ABSTRACT
Orthodox moral philosophy is Rationalist moral philosophy, belief that the truths of morality are self-evident, like those of mathematics on Rationalist interpretation. According to the Rationalist, the task of reflecting on and analyzing Reason belongs to the moral philosopher, who is especially trained for it. The true Rationalist has nothing but contempt for any exercise of reason that involves an attempt to derive general truths from empirically known particulars. Rationalist ethics purports to be the study of ideals known a priori by means of a combination of unreasoning insight into self-evident truth with reasoned analysis of previously given concepts. The Rationalist seeks not to preserve moral and political tradition but to promote moral and political reform. Enlightenment Rationalism was continuous with Medieval Rationalism, which was a development of the Rationalism of Plato. Immanuel Kant certainly regarded himself as a devoted child of the Enlightenment and an enthusiastic champion of its main principle, Reason.
