Learning theory is rooted in epistemology, a branch of philosophy that investigates the nature, scope and source of knowledge, the human mind, the meaning of knowing [2, 1, 4, 11]. Plato and his student, Aristotle, framed the philosophical debate that laid the foundations that many theoretical interpreters use to classify learning theory today [1, 2]. Plato argued that reason is the source of knowledge.  This philosophy became known as Rationalism, which overlaps with current cognitive/gestalt learning theories of learning. Aristotle argued that experience is the source of knowledge; this philosophy became known as Empiricism, which coincides with current behaviorist learning theories.

This section does the following:

• provides a summary of the rationalist foundations of cognitive learning theory and the empirical foundations of behavioral learning theory;
• reviews traditional learning perspectives through behaviorist, cognitivist, humanistic, and constructivist lenses, and;
• summarizes the framework under which interpreters classify traditional learning theory to lay a foundation under which this section will analyze fundamental learning theories that influence modern education practice.