R

Rationalism in a very general sense means devotion to reason; in a narrower sense, it refers to the doctrine that reason itself has the ability to know reality. In a general sense, then, the rationalist is a defender and advocate of reason. Rationalism is often used...

Ratio is the Latin word for reason or rationality. As the term "intelligent animal" suggests, the human race is defined as possessing rationality or reason. In addition, Ratio is used as one of the divine names (one of the names by which God is characterized). It...

The reader is the decoder or interpretant of the text, verbal or otherwise. In some important currents of modern literary critique and theory, attention shifts from the text and the author to the reader. As part of this turn, the image of the reader as a consumer of...

Readerly is a word commonly used to translate the French term lisible, used by Roland Barthes to refer to a particular type of text. Related: Writable or Writerly Text(s)  

Reader-response Theory is a modern theory in literary criticism, illuminating the response of readers to texts and less dealing with the objective features of literary works. Reader-response theory is not so much a specific doctrine as it is a general reorientation to...

Reading is the process of decoding a message from a verbal text; Metaphorically - the process of interpreting the meaning of any text, verbal or otherwise. Although reading can mean the process of understanding a simple, clear message, in semiotic works this term...

The Real is a term used by Jacques Lacan to denote one of the three lines or registers within which human beings operate. Unlike both, the imaginary and the symbolic, the real is that which fully resists symbolization. In this sense, it is similar to what Immanuel...

In literary and art critique, realism is a mode of representation that conveys the impressions of a correctly described subject; In philosophy, on the other hand, the term realism is used to denote several positions. Unlike nominalism, realism means a doctrine...

Reality is a state of existence, usually defined as the opposite of illusion or functional. Charles S. Peirce defines reality in terms of inquiry: reality is what the scientific community would eventually discover if given unlimited time (CP 5.311).

Reason is the name for ability or network of abilities traditionally attributed to Homo sapiens to distinguish it from all other species of animals. Reason is defined in terms of multiple abilities, the most important of which is the ability to form universal or...