Abstract
Rationalism" à la française " smacks of outdated positivism, or at least tends to evoke the names of Lachelier, Fouillée or Renouvier rather than contemporary philosophers. Reason, rationalism and rationality are, however, notions claimed to a certain extent by thinkers as diverse as Jules Vuillemin, Gilles Granger and Jacques Bouveresse. Their works correspond to very different uses of philosophy: while Vuillemin evaluates each system by its internal force, Granger understands philosophy as knowledge, and Bouveresse as criticism and therapy. Is the appeal to reason enough to give coherence and unity to these approaches? Is French rationalism anything more than an obsidional fiction?
