The rationalistic mode of acquiring knowledge accepts the rules of

The rationalistic mode of acquiring knowledge accepts the rules of logic, reaching truth through reasoning.

Legality concerns conformity to law and is not a source of rational knowledge.

Manipulation is control of variables and has no bearing on the rationalist source of knowledge.

Authority is a separate, non-rational source where knowledge is accepted on someone's word.

Rationalism deduces knowledge from self evident premises by valid inference.

It contrasts with empiricism, which grounds knowledge in sensory experience.