WIS SPENCE, M.A.

+Early Christianity.+ By S. B. BLACK, Professor at M'Gill University.

+The Psychological Origin and Nature of Religion.+ By Professor J. H.
LEUBA.

+The Religion of Ancient Palestine.+ By STANLEY A. COOK.

+Manicheeism.+ By F. C. CONYBEARE. (_Shortly._)

PHILOSOPHIES

+Early Greek Philosophy.+ By A. W. BENN, author of _The Philosophy of
Greece, Rationalism in the Nineteenth Century_.

+Stoicism.+ By Professor ST. GEORGE STOCK, author of _Deductive Logic_,
editor of the _Apology of Plato_, etc.

+Plato.+ By Professor A. E. TAYLOR, St. Andrews University, author of
_The Problem of Conduct_.

+Scholasticism.+ By Father RICKABY, S.J.

+Hobbes.+ By Professor A. E. TAYLOR.

+Locke.+ By Professor ALEXANDER, of Owens College.

+Comte and Mill.+ By T. WHITTAKER, author of _The Neoplatonists,
Apollonius of Tyana and other Essays_.

+Herbert Spencer.+ By W. H. HUDSON, author of _An Introduction to
Spencer's Philosophy_.

+Schopenhauer.+ By T. WHITTAKER.

+Berkeley.+ By Professor CAMPBELL FRASER, D.C.L., LL.D.

+Swedenborg.+ By Dr. SEWALL.

+Nietzsche: His Life and Works.+ By ANTHONY M. LUDOVICI.

+Bergson.+ By JOSEPH SOLOMON.

+Rationalism.+ By J. M. ROBERTSON.

+Lucretius and the Atomists.+ By EDWARD CLODD.

* * * * *

RATIONALISM

By J. M. ROBERTSON

AUTHOR OF 'A SHORT HISTORY OF FREETHOUGHT' 'LETTERS ON REASONING,' ETC.

LONDON CONSTABLE AND COMPANY LTD
1912

CONTENTS

PAGE
Sec. 1. THE TERM 1

Sec. 2. THE PRACTICAL POSITION 7

Sec. 3. THE RELIGIOUS CHALLENGE 12

Sec. 4. THE PHILOSOPHICAL CHALLENGE 20

Sec. 5. THE SKEPTICAL RELIGIOUS CHALLENGE 27

Sec. 6. THE MEANING OF REASON 37

Sec. 7. THE TEST OF TRUTH 47

Sec. 8. ULTIMATE PROBLEMS 62

Sec. 9. IDEALS 76

RATIONALISM

Sec. 1. THE TERM

The names 'rationalist' and 'rationalism' have been used in so many
senses within the past three hundred years that they cannot be said to
stand quite definitely for any type or school of philosophic thought.
For Bacon, a 'rationalist' or _rationalis_ was a physician with _a
priori_ views of disease and bodily function; and the Aristotelian
humanists of the Helmstadt school were named _rationalistas_ about the