Rationalism (Civ5)

Rationalism policy tree image

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Rationalism is a social policy tree in Civilization V. It is available at the start of the Renaissance Era. It cannot be active at the same time as Piety in vanilla and Gods & Kings.

Game Info

Rationalism improves the ability to use and generate Science.

Adopting Rationalism:

• boosts Science gained from research agreements by 50% (Vanilla)
• grants +15% Science while the empire is Happy ()
• +10% Science while the empire is Happy. Unlocks building the Porcelain Tower ()

Adopting all Policies in the Rationalism tree will grant:

• +1 Gold from Science buildings (Vanilla)
• 2 free Technologies. May purchase Great Scientists with Faith ()
• a free Technology. It also allows the purchase of Great Scientists with Faith starting in the Industrial Era ().

Policy	Effect	Requirement
Secularism	+2 Science from every Specialist.	Adopting Rationalism
Humanism	+1 Happiness (local city Happiness in ) from every University, Observatory and Public School (Vanilla and ). Great Scientists are earned 25% faster ().	Adopting Rationalism
Free Thought	+1 Science from every Trading Post and +17% Science from Universities.	Secularism (Vanilla and ) Humanism ()
Sovereignty	+15% Science while your empire is Happy (Vanilla). +1 Gold from Science buildings ( and ).	Humanism (Vanilla and Secularism ()
Scientific Revolution	Gives 2 free Technologies (Vanilla). Boosts Science gained from Research Agreements by 50% ( and ).	Free Thought (Vanilla and ) Sovereignty ()

Strategy

Main article: Social strategy (Civ5) § Rationalism

Civilopedia entry

Rationalism is a worldview that looks to reason (rather than, say, faith) to explain the world. Rationalism believes that reason trumps all other ways of interpreting the world, including any data gathered by one's five senses. This philosophy can be traced back to the great Socrates of ancient Greece, and it enjoyed something of a resurgence during the 16th and 17th century in Europe, when it was explored by men like Descartes, Spinoza, and Kant.

Related achievements

Eighty-Eight Miles per Hour Fully Explore the Rationalism Policy Track. 88 mph was the speed the DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future film series needed to achieve in order to travel through time.