Rationalism

Rationalism, in philosophy, is the theory that reason is the authority in knowledge instead of emotional responses or religious beliefs. This view gathered momentum in the Age of Reason (17th century) and it gives prime importance to logic and rational principles. That is why it is often associated with mathematical laws. Some of the early popular rationalists are Rene Descartes, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and Baruch Spinoza.