Which philosophy emphasized reason and individualism during the Enlightenment?

The philosophy that emphasized reason and individualism during the Enlightenment is rationalism. Rationalism is grounded in the belief that reason is the primary source of knowledge and that individuals can ascertain truths through rational thought and logical analysis, independent of sensory experience.

During the Enlightenment, which spanned from the late 17th to the 18th century, intellectuals advocated for the use of reason as the best means of understanding the world and improving society. Prominent rationalists, such as René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza, emphasized the role of innate ideas and deductive reasoning in their philosophical inquiries. This focus on individual thought and the capacity of humans to apply reason to all areas of life, including politics, science, and morality, was revolutionary and laid the groundwork for modern democratic and scientific principles.

Other philosophies listed, like romanticism, empircism, and idealism, while significant in their own right, focused on different aspects of human experience. Romanticism, for instance, emphasized emotion and the aesthetic experience, often in reaction to the rationalism of the Enlightenment. Empiricism prioritized sensory experience as the foundation of knowledge, contrasting with rationalism's emphasis on reason. Idealism focused on the nature of reality being