The Discourse of Rationalism in Early Modern Europe During the 17th and 18th Centuries

This study aims to examine the development of Rationalism and Romanticism as two major intellectual discourses that significantly shaped the evolution of modern European civilization. It explores the continuity of intellectual ideas from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment (Aufklärung) and analyzes the emergence of Romanticism as a critical response to the limitations of Enlightenment Rationalism. The study employs a historical approach grounded in R. G. Collingwood's concept of the history of thought. Historical analysis is conducted through systematic stages of heuristics (source collection), source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. Furthermore, textual analysis, contextual analysis, and the examination of the relationship between ideas and society are applied to investigate the genesis, development, dissemination, and historical influence of Rationalist and Romantic thought. The findings demonstrate that Rationalism evolved beyond an epistemological doctrine into a broader historical and sociological discourse that profoundly influenced philosophy, science, politics, religion, education, and culture throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The study also reveals that the intellectual dominance of Rationalism during the Enlightenment generated philosophical, social, and cultural tensions that contributed to the rise of Romanticism. Rather than representing a complete rejection of Rationalism, Romanticism reoriented European intellectual thought by emphasizing imagination, emotion, individuality, and the organic dimensions of human existence while preserving important elements of Enlightenment thought. It is concluded that Rationalism and Romanticism should be understood as interconnected intellectual traditions whose dynamic interaction played a decisive role in shaping the intellectual foundations and historical development of modern European civilization.

Rationalism; Romanticism; Enlightenment; Renaissance; European intellectual history.

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