... obtained, several epistemological philosophers have offered theories and accounts. These accounts, however, are predominantly associated with two views, the rationalists and the empiricists. The document will be discussing and evaluating both views, explaining on how they endeavour to explain knowledge and how it's acquired. In addition several of the prominent individuals behind the approaches will be examined. 2.0 Rationalism 2.1 Rationalism fundamentally operates under the principle that knowledge of the world is acquired through the use of reasoning ('rationalism', from ratio = 'reason'). Indeed, a number of the fundamental ideologies behind the view can be traced back to early Greek philosophy. Most noticeably by Plato, who advocated that reasoning and mathematics were the only objective techniques of natural science. The approach of rationalism, however, was formed around the time of the renaissance. Epistemological renaissance rationalists' considered Sensory input and perception as imprecise and misleading. In order to obtain an alternative ...

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