Antirationalism

Antirationalism is a philosophical and cultural stance that questions the primacy of reason in knowledge, judgment, and value. Proponents argue that rationality alone cannot capture important aspects of human life, such as meaning, emotion, faith, and moral intuition, and may overlook context and embodiment. The term is used in various domains with differing emphases, not as wholesale rejection of reason but as a challenge to its supremacy.

Historically, antirationalist currents have appeared as critiques of Enlightenment rationalism, and as expressions of Romanticism, phenomenology, or religious thought that emphasize non-rational sources. Thinkers such as Kierkegaard criticized totalizing systems of reason and stressed the subjective leap of faith; some existentialists and mystics argued that rational deduction cannot exhaust human significance.

Common themes include the limits of reason, the importance of emotion, intuition, tradition, and social-historic context in shaping knowledge. Antirationalism may advocate humility before mystery or seek guidance in ethics, politics, or aesthetics through sources other than deduction. It often interfaces with art, poetry, and spirituality as formats for expressing realities beyond rational articulation.

Critics argue that antirationalism can slide into irrationalism or relativism if not anchored in a rational footing. Proponents respond that complementing reason with non-rational sources yields a fuller account of human life and avoids universalizing claims. The term remains used variably across disciplines, and its precise boundaries are contested. See also rationalism, empiricism, fideism, romanticism.