Rationalism of Augustine, the Islamic philosopher Avicenna and Jewish philosopher and theologian Maimonides. One notable event in the Western timeline was the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas who attempted to merge Greek rationalism and Christian revelation in the thirteenth-century. Early modern rationalism has its roots in the 17th-century Dutch Republic, with some notable intellectual representatives like Hugo Grotius, René Descartes, and Baruch Spinoza. Descartes was the first of the modern rationalists and has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy.' Much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. Descartes thought that only knowledge
Frank Meyer (political philosopher) Frank Meyer (political philosopher) Frank Straus Meyer (; 1909–1972) was an American philosopher and political activist best known for his theory of "fusionism" – a political philosophy that unites elements of libertarianism and traditionalism into a philosophical synthesis which is posited as the definition of modern American conservatism. Meyer's philosophy was presented in two books, primarily "In Defense of Freedom: A Conservative Credo" (1962) and also in a collection of his essays, "The Conservative Mainstream" (1969). Fusionism has been summed up by E. J. Dionne, Jr. as "utilizing libertarian means in a conservative society for traditionalist ends." Meyer was born