Rationalism and empiricism: science’s weak foundations

Enlightenment: rationalism and empiricism . 3 Rationalism locates the source of knowledge in the human capacity for

rational thought. a The political implications of epistemology are illustrated through the

example of Descartes, i.e. locating the source of knowledge in a human capacity implicitly undermines the absolute authority of the Church and in a sense democratises the production of knowledge.