ABSTRACT
This chapter opens with a discussion of important distinctions between rational and empirical philosophies and shows how rationalism contributes to the birth of psychology. Specifically, the chapter examines the psychological thought of philosophers such as René Descartes, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, Christian von Wolff, and Buruch Spinoza. The chapter then explores attempts to blend rationalism and empiricism in the works of Immanuel Kant and Thomas Reid.
