Historically, many of the individualsciences, such asphysics andpsychology, formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in thehistory of philosophy includeWestern,Arabic–Persian,Indian, andChinese philosophy. Western philosophy originated inAncient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason andrevelation. Indian philosophy combines thespiritual problem of how to reachenlightenment with the exploration of the nature of reality and the ways of arriving at knowledge. Chinese philosophy focuses principally on practical issues about right social conduct, government, andself-cultivation.
Eric Alfred Havelock (/ˈhævlɒk/; 3 June 1903 – 4 April 1988) was a Britishclassicist who spent most of his life in Canada and the United States. He was a professor at theUniversity of Toronto and was active in the Canadian socialist movement during the 1930s. In the 1960s and 1970s, he served as chair of the classics departments at bothHarvard andYale. Although he was trained in the turn-of-the-20th-centuryOxbridge tradition of classical studies, which sawGreek intellectual history as an unbroken chain of related ideas, Havelock broke radically with his own teachers and proposed an entirely new model for understanding the classical world, based on a sharp division between literature of the 6th and 5th centuries BC on the one hand, and that of the 4th on the other.
Much of Havelock's work was devoted to addressing a single thesis: that all ofWestern thought is informed by a profound shift in the kinds of ideas available to the human mind at the point thatGreek philosophy converted from anoral to aliterate form. The idea has been controversial in classical studies, and has been rejected outright both by many of Havelock's contemporaries and modern classicists. Havelock and his ideas have nonetheless had far-reaching influence, both in classical studies and other academic areas. He andWalter J. Ong (who was himself strongly influenced by Havelock) essentially founded the field that studies transitions fromorality to literacy, and Havelock has been one of the most frequently cited theorists in that field; as an account of communication, his work profoundly affected the media theories ofHarold Innis andMarshall McLuhan. Havelock's influence has spread beyond the study of the classical world to that of analogous transitions in other times and places. (Full article...)
Born inGreat Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relatively tolerant andintegrated community. After completing graduate work atHarvard University, where he was the firstAfrican American to earn a doctorate, Du Bois rose to national prominence as a leader of theNiagara Movement, a group of black civil rights activists seeking equal rights. Du Bois and his supporters opposed theAtlanta Compromise. Instead, Du Bois insisted on full civil rights and increased political representation, which he believed would be brought about by the African-American intellectual elite. He referred to this group as thetalented tenth, a concept under the umbrella ofracial uplift, and believed that African Americans needed the chance for advanced education to develop their leadership. (Full article...)
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Ion Heliade Rădulescu orIon Heliade (also known asEliade orEliade Rădulescu;Romanian pronunciation:[ˈi.on(h)eliˈaderəduˈlesku]; 6 January 1802 – 27 April 1872) was aWallachian, laterRomanian academic,Romantic andClassicist poet, essayist, memoirist, short story writer, newspaper editor and politician. A prolific translator of foreign literature intoRomanian, he was also the author of books onlinguistics and history. For much of his life, Heliade Rădulescu was a teacher atSaint Sava College inBucharest, which he helped reopen. He was a founding member and first president of theRomanian Academy.
Heliade Rădulescu is considered one of the foremost champions ofRomanian culture from the first half of the 19th century, having first risen to prominence through his association withGheorghe Lazăr and his support of Lazăr's drive for discontinuing education inGreek. Over the following decades, he had a major role in shaping the modern Romanian language, but caused controversy when he advocated the massive introduction ofItalianneologisms into theRomanian lexis. ARomantic nationalist landowner siding with moderateliberals, Heliade was among the leaders of the1848 Wallachian revolution, after which he was forced to spend several years in exile. Adopting an original form of conservatism, which emphasized the role of the aristocraticboyars inRomanian history, he was rewarded for supporting theOttoman Empire and clashed with theradical wing of the 1848 revolutionaries. (Full article...)
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Title page from the first edition ofLocke'sSome Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)
Some Thoughts Concerning Education is a 1693treatise on the education of gentlemen written by the English philosopherJohn Locke. For over a century, it was the most important philosophical work oneducation in England. It was translated into almost all of the major written European languages during the eighteenth century, and nearly every European writer on education after Locke, includingJean-Jacques Rousseau, acknowledged its influence.
In hisEssay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), Locke outlined a newtheory of mind, contending that the mind is originally atabula rasa or "blank slate"; that is, it did not contain anyinnate ideas at birth.Some Thoughts Concerning Education explains how to educate that mind using three distinct methods: the development of a healthy body; the formation of a virtuous character; and the choice of an appropriate academic curriculum. (Full article...)
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Mary Wollstonecraft byJohn Opie (c. 1791) The lifetime ofBritish writer,philosopher, andfeministMary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) encompassed most of the second half of the eighteenth century, a time of great political and social upheaval throughout Europe and America: politicalreform movements in Britain gained strength, theAmerican colonists successfully rebelled, and theFrench Revolution erupted. Wollstonecraft experienced only the headiest of these days, not living to see the end of the democratic revolution whenNapoleon crowned himself emperor. Although Britain was still revelling in its mid-century imperial conquests and its triumph in theSeven Years' War, it was the French revolution that defined Wollstonecraft's generation. As poetRobert Southey later wrote: "few persons but those who have lived in it can conceive or comprehend what the memory of the French Revolution was, nor what a visionary world seemed to open upon those who were just entering it. Old things seemed passing away, and nothing was dreamt of but the regeneration of the human race."
Part of what made reform possible in Britain in the second half of the eighteenth century was the dramatic increase in publishing; books, periodicals, and pamphlets became much more widely available than they had been just a few decades earlier. This increase in available printed material helped facilitate the rise of the British middle class. Reacting against what they viewed as aristocratic decadence, the new professional middle classes (made prosperous through British manufacturing and trade), offered their own ethical code: reason, meritocracy, self-reliance, religious toleration, free inquiry, free enterprise, and hard work. They set these values against what they perceived as the superstition and unreason of the poor and the prejudices, censorship, and self-indulgence of the rich. They also helped establish what has come to be called the "cult of domesticity", which solidified gender roles for men and women. This new vision of society rested on the writings ofScottish Enlightenment philosophers such asAdam Smith, who had developed a theory of social progress founded on sympathy andsensibility. A partial critique of the rationalist Enlightenment, these theories promoted a combination of reason and feeling that enabled women to enter the public sphere because of their keen moral sense. Wollstonecraft's writings stand at the nexus of all of these changes. Her educational works, such as herchildren's bookOriginal Stories from Real Life (1788), helped inculcate middle-class values, and her twoVindications,A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) andA Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), argue for the value of an educated, rational populace, specifically one that includes women. In her two novels,Mary: A Fiction andMaria: or, The Wrongs of Woman, she explores the ramifications of sensibility for women. (Full article...)
Zhang Heng began his career as a minor civil servant inNanyang. Eventually, he became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stance on historical and calendrical issues led to his becoming a controversial figure, preventing him from rising to the status of Grand Historian. His political rivalry with the palaceeunuchs during the reign ofEmperor Shun (r. 125–144) led to his decision to retire from the central court to serve as an administrator ofHejian Kingdom in present-dayHebei. Zhang returned home to Nanyang for a short time, before being recalled to serve in the capital once more in 138. He died there a year later, in 139. (Full article...)
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Intelligent design (ID) is apseudoscientific argument for theexistence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-basedscientific theory about life's origins". Proponents claim that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such asnatural selection." The leading proponents of ID are associated with theDiscovery Institute, a Christian, politically conservativethink tank based in the United States. ID is a form ofcreationism that lacks empirical support and offers no testable or tenable hypotheses, and is therefore not science.
Although the phraseintelligent design had featured previously intheological discussions of theargument from design, its first publication in its present use as an alternative term for creationism was inOf Pandas and People, a 1989 creationist textbook intended for high school biology classes. In 1987, theEdwards v. AguillardUnited States Supreme Court decision ruled that "creation science" is not science, and therefore a violation of theEstablishment Clause if taught in public school biology classes. After the decision, all mentions of the term "creation science" in the textbook were directly replaced by "intelligent design", and mentions of the term "creation scientists" were replaced by "design proponents". From the mid-1990s onward, theintelligent design movement (IDM), supported by the Discovery Institute, advocated for the inclusion of intelligent design in public school biology curricula. This led to the 2005Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, which ruled that intelligent design was not science, that it "cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents", and that the public school district's promotion of it therefore violated the Establishment Clause of theFirst Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Full article...)
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Political Animals and Animal Politics is a 2014edited collection published byPalgrave Macmillan and edited by thegreenpolitical theoristsMarcel Wissenburg andDavid Schlosberg. The work addresses the emergence of academicanimal ethics informed bypolitical philosophy as opposed tomoral philosophy. It was the first edited collection to be published on the topic, and the first book-length attempt to explore the breadth and boundaries of the literature. As well as a substantial introduction by the editors, it features ten sole-authored chapters split over three parts, respectively concerninginstitutional change for animals, the relationship between animal ethics andecologism, and real-world laws made for the benefit of animals. The book's contributors were Wissenburg, Schlosberg, Manuel Arias-Maldonado, Chad Flanders, Christie Smith, Clemens Driessen, Simon Otjes, Kurtis Boyer, Per-Anders Svärd, and Mihnea Tanasescu. The focus of their individual chapters varies, but recurring features include discussions ofhuman exceptionalism, exploration of ways that animal issues are or could be present in political discourse, and reflections on the relationship between theory and practice in politics.
Augustine of Hippo (AD 354–430) as painted bySandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510). Augustine is credited with developing the first form of thetheodicy now named for him. TheAugustinian theodicy, named for the 4th- and 5th-century theologian and philosopherAugustine of Hippo, is a type ofChristiantheodicy that developed in response to theevidential problem of evil. As such, it attempts to explain the probability of anomnipotent (all-powerful) andomnibenevolent (all-loving)God amid evidence of evil in the world. A number of variations of this kind of theodicy have been proposed throughout history; their similarities were first described by the 20th-century philosopherJohn Hick, who classified them as "Augustinian". They typically assert that God is perfectly (ideally)good, that he created the worldout of nothing, and that evil is the result of humanity'soriginal sin. The entry of evil into the world is generally explained as consequence of original sin and its continued presence due to humans' misuse offree will andconcupiscence. God's goodness and benevolence, according to the Augustinian theodicy, remain perfect and without responsibility for evil or suffering.
Augustine of Hippo was the first to develop the theodicy. He rejected the idea that evil exists in itself, instead regarding it as a corruption of goodness, caused by humanity's abuse of free will. Augustine believed in the existence of a physicalHell as a punishment for sin, but argued that those who choose to accept thesalvation ofJesus Christ will go toHeaven. In the 13th century,Thomas Aquinas – influenced by Augustine – proposed a similar theodicy based on the view that God is goodness and that there can be no evil in him. He believed that the existence of goodness allows evil to exist, through the fault of humans. Augustine also influencedJohn Calvin, who supported Augustine's view that evil is the result of free will and argued that sin corrupts humans, requiring God'sgrace to give moral guidance. (Full article...)
Wollstonecraft'sphilosophical andgothic novel revolves around the story ofa woman imprisoned in an insane asylum by her husband. It focuses on the societal rather than the individual "wrongs of woman" and criticizes what Wollstonecraft viewed as thepatriarchal institution of marriage in eighteenth-century Britain and the legal system that protected it. However, the heroine's inability to relinquish her romantic fantasies also reveals women's collusion in their oppression through false and damagingsentimentalism. The novel pioneered the celebration offemale sexuality and cross-class identification between women. Such themes, coupled with the publication of Godwin's scandalousMemoirs of Wollstonecraft's life, made the novel unpopular at the time it was published. (Full article...)
A member of marginalized religious groups throughout his life and a proponent of what was called "rational Dissent," Priestley advocatedreligious toleration and equal rights forDissenters. He argued for extensive civil rights in works such as the importantEssay on the First Principles of Government, believing that individuals could bring about progress and eventually theMillennium; he was the foremost British expounder ofprovidentialism. Priestley also made significant contributions to education, publishing, among other things,The Rudiments of English Grammar, a seminal work onEnglish grammar. In his most lasting contributions to education, he argued for the benefits of aliberal arts education and of the value of the study ofmodern history. In his metaphysical works, Priestley "attempt[ed] to combine theism, materialism, and determinism," a project that has been called "audacious and original." (Full article...)
In this essay, Wollstonecraft refutes those educational and political theorists of the eighteenth century who did not believe women should receive a full education. She argues that women ought to have an education commensurate with their position in society, claiming that women are essential to the nation because they educate its children and because they could be "companions" to their husbands, rather than mere wives. Instead of viewing women as ornaments to society or property to be traded in marriage, Wollstonecraft maintains that they are human beings deserving of the same fundamental rights as men. Wollstonecraft specifically calls for equality between the sexes in particular areas of life, especially moral responsibility and educational access. Uncertainty regarding whether she believed women should have full voting rights or other political rights make it difficult to classify Wollstonecraft definitively as a modern feminist; furthermore, the wordfeminist did not emerge until decades after her death. (Full article...)
He was a mathematician of the first order. Pascal helped create two major new areas of research. He wrote a significant treatise on the subject ofprojective geometry at the age of sixteen and corresponded withPierre de Fermat from 1654 and later onprobability theory, strongly influencing the development of moderneconomics andsocial science.
Following amystical experience in late 1654, he abandoned his scientific work and devoted himself to philosophy andtheology. His two most famous works date from this period: theLettres provinciales and thePensées. However, he had suffered from ill-health throughout his life and his new interests were ended by his early death two months after his 39th birthday.
Mary Wollstonecraft (/ˈwʊlstənkrɑːft,-kræft/; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was an eighteenth-centuryBritish writer,philosopher, andfeminist. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, atravel narrative, a history of theFrench Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book. Wollstonecraft is best known forA Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason.
Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationships, received more attention than her writing. After two ill-fated affairs, withHenry Fuseli andGilbert Imlay (by whom she had a daughter,Fanny Imlay), Wollstonecraft married the philosopherWilliam Godwin, one of the forefathers of theanarchist movement. Wollstonecraft died at the age of thirty-eight, ten days after giving birth to her second daughter, leaving behind several unfinished manuscripts. Her daughter Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, laterMary Shelley, would become an accomplished writer in her own right.
Peckham studied at theUniversity of Paris underBonaventure, where he later taught theology and became known as a conservative opponent ofThomas Aquinas, especially regarding the nature of the soul. Peckham also studied optics and astronomy - his studies in those subjects were particularly influenced byRoger Bacon andAlhazen. Around 1270, Peckham returned to England, where he taught at theUniversity of Oxford, and was elected the Franciscans' provincial minister of England in 1275. After a brief stint in Rome, he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1279. His time as archbishop was marked by efforts to improve discipline in the clergy as well as reorganize the estates of his see. He served KingEdward I of England in Wales. (Full article...)
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Jainism (/ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm,ˈdʒaɪnɪzəm/JAY-niz-əm,JYE-niz-əm), also known asJain Dharma, is anIndian religion which teaches a path toward spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined non-violence (ahimsa) to all living creatures. The tradition is spiritually guided by twenty-fourtirthankaras (ford-makers), supreme teachers who have conquered the cycle of rebirth and attained omniscience (kevala jnana). The core ofJain philosophy is established on three ethical pillars:ahiṃsā (nonviolence),anekāntavāda (non-absolutism or many-sided reality), andaparigraha (non-possession). While its ultimate spiritual goal ismoksha (liberation fromkarma), these ethical principles have historically fostered a community renowned for its high literacy, trusted role in commerce, and distinct intellectual culture.
Jain philosophy distinguishes itself through the doctrine ofanekāntavāda, which asserts that truth and reality are complex and always have multiple aspects; thus, no single viewpoint can claim absolute truth. This framework encourages intellectual humility and conflict resolution, contrasting with the "one-sided" (ekānta) views rejected by the tradition. Ethically, the vow ofaparigraha (non-attachment) requiresmonks to renounce all property, while encouraging laypersons to limit their possessions and voluntarily limit their desires (iccha-parimana). Historically, the application of non-violence drove theJain community away from agriculture and warfare toward trade and banking, where they became a dominant mercantile force in ancient and medieval India, supporting a vast network oftemples, libraries, and charitable institutions. (Full article...)
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Inpragmatics, a subdiscipline oflinguistics, animplicature is something the speaker suggests or implies with anutterance, even though it is not literally expressed. Implicatures can aid in communicating more efficiently than by explicitly saying everything we want to communicate. The philosopherH. P. Grice coined the term in 1975. Grice distinguishedconversational implicatures, which arise because speakers are expected to respect general rules of conversation, andconventional ones, which are tied to certain words such asbut ortherefore. Take for example the following exchange:
: A (to passerby): I am out of gas. : B: There is a gas station 'round the corner. (Full article...)
The volume contains a number of arguments. However, four themes have a central role in the overall work. The first theme given treatment in the analysis is that thelust for power is a part of human nature. Second, the work emphasises that there are different forms of social power, and that these forms are substantially interrelated. Third,Power insists that "organisations are usually connected with certain kinds ofindividuals". Finally, the work ends by arguing that "arbitrary rulership can and should be subdued". (Full article...)
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The history of Christian thought has included concepts of both inclusivity and exclusivity from its beginnings. These have been understood and applied differently in different ages, and have led to practices of both persecution and toleration.Early Christian thought established Christian identity, definedheresy and orthodoxy, and separated itself frompolytheism andJudaism. Nearly all scholars prior to the late twentieth-century claimed Christian thought was intolerant as evidenced by persecution of pagans and violence in the centuries after Christianity became favored by Christian emperors in the Roman Empire. However, the majority of modern scholars say the change to Christian leadership did not cause a persecution of pagans, and violence in society did not increase.
After thefall of the Roman Empire, Christian thought focused more on preservation than origination. This era of thought is exemplified byGregory the Great,Saint Benedict,Visigothic Spain,illustrated manuscripts, and progress inmedical care throughmonks. Although the roots of supersessionism, the theory that Christians replaced Jews as God's chosen, anddeicide can be traced to some second century Christian thought,Jews of theMiddle Ages lived mostly peacefully alongside their Christian neighbors because ofAugustine of Hippo's teaching that they should be left alone. In theEarly Middle Ages, Christian thought on the military and involvement in war shifted to accommodate the crusades by inventingchivalry and newmonastic orders dedicated to it. There was no single thread of Christian thought throughout most of the Middle Ages as the Church was largely democratic and each order had its own doctrine. (Full article...)
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According to different scholars, thehistory of anarchism either goes back to ancient and prehistoricideologies andsocial structures, or begins in the 19th century as a formal movement. As scholars and anarchist philosophers have held a range of views onwhat anarchism means, it is difficult to outline its history unambiguously. Some feel anarchism is a distinct, well-defined movement stemming from 19th-centuryclass conflict, while others identify anarchist traits long before the earliest civilisations existed.
Prehistoric society existed without formalhierarchies, which some anthropologists have described as similar toanarchism. The first traces of formal anarchist thought can be found inancient Greece andChina, where numerous philosophers questioned the necessity of thestate and declared the moral right of the individual to live free from coercion. During theMiddle Ages, somereligious sects espoused libertarian thought, and theAge of Enlightenment, and the attendant rise ofrationalism andscience, signalled the birth of the modern anarchist movement. (Full article...)
Raghubir and Srivastava conducted three studies in their research on the denomination effect; their findings suggested people may be more likely to spend money represented by smaller denominations and that consumers may prefer to receive money in a large denomination when there is a need to control spending. The denomination effect can occur when large denominations are perceived as less exchangeable than smaller denominations. (Full article...)
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A marble head of Socrates in theLouvre (copy of a lost bronze head byLysippus)
Socrates (/ˈsɒkrətiːz/;Ancient Greek:Σωκράτης,romanized: Sōkrátēs;c. 470 – 399 BC) was anancient Greek philosopher fromClassical Athens, perhaps the first Westernmoral philosopher, and a major inspiration on his studentPlato, who largely founded the tradition ofWestern philosophy. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts ofclassical writers, particularly his students Plato andXenophon. These accounts are written asdialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to theSocratic dialogue literary genre. Contradictory accounts of Socrates make a reconstruction of his philosophy nearly impossible, a situation known as theSocratic problem. Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused ofimpiety and corrupting the youth. Aftera trial that lasted a day, he wassentenced to death. As related by Plato, he was put to death by administration of poison after refusing offers from allies to help him escape.
Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity. They demonstrate the Socratic approach to areas of philosophy includingepistemology andethics. The Platonic Socrates lends his name to the concept of theSocratic method, and also toSocratic irony. The Socratic method of questioning, orelenchus, takes shape in dialogue using short questions and answers, epitomized by those Platonic texts in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine various aspects of an issue or an abstract meaning, usually relating to one of the virtues, and find themselves at animpasse, unable to define what they thought they understood. Socrates frequentlyproclaims his ignorance, saying that he is only sure that he does not know. (Full article...)
The first ontological argument inWestern Christian tradition was proposed bySaint Anselm of Canterbury in his 1078 work,Proslogion (Latin:Proslogium,lit.'Discourse [on the Existence of God]'), in which he defines God as "a being than which no greater can be conceived," and argues that such a being must exist in the mind, even in that of the person who denies the existence of God. From this, he suggests that if the greatest possible being exists in the mind, it must also exist in reality, because if it existed only in the mind, then an even greater being must be possible – one who exists both in mind and in reality. Therefore, this greatest possible being must exist in reality. Similarly, in the East,Avicenna'sProof of the Truthful argued, albeit for very different reasons, that there must be a "necessary existent". (Full article...)
Epicurus advocated that people were best able to pursue philosophy by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends; he and his followers were known for eating simple meals and discussing a wide range of philosophical subjects at "The Garden", the school he established inAthens. Epicurus taught that although the gods exist, they have no involvement in human affairs. Like the earlier philosopherDemocritus, Epicurus claimed that all occurrences in the natural world are ultimately the result of tiny, invisible particles known asatoms moving and interacting in empty space, though Epicurus also deviated from Democritus by proposing the idea ofatomic "swerve", which holds that atoms may deviate from their expected course, thus permitting humans to possessfree will in an otherwisedeterministic universe. (Full article...)
Born into a family of scholars, Satyanatha Tirtha studied thesix orthodox schools ofHinduism and subsequently, the philosophy of Dvaita underSatyanidhi Tirtha of Uttaradi Math, eventually succeeding him as the pontiff. B.N.K.Sharma wrote, "Satyanatha Tirtha made a bold pronouncement that women andShudras are eligible forAparokshajnana exclusively through shravana ofTantra". Sharma also wrote, "Satyanatha holds the memory of Vyasatirtha in warm admiration and refers him reverentially asVyāsatīrthasrimaccaranah". He composed 12 works, consisting of commentaries on the works of Madhva, Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha, and several independent treatises criticizing the tenets of contemporary schools, especiallyAdvaita, while simultaneously elaborating upon the Dvaita thought. His dialectical skill and logical acumen is often compared with that of Vyasatirtha. (Full article...)
Su Song was the engineer for ahydro-mechanicalastronomicalclock tower located inKaifeng. It employed an earlyescapement mechanism. The escapement mechanism of Su's clock tower was invented by the Tang dynastyBuddhistmonkYi Xing and government official Liang Lingzan in 725 AD to operate a water-poweredarmillary sphere, however Su's armillary sphere was the first to utilize a mechanical clock drive. Su's clock tower also featured the oldest known endless power-transmittingchain drive, called thetian ti (天梯), or "celestial ladder", as depicted in his horological treatise. The clock tower had 133 differentclock jacks to indicate andsound the hours. The clock was dismantled by theinvadingJurchen army in 1127 AD, and although attempts were made to reassemble it, the tower was never successfully reinstated. (Full article...)
Rambhadracharya is the founder and head ofTulsi Peeth, a religious and social service institution in Chitrakoot named afterTulsidas. He is the founder and lifelong chancellor of theJagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University in Chitrakoot, which offers graduate and postgraduate courses exclusively to four types of disabled students. Rambhadracharya has been blind since the age of two months, had no formal education until the age of seventeen years, and has never usedBraille or any other aid to learn or compose. (Full article...)
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Song Dynasty officials listening toguqin. TheSong dynasty (960–1279 AD) was a culturally rich and sophisticated age forChina. It saw great advancements in the visual arts, music, literature, and philosophy. Officials of the ruling bureaucracy, who underwent a strict and extensive examination process, reached new heights of education in Chinese society, while general Chinese culture was enhanced by widespread printing, growing literacy, and various arts.
Appreciation of art among thegentry class flourished during the Song dynasty, especially in regard to paintings, which was an art practiced by many. Trends in painting styles amongst the gentry notably shifted from the Northern (960–1127) to Southern Song (1127–1279) periods, influenced in part by the gradual embrace of theNeo-Confucian political ideology at court. (Full article...)
Image 6The BuddhistNalanda university and monastery was a major center of learning in India from the 5th century CE to c. 1200. (fromEastern philosophy)
(upper)PIRRHO • HELIENSIS • PLISTARCHI • FILIVS translation (from Latin): Pyrrho • Greek • Son of Plistarchus
(middle)OPORTERE • SAPIENTEM HANC ILLIVS IMITARI SECVRITATEMtranslation (from Latin): It is right wisdom then that all imitate this security (Pyrrho pointing at a peaceful pig munching his food)
(lower)Whoever wants to apply the real wisdom, shall not mindtrepidation and misery
Image 8Oscar Wilde reclining withPoems, byNapoleon Sarony, in New York in 1882. Wilde often liked to appear idle, though in fact he worked hard; by the late 1880s he was a father, an editor, and a writer.
Image 12Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian and playwright.
Image 13The center third ofEducation (1890), a stained glass window byLouis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios, located in Linsly-Chittenden Hall atYale University. It depictsScience (personified by Devotion, Labor, Truth, Research and Intuition) andReligion (personified by Purity, Faith, Hope, Reverence and Inspiration) in harmony, presided over by the central personification of "Light·Love·Life".
Image 14Leo Tolstoy in 1897. Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time.
Philosophy ponders the most fundamental questions humankind has been able to ask. These are increasingly numerous and over time they have been arranged into the overlappingbranches of the philosophy tree:
Aesthetics: What is art? What is beauty? Is there a standard of taste? Is art meaningful? If so, what does it mean? What is good art? Is art for the purpose of an end, or is "art for art's sake?" What connects us to art? How does art affect us? Is some art unethical? Can art corrupt or elevate societies?
Epistemology: What are the nature and limits of knowledge? What is more fundamental to human existence, knowing (epistemology) or being (ontology)? How do we come to know what we know? What are the limits and scope of knowledge? How can we know that there are other minds (if we can)? How can we know that there is an external world (if we can)? How can we prove our answers? What is a true statement?
Ethics: Is there a difference between ethically right and wrong actions (or values, or institutions)? If so, what is that difference? Which actions are right, and which wrong? Do divine commands make right acts right, or is their rightness based on something else? Are there standards of rightness that are absolute, or are all such standards relative to particular cultures? How should I live? What is happiness?
Logic: What makes a good argument? How can I think critically about complicated arguments? What makes for good thinking? When can I say that something just does not make sense? Where is the origin of logic?
Metaphysics: What sorts of things exist? What is the nature of those things? Do some things exist independently of our perception? What is the nature of space and time? What is the relationship of the mind to the body? What is it to be a person? What is it to be conscious? Do gods exist?
Political philosophy: Are political institutions and their exercise of power justified? What is justice? Is there a 'proper' role and scope of government? Is democracy the best form of governance? Is governance ethically justifiable? Should a state be allowed? Should a state be able to promote the norms and values of a certain moral or religious doctrine? Are states allowed to go to war? Do states have duties against inhabitants of other states?
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![Image 11Adam Smith (baptised 16 June 1723 – died 17 July 1790 [OS: 5 June 1723 – 17 July 1790]) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economics. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is widely cited as the father of modern economics.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKirkcaldy_High_Street_Adam_Smith_Plaque.png)
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