinking · empiricism · scientific method
anti-rationalismAge of Reason
Eighteenth-century intellectual awakening
Vienna Circle · Voltaire · Descartes · Spinoza · Bertrand Russell
anti-rationalismformal logic
Rule-governed deductive system
scientific method · deductive reasoning · inductive reasoning · mathematical reasoning · reductionism
rational, irrational, rationality, rationalize, rationalism, rationalist