0 someone whose actions and decisions are based on reason rather than emotions or beliefs
1 relating to or believing in rationalism (= the belief that actions and ideas should be based on reason rather than emotion):
In the 18th century, the rationalist philosophy of David Hume was influential across Europe.
This logic is compatible with rationalist liberal thought.
People are becoming more frustrated and active against the rationalist view of economics.
They are too eager to impose their rationalist, radical schemes on the rest of us.
Rationalist explanations of civil conflict have emphasized the co-ordination problems faced by would-be opponents of stable governance.
How can we improve upon our current "muddling through" while incorporating the well-founded critiques of overly rationalist approaches?
But it was also involved in an age-old theoretical battle fought by rationalist, reformist and classicist critics.
This framework favours these cultural theories over rationalist and structural ones, which focus on resource mobilisation, political processes and political opportunity structures.
Against the rationalists they argued that some passions were positive.
