rationalistically
- adverb
- /ˌræʃəˈnælɪstɪkli/
- Formal
- He approached the problem rationalistically, relying on data and logic rather than emotions.
Examples
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During the debate, she rationalistically evaluated both sides of the argument before making her decision.
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In her research paper, she argued rationalistically, emphasizing the need for evidence-based conclusions.
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An example can be found in the dream of a rationalistically oriented researcher whose friend lay dying of AIDS in 1990.
Academic text (1992) -
Now we romantically seek a spiritual life free from authority and tradition, or rationalistically seek truth as if human beings were autonomous and self-sufficient.
Blog text (30) -
As long as the process of sharing meanings selects in favor of the rationalistically biased systems, my hypothesis remains alive.
Academic text (1990) -
Although he had at his disposal only the relatively primitive findings of the scientific opinions of his day, he shows a deep understanding of the functioning of personality in a given set of circumstances, which enables him to portray behaviors with an astonishing prescience of advances later to be proven by experimentation and rationalistically established.
Academic text (1992) -
Another, more rationalistically structured argument (studied by Roland Barthes in his Mythologies over forty years ago, under the name of the "alibi") is binary opposition, the neither-nor argument.
Academic text (2000)
Synonyms
You think clearly and sensibly to reach a reasonable answer
In a clear, reasonable way based on facts
How Rational
Surface Forms
Morphology
rationalistically = rationalistic (transparent) = rational + istic + ally
The adverb is formed by a standard adjective→adverb derivation ('rationalistic' + '-ally'), and 'rationalistic' is transparently built from 'rational' + '-istic'.
Etymology
Rationalistically comes from rational, which means 'based on reason', plus the ending -ly that makes it 'in a ... way'. So, to act rationalistically is to act 'in a way that uses reason and logic rather than feelings or practical experience'.