Summaries
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Cardinal Richelieu summary
Cardinal Richelieu, in full Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal...
Grigori Rasputin summary
Grigori Rasputin, orig.
cultural globalization summary
cultural globalization, Concept describing the manner in which...
François Rabelais summary
François Rabelais, (born c. 1483–94, Seuilly, France—died probably...
Martin Heidegger summary
Martin Heidegger, (born Sept. 26, 1889, Messkirch, Schwarzwald,...
Judaism summary
Judaism, A monotheistic world religion that began as the faith...
Islam summary
Islam, Major world religion founded by Muhammad in Arabia in...
Demeter summary
Demeter, In Greek religion, a consort of Zeus and the goddess...
John Locke Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of English philosopher...
John Locke’s Important Works
Descriptive list of some of the most important works of English...
Isis summary
Isis, One of the major goddesses of ancient Egypt, the wife...
Giovanni Boccaccio summary
Giovanni Boccaccio, (born 1313, Tuscany—died Dec. 21, 1375,...
Benedict XVI summary
Benedict XVI, orig.
anti-Semitism summary
anti-Semitism, Hostility toward or discrimination against Jews...
Saul Kripke summary
Saul Kripke, (born Nov. 13, 1940, Bay Shore, Long Island, N.Y.,...
The Enlightenment Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the Enlightenment. This European...
The Enlightenment Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Enlightenment....
The Enlightenment Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Enlightenment....
Leonardo da Vinci summary
Leonardo da Vinci, (born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, Republic...
cross summary
cross, Principal symbol of Christianity, recalling the crucifixion...
Easter summary
Easter, Major festival of the Christian church year, celebrating...
Christian fundamentalism summary
Christian fundamentalism, Conservative Protestant movement that...
Judas Iscariot summary
Judas Iscariot, (died c. 30ce), Disciple who betrayed Jesus.
Desmond Tutu summary
Desmond Tutu, (born Oct. 7, 1931, Klerksdorp, S.Af.—died Dec....
Christmas summary
Christmas, Christian festival celebrated on December 25, commemorating...
Mary summary
Mary, or St.
sacrament summary
sacrament, Religious action or symbol in which spiritual power...
Malcolm X summary
Malcolm X, orig.
Martin Luther summary
Martin Luther, (born Nov. 10, 1483, Eisleben, Saxony—died Feb....
Pierre Gassendi summary
Pierre Gassendi, Gassendi also spelled Gassend , (born Jan....
religious symbolism and iconography summary
religious symbolism and iconography, Symbolic expression of...
Mahatma Gandhi summary
Mahatma Gandhi, byname of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , (born...
ancient Greek civilization summary
ancient Greek civilization, The period between the end of the...
Bernard Williams summary
Bernard Williams, in full Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams ,...
Scottish Enlightenment summary
Scottish Enlightenment, Combination of minds, ideas, and publications...
Henry Norris Russell summary
Henry Norris Russell, (born Oct. 25, 1877, Oyster Bay, N.Y.,...
Socrates summary
Socrates, (born c. 470 bce, Athens—died 399 bce, Athens), ancient...
Aristotle summary
Aristotle, (born 384 bce, Stagira—died 322 bce, Chalcis), ancient...
Homer summary
Homer, (flourished 9th or 8th century bce, Ionia?), ancient...
Moses summary
Moses, (flourished 14th–13th century bce), Prophet of Judaism.
salvation summary
salvation, In religion, deliverance from fundamentally negative...
Calvinism summary
Calvinism, In Protestantism, the theology developed and advanced...
Lutheranism summary
Lutheranism, Protestant movement founded on the principles of...
Second Vatican Council summary
Second Vatican Council, (1962–65)21st ecumenical council of...
John Wesley summary
John Wesley, (1703–1791)Anglican clergyman, evangelist, and...
Sodom and Gomorrah summary
Sodom and Gomorrah, Legendary cities of ancient Palestine.
Council of Trent summary
Council of Trent, (1545–63) 19th ecumenical council of the Roman...
Hanukkah summary
Hanukkah, In Judaism, a holiday celebrating the rededication...
Counter-Reformation summary
Counter-Reformation, or Catholic Reformation , In Roman Catholicism,...
ethnography summary
ethnography, Descriptive study of a particular human society...
Eucharist summary
Eucharist, or Holy Communion or Lord’s Supper , Christian rite...
Hagia Sophia summary
Hagia Sophia, (Greek: “Holy Wisdom”) Byzantine structure in...
a priori summary
a priori, In epistemology, knowledge that is independent of...
Aaron summary
Aaron, (flourished 14th century bc), Brother of Moses and traditional...
Muḥammad ʿAbduh summary
Muḥammad ʿAbduh, Egyptian religious scholar, jurist, and liberal...
Peter Abelard summary
Peter Abelard, (born 1079, Le Pallet, near Nantes, Brittany—died...
Abraham summary
Abraham, (flourished early 2nd millennium bc), First of the...
Abū Ḥanīfah (al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit) summary
Abū Ḥanīfah (al-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit), (born 699, Kūfah, Iraq—died...
John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton, 1st Baron Acton summary
John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton, 1st Baron Acton, (born Jan.10,...
John Adams summary
John Adams, (born Feb. 15, 1947, Worcester, Mass., U.S.), U.S.
Mortimer J. Adler summary
Mortimer J.
Advaita summary
Advaita, (Sanskrit: “Nondualism”) Most influential school of...
Aeneas summary
Aeneas, Mythical hero of Troy and Rome.
James Agee summary
James Agee, (born Nov. 27, 1909, Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.—died...
agnosticism summary
agnosticism, Doctrine that one cannot know the existence of...
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal summary
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, (born 780, Baghdad, Iraq—died 855, Baghdad),...
Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan summary
Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, (born Oct. 17, 1817, Delhi—died March...
Aḥmadiyyah summary
Aḥmadiyyah, Islamic sect, founded in India in 1889 by Mīrzā...
Akhenaton summary
Akhenaton, or Akhnaton orig.
Akiba ben Joseph summary
Akiba ben Joseph, (born ad 40—died c. 135, Caesarea, Palestine),...
Leon Battista Alberti summary
Leon Battista Alberti, (born Feb. 14, 1404, Genoa—died April...
Saint Albertus Magnus summary
Saint Albertus Magnus, (born c. 1200, Lauingen on the Danube,...
alchemy summary
alchemy, Pseudoscience focused on the attempt to change base...
Jean Le Rond d’ Alembert summary
Jean Le Rond d’ Alembert, (born , Nov. 17, 1717, Paris, France—died...
Alexander III summary
Alexander III, orig.
Alexander VI summary
Alexander VI, orig.
Saint Alexander Nevsky summary
Saint Alexander Nevsky, (born c. 1220, Vladimir, Grand Principality...
ʿAlī (ibn Abī Ṭālib) summary
ʿAlī (ibn Abī Ṭālib), (born c. 600, Mecca—died January 661,...
Muhammad Ali summary
Muhammad Ali, orig.
Allah summary
Allah, (Arabic: “God”) Standard Arabic word for God, used by...
Salvador Allende summary
Salvador Allende, (born June 26, 1908, Valparaiso, Chile—died...
altar summary
altar, Raised structure or place used for sacrifice, worship,...
Amazon summary
Amazon, In Greek mythology, a member of a race of women warriors.
Saint Ambrose summary
Saint Ambrose, (born 339, Augusta Treverorum, Belgica, Gaul—died...
Amish summary
Amish, Member of a conservative Christian group in North America...
Amon summary
Amon, or Amen , Egyptian deity revered as king of the gods.
Anaxagoras summary
Anaxagoras, (born c. 500, Clazomenae, Anatolia—died c. 428 bc,...
Anaximander summary
Anaximander, (born 610 bc, Miletus—died 546/545 bc), Greek philosopher,...
Andrea del Sarto summary
Andrea del Sarto, orig.
angel summary
angel, Primarily in Western religions, any of numerous benevolent...
Fra Angelico summary
Fra Angelico, orig.
Angkor Wat summary
Angkor Wat, Temple complex in Angkor (now in northwestern Cambodia),...
animism summary
animism, Belief in the existence of spirits separable from bodies.
Saint Anselm of Canterbury summary
Saint Anselm of Canterbury, (born 1033/34, Aosta, Lombardy—died...
Saint Anthony of Egypt summary
Saint Anthony of Egypt, (born 251, Koma, near al-Minyā, Heptanomis,...
Antichrist summary
Antichrist, Chief enemy of Christ who would reign at the end...
Apollo summary
Apollo, Most widely revered of the Greek gods.
apotropaic eye summary
apotropaic eye, Painting of a large eye or eyes used to ward...
Ara Pacis (Augustae) summary
Ara Pacis (Augustae), (Latin: “Augustan Altar of Peace”) State...
ancient Arabian religions summary
ancient Arabian religions, Polytheistic religions of Arabia...
Arachne summary
Arachne, In Greek mythology, the daughter of the dyer Idmon...
archaeology summary
archaeology, Scientific study of material remains of past human...
archbishop summary
archbishop, In Christianity, a bishop who has jurisdiction,...
Archon summary
Archon, In Gnosticism, any of various world-governing powers...
Ares summary
Ares, Greek god of war.
Argonauts summary
Argonauts, In Greek legend, a band of 50 heroes who went with...
Ariadne summary
Ariadne, In Greek mythology, the daughter of Pasiphaë and King...
Arianism summary
Arianism, Christian heresy that declared that Christ is not...
Jean-Bertrand Aristide summary
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, (born July 15, 1953, Port Salut, Haiti),...
Arya Samaj summary
Arya Samaj, Reform sect of Hinduism, founded in 1875 by Dayananda...
Ascanius summary
Ascanius, In Roman legend, the son of Aeneas and founder of...
Ascension summary
Ascension, In Christian belief, the ascent of Jesus into heaven...
asceticism summary
asceticism, Practice of the denial of physical or psychological...
Astarte summary
Astarte, or Ashtart , Goddess of the ancient Middle East and...
astrology summary
astrology, Divination that consists of interpreting the influence...
Saint Athanasius summary
Saint Athanasius, (born 293, Alexandria, Egypt—died May 2, 373,...
atheism summary
atheism, Critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God...
Athena summary
Athena, or Athene , In ancient Greek religion, the goddess of...
atomism summary
atomism, Philosophical doctrine that material objects are aggregates...
Atreus summary
Atreus, In Greek legend, the son of Pelops.
Attis summary
Attis, Mythical consort of the Great Mother of the Gods and...
Saint Augustine of Canterbury summary
Saint Augustine of Canterbury, (born , Rome?—died May 26, 604/605,...
Austrian school of economics summary
Austrian school of economics, Body of economic theory developed...
avatar summary
avatar, In Hinduism, the incarnation of a deity in human or...
Avicenna summary
Avicenna, Arabic Ibn Sīnā in full Abū ʾAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd...
axiomatic method summary
axiomatic method, In logic, the procedure by which an entire...
Sir A. J. Ayer summary
Sir A.
Azalī summary
Azalī, Any member of the Bābī movement who remained faithful...
baʿal shem summary
baʿal shem, In Judaism, a title bestowed on men who worked wonders...
Baʿal Shem Ṭov summary
Baʿal Shem Ṭov, orig.
Milton Babbitt summary
Milton Babbitt, (born May 10, 1916, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died...
Bābism summary
Bābism, Religion that developed in Iran around Mīrzā ʿAlī Muḥammad’s...
Bacchanalia summary
Bacchanalia, or Dionysia , In Greco-Roman religion, any of the...
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach summary
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, (born Nov. 22, 1710, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar—died...
Bahaʾi summary
Bahaʾi, Religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by...
ancient Egyptian religion summary
ancient Egyptian religion, Polytheistic belief system of ancient...
Adventist summary
Adventist, Member of any of a group of Protestant churches that...
Tell el-Amarna summary
Tell el-Amarna, Ancient city, Egypt.
African religions summary
African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent.
aesthetics summary
aesthetics , Philosophical study of the qualities that make...
analytic philosophy summary
analytic philosophy, Philosophical tradition that emphasizes...
anthropology summary
anthropology, The “science of humanity.” Anthropologists study...
Saint Thomas Aquinas summary
Saint Thomas Aquinas, (born 1224/25, Roccasecca, near Aquino,...
Saint Augustine summary
Saint Augustine, (born Nov. 13, 354, Tagaste, Numidia—died Aug....
Johann Sebastian Bach summary
Johann Sebastian Bach, (born March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Thuringia,...
Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Albans summary
Francis Bacon, Viscount St.
Ludwig van Beethoven summary
Ludwig van Beethoven, (baptized Dec. 17, 1770, Bonn, archbishopric...
Buddha summary
Buddha , orig.
Buddhism summary
Buddhism, Major world religion and philosophy founded in northeastern...
calendar summary
calendar, System for dividing time over extended periods, such...
John Calvin summary
John Calvin, French Jean Cauvin , (born July 10, 1509, Noyon,...
Caravaggio summary
Caravaggio , orig.
Noam Chomsky summary
Noam Chomsky, (born Dec. 7, 1928, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.),...
Christianity summary
Christianity, Religion stemming from the teachings of Jesus...
Confucianism summary
Confucianism, Scholarly tradition and way of life propagated...
Confucius summary
Confucius, Chinese Kongfuzi or K’ung-fu-tzu , (born 551 bc,...
art criticism summary
art criticism, Description, interpretation, and evaluation of...
René Descartes summary
René Descartes, (born March 31, 1596, La Haye, Touraine, France—died...
Eastern Orthodoxy summary
Eastern Orthodoxy, officially Orthodox Catholic Church , One...
economics summary
economics, Social science that analyzes and describes the consequences...
epistemology summary
epistemology, Study of the origin, nature, and limits of human...
eschatology summary
eschatology , Theological doctrine of the “last things,” or...
ethics summary
ethics, Branch of philosophy that seeks to determine the correct...
Sigmund Freud summary
Sigmund Freud, (born May 6, 1856, Freiberg, Moravia, Austrian...
geography summary
geography, Science of the Earth’s surface, which describes and...
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe summary
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (born Aug. 28, 1749, Frankfurt am...
Saint Gregory VII summary
Saint Gregory VII, orig.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel summary
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, (born Aug. 27, 1770, Stuttgart,...
Hinduism summary
Hinduism, Oldest of the world’s major religions.
historiography summary
historiography , Writing of history, especially that based on...
Thomas Hobbes summary
Thomas Hobbes, (born April 5, 1588, Westport, Wiltshire, Eng.—died...
humanism summary
humanism, Any belief, method, or philosophy that has a central...
David Hume summary
David Hume, (born May 7, 1711, Edinburgh, Scot.—died Aug. 25,...
Indian philosophy summary
Indian philosophy, Any of the numerous philosophical systems...
Islamic arts summary
Islamic arts, The architecture, literature, and visual arts...
Jesus summary
Jesus, In Christianity, the son of God and the second person...
Saint Joan of Arc summary
Saint Joan of Arc, French Jeanne d’Arc , (born c. 1412 ce, Domrémy,...
Saint John Paul II summary
Saint John Paul II, orig.
Immanuel Kant summary
Immanuel Kant, (born April 22, 1724, Königsberg, Prussia—died...
linguistics summary
linguistics, Study of the nature and structure of language.
John Locke summary
John Locke, (born Aug. 29, 1632, Wrington, Somerset, Eng.—died...
Niccolò Machiavelli summary
Niccolò Machiavelli, (born May 3, 1469, Florence—died June 21,...
David (Alan) Mamet summary
David (Alan) Mamet, (born Nov. 30, 1947, Chicago, Ill., U.S.),...
Gabriel Marcel summary
Gabriel Marcel, (born Dec. 7, 1889, Paris, France—died Oct....
Karl Marx summary
Karl Marx, (born May 5, 1818, Trier, Rhine province, Prussia...
Mesopotamian religions summary
Mesopotamian religions, Religious beliefs and practices of...
metaphysics summary
metaphysics, Branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate...
Michelangelo (di Lodovico Buonarroti) summary
Michelangelo (di Lodovico Buonarroti), (born March 6, 1475,...
John Stuart Mill summary
John Stuart Mill, (born May 20, 1806, London, Eng.—died May...
John Milton summary
John Milton, (born Dec. 9, 1608, London, Eng.—died Nov. 8?,...
philosophy of mind summary
philosophy of mind, Branch of philosophy that studies the nature...
Molière summary
Molière , orig.
monasticism summary
monasticism, Institutionalized religious movement whose members...
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart summary
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, orig.
Muhammad summary
Muhammad, or Mohammed , (born c. 570, Mecca, Arabia—died June...
museum summary
museum, Public institution dedicated to preserving and interpreting...
myth summary
myth, Traditional story of ostensibly historical events that...
Sir Isaac Newton summary
Sir Isaac Newton, (born Jan. 4, 1643, Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire,...
patristic literature summary
patristic literature, Body of literature that comprises those...
Saint Paul summary
Saint Paul, orig.
Saint Peter the Apostle summary
Saint Peter the Apostle, orig.
philosophical anthropology summary
philosophical anthropology, Study of human nature conducted...
Plato summary
Plato , (born 428/427, Athens, Greece—died 348/347 bc, Athens),...
political philosophy summary
political philosophy, Branch of philosophy that analyzes the...
Rembrandt (Harmenszoon) van Rijn summary
Rembrandt (Harmenszoon) van Rijn , (born July 15, 1606, Leiden,...
Roman Catholicism summary
Roman Catholicism, Largest denomination of Christianity, with...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau summary
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (born June 28, 1712, Geneva, Switz.—died...
philosophy of science summary
philosophy of science, Branch of philosophy that attempts to...
Sikhism summary
Sikhism , Indian religion founded in the late 15th century by...
Adam Smith summary
Adam Smith, (baptized June 5, 1723, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scot.—died...
social science summary
social science, Any discipline or branch of science that deals...
Benedict de Spinoza summary
Benedict de Spinoza, Hebrew Baruch Spinoza , (born Nov. 24,...
Daoism summary
Daoism, or Taoism , Major Chinese religio-philosophical tradition.
Titian summary
Titian , orig.
Voltaire summary
Voltaire , orig.
philosophy of biology summary
philosophy of biology, Philosophical investigation of the concepts,...
philosophy of physics summary
philosophy of physics, Philosophical investigation of the concepts,...
Hilary Putnam summary
Hilary Putnam, (born July 31, 1926, Chicago, Ill., U.S.), U.S.
Continental philosophy summary
Continental philosophy, Collective term for the many distinct...
Understanding Newton’s Laws of Motion
Learn more about Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion, what they...
Martin Luther Timeline
A timeline of the life of Martin Luther who inaugurated the Protestant...
Martin Luther’s Achievements
Summary of the achievements of Martin Luther, the German priest...
Mahatma Gandhi Timeline
Timeline of key events in the ‘life of Mahatma Gandhi, leader...
Mahatma Gandhi’s Achievements
List of some of the major achievements of Mahatma Gandhi who...
Isaac Newton Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of English physicist...
Isaac Newton’s Achievements
Summary of key achievements by English physicist and mathematician...
Renaissance Key Facts
Important facts regarding the Renaissance, period in European...
Renaissance Timeline
Timeline of significant events concerning the period of European...
Renaissance Causes and Effects
Some of the major causes and effects of the Renaissance, one...
Leonardo da Vinci Timeline
A timeline of significant events in the life of Leonardo da Vinci....
Leonardo da Vinci’s Achievements
A descriptive list of some of the major achievements of Leonardo...
Apocrypha summary
Apocrypha , In biblical literature, works outside an accepted...
Hannah Arendt summary
Hannah Arendt, (born Oct. 14, 1906, Hannover, Ger.—died Dec....
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī summary
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī, (born 873/874, Basra, Iraq—died 935/936,...
Mount Athos summary
Mount Athos, Mountain, northern Greece.
Avalokitesvara summary
Avalokitesvara , Chinese Guanyin Japanese Kannon , Bodhisattva...
Averroës summary
Averroës , Arabic Ibn Rushd in full Abū al-Walīd Muḥammad ibn...
Baal summary
Baal , God worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities,...
the Bāb summary
the Bāb, orig.
Leo Baeck summary
Leo Baeck, (born May 23, 1873, Lissa, Posen, Prussia—died Nov....
Karl Ernst, knight von Baer summary
Karl Ernst, knight von Baer, (born Feb. 29, 1792, Piep, Est.,...
Karl Barth summary
Karl Barth, (born May 10, 1886, Basel, Switz.—died Dec. 9/10,...
Béla Bartók summary
Béla Bartók, (born March 25, 1881, Nagyszentmiklós, Hung., Austria-Hungary—died...
Saint Basil the Great summary
Saint Basil the Great, (born ad 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia—died...
Charles Baudelaire summary
Charles Baudelaire, (born April 9, 1821, Paris, France—died...
Simone de Beauvoir summary
Simone de Beauvoir, (born Jan. 9, 1908, Paris, France—died April...
Saint Thomas Becket summary
Saint Thomas Becket, or Thomas à Becket , (born c. 1118, Cheapside,...
Saint Bede summary
Saint Bede, known as the Venerable Bede , (born 672/673, traditionally...
Jeremy Bentham summary
Jeremy Bentham, (born Feb. 15, 1748, London, Eng.—died June...
Beowulf summary
Beowulf , Heroic poem considered the highest achievement of...
Henri Bergson summary
Henri Bergson, (born Oct. 18, 1859, Paris, France—died Jan....
George Berkeley summary
George Berkeley, known as Bishop Berkeley , (born March 12,...
Hector Berlioz summary
Hector Berlioz, (born Dec. 11, 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, France—died...
Saint Bernard de Clairvaux summary
Saint Bernard de Clairvaux, (born 1090, probably Fontaine-les-Dijons,...
al-Bīrūnī summary
al-Bīrūnī, (born September 973, Khwārezm, Khorāsān—died Dec....
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson summary
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, (born Dec. 8, 1832, Kvikne, Nor.—died...
Marc Bloch summary
Marc Bloch, (born July 6, 1886, Lyon, France—died June 16, 1944,...
Franz Boas summary
Franz Boas, (born July 9, 1858, Minden, Westphalia [Germany]—died...
Luigi Boccherini summary
Luigi Boccherini, (born Feb. 19, 1743, Lucca—died May 28, 1805,...
bodhisattva summary
bodhisattva , Term for the historical Buddha Gautama prior to...
Boethius summary
Boethius , in full Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius , (born...
Jakob Böhme summary
Jakob Böhme, (born 1575, Altseidenberg, Saxony—died Nov. 21,...
Saint Bonaventure summary
Saint Bonaventure, (born 1217, Bagnoregio, Papal States—died...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer summary
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (born Feb. 4, 1906, Breslau, Ger.—died...
Saint Boniface summary
Saint Boniface, (born 675, Wessex, Eng.—died June 5, 754, Dokkum,...
Cesare Borgia summary
Cesare Borgia, later duc de Valentinois , (born c. 1475/76,...
Hiëronymus Bosch summary
Hiëronymus Bosch, orig.
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet summary
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, (born Sept. 25, 1627, Dijon, France—died...
Sandro Botticelli summary
Sandro Botticelli, orig.
Fernand Braudel summary
Fernand Braudel, (born Aug. 24, 1902, Luméville, France—died...
Bertolt Brecht summary
Bertolt Brecht, orig.
Anton Bruckner summary
Anton Bruckner, (born Sept. 4, 1824, Ansfelden, Austria—died...
Martin Buber summary
Martin Buber, (born Feb. 8, 1878, Vienna, Austria-Hungary—died...
Rudolf Bultmann summary
Rudolf Bultmann, (born Aug. 20, 1884, Wiefelstede, Ger.—died...
Baldassare Castiglione summary
Baldassare Castiglione, (born Dec. 6, 1478, Casatico, near Mantua—died...
Cathari summary
Cathari , or Albigensians , Heretical Christian sect that flourished...
Chartres Cathedral summary
Chartres Cathedral , Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Chartres, one...
Saint John Chrysostom summary
Saint John Chrysostom, (born 347, Antioch, Syria—died Sept....
Zhu Xi summary
Zhu Xi, or Chu Hsi , (born Oct. 18, 1130, Yu-hsi, Fukien province,...
Marcus Tullius Cicero summary
Marcus Tullius Cicero, (born 106 bc, Arpinum, Latium—died Dec....
Cimabue summary
Cimabue , orig.
Cistercian summary
Cistercian , or White Monk or Bernardine , Member of a Roman...
Saint Clement of Alexandria summary
Saint Clement of Alexandria, Latin Titus Flavius Clemens , (born...
Auguste Comte summary
Auguste Comte, (born Jan. 19, 1798, Montpellier, France—died...
Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet summary
Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet,...
Correggio summary
Correggio , orig.
covenant summary
covenant , In the Hebrew scriptures, an agreement or treaty...
William Cowper summary
William Cowper, (born Nov. 26, 1731, Great Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire,...
Lucas Cranach, the Elder summary
Lucas Cranach, the Elder, orig.
creation myth summary
creation myth, or cosmogony , Symbolic narrative of the creation...
Benedetto Croce summary
Benedetto Croce, (born Feb. 25, 1866, Pescasseroli, Italy—died...
Saint Cyprian summary
Saint Cyprian, Latin Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus , (born c....
Daedalus summary
Daedalus , In Greek mythology, a brilliant architect, sculptor,...
Paul de Man summary
Paul de Man, (born Dec. 6, 1919, Antwerp, Belg.—died Dec. 21,...
Democritus summary
Democritus , (born c. 460—died c. 370 bc), Greek philosopher.
Jacques Derrida summary
Jacques Derrida, (born July 15, 1930, El Biar, Alg.—died Oct....
Denis Diderot summary
Denis Diderot, (born Oct. 5, 1713, Langres, France—died July...
Wilhelm Dilthey summary
Wilhelm Dilthey, (born Nov. 19, 1833, Biebrich, Nassau, Ger.—died...
Diocletian summary
Diocletian , Latin Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus orig.
Dionysus summary
Dionysus , Greek god of vegetation and fruitfulness, known especially...
Divali summary
Divali, or Diwali , In Hinduism, a five-day religious festival...
dolmen summary
dolmen , Prehistoric monument usually consisting of several...
Saint Dominic summary
Saint Dominic, orig.
John Donne summary
John Donne, (born c.
Saint Katharine Drexel summary
Saint Katharine Drexel, (born Nov. 26, 1858, Philadelphia, Pa.,...
Druze summary
Druze , or Druse , Relatively small Middle Eastern religious...
Duccio (di Buoninsegna) summary
Duccio (di Buoninsegna), (born 13th century, Siena, Republic...
Blessed John Duns Scotus summary
Blessed John Duns Scotus, (born 1266, Duns, Lothian, Scot.—died...
Albrecht Dürer summary
Albrecht Dürer, (born , May 21, 1471, Imperial Free City of...
Émile Durkheim summary
Émile Durkheim, (born April 15, 1858, Épinal, France—died Nov....
Umberto Eco summary
Umberto Eco, (born Jan. 5, 1932, Alessandria, Italy—died Feb....
ecumenism summary
ecumenism , Movement toward unity or cooperation among the Christian...
Saint Edward the Confessor summary
Saint Edward the Confessor, (born c. 1003, Islip, Eng.—died...
Eleaticism summary
Eleaticism , School of pre-Socratic philosophy that flourished...
Mircea Eliade summary
Mircea Eliade, (born March 9, 1907, Bucharest, Rom.—died April...
Elijah summary
Elijah , or Elias Hebrew Eliyyahu , (flourished 9th century...
Friedrich Engels summary
Friedrich Engels, (born Nov. 28, 1820, Barmen, Rhine Province,...
Epicureanism summary
Epicureanism , Metaphysical and ethical doctrines taught by...
Epicurus summary
Epicurus , (born 341, Samos, Greece—died 270 bc, Athens), Greek...
Desiderius Erasmus summary
Desiderius Erasmus, (born Oct. 27, 1469, Rotterdam, Holland—died...
Eusebius of Caesarea summary
Eusebius of Caesarea , (flourished 4th century, Caesarea Palestinae,...
exegesis summary
exegesis , Scholarly interpretation of religious texts, using...
Jan van Eyck summary
Jan van Eyck, (born before 1395, Maaseik, Bishopric of Liège,...
Ezekiel summary
Ezekiel , (flourished 6th century bc), Priest and prophet of...
Faxian summary
Faxian, or Fa-hsien orig.
Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī summary
Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī , (born 1149, Rayy, Iran—died 1209, near...
Louis Farrakhan summary
Louis Farrakhan, orig.
Faust summary
Faust , Legendary German necromancer or astrologer who sold...
Johann Gottlieb Fichte summary
Johann Gottlieb Fichte, (born May 19, 1762, Rammenau, Upper...
Marsilio Ficino summary
Marsilio Ficino, (born Oct. 19, 1433, Figline, Republic of Florence—died...
Finno-Ugric religion summary
Finno-Ugric religion, Pre-Christian belief systems of the Finno-Ugric...
Michel Foucault summary
Michel Foucault, (born Oct. 15, 1926, Poitiers, France—died...
Saint Francis of Assisi summary
Saint Francis of Assisi, orig.
César Franck summary
César Franck, (born Dec. 10, 1822, Liège, Neth.—died Nov. 8,...
Gottlob Frege summary
Gottlob Frege, (born Nov. 8, 1848, Wismar, Mecklenburg-Schwerin—died...
Carlos Fuentes summary
Carlos Fuentes, (born Nov. 11, 1928, Panama City, Pan.—died...
Gallicanism summary
Gallicanism , French eccelesiastical and government policies...
Ganges River summary
Ganges River, Hindi Ganga , River, northern India and Bangladesh.
Théophile Gautier summary
Théophile Gautier, (born Aug. 31, 1811, Tarbes, France—died...
al-Ghazālī summary
al-Ghazālī, or al-Ghazzālī in full Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad...
Lorenzo Ghiberti summary
Lorenzo Ghiberti, (born c. 1378, Pelago—died Dec. 1, 1455, Florence),...
Domenico Ghirlandaio summary
Domenico Ghirlandaio, orig.
Giorgione summary
Giorgione , or Giorgio da Castelfranco , (born c. 1477/78, Castelfranco...
Giotto (di Bondone) summary
Giotto (di Bondone), (born 1266–67/1276, Vespignano, near Florence—died...
Gnosticism summary
Gnosticism , Religious and philosophical movement popular in...
Charles Gounod summary
Charles Gounod, (born June 17, 1818, Paris, Fr.—died Oct. 18,...
Great Mother of the Gods summary
Great Mother of the Gods, or Cybele , Deity of the ancient Mediterranean...
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus summary
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, (born c. 330, Arianzus, near Nazianzus,...
Saint Gregory of Nyssa summary
Saint Gregory of Nyssa, (born c. 335, Caesarea, Cappadocia,...
Saint Gregory of Tours summary
Saint Gregory of Tours, orig.
Matthias Grünewald summary
Matthias Grünewald, orig.
Jürgen Habermas summary
Jürgen Habermas, (born June 18, 1929), German philosopher associated...
Ḥadīth summary
Ḥadīth , In Islam, the tradition or collection of traditions...
Richard Hakluyt summary
Richard Hakluyt, (born c. 1552, London, Eng.?—died Nov. 23,...
al-Ḥallāj summary
al-Ḥallāj, (born c. 858, Ṭūr, Iran—died March 26, 922, Baghdad,...
Hanfeizi summary
Hanfeizi , or Han-fei-tzu , (died 233 bc, China), Greatest of...
al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī summary
al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, in full Abū Saʿīd ibn Abī al-Ḥasan Yasār al-Baṣrī...
Hatshepsut summary
Hatshepsut , Queen of Egypt (c. 1472–58 bc).
Joseph Haydn summary
Joseph Haydn, (born March 31, 1732, Rohrau, Austria—died May...
Hegelianism summary
Hegelianism , Diversified philosophical movement that developed...
Werner Heisenberg summary
Werner Heisenberg, (born Dec. 5, 1901, Würzburg, Ger.—died Feb....
Hermann von Helmholtz summary
Hermann von Helmholtz, (born Aug. 31, 1821, Potsdam, Prussia—died...
Henry II summary
Henry II, or St.
hermeneutics summary
hermeneutics , Study of the general principles of biblical interpretation.
Hipparchus summary
Hipparchus, or Hipparchos , (born , Nicaea, Bithynia—died after...
Hans Holbein, the Younger summary
Hans Holbein, the Younger, (b. 1497/98, Augsburg, Bishopric...
Hōnen summary
Hōnen , orig.
Xuanzang summary
Xuanzang, or Hsüan-tsang , (born 600, Guoshi, China—died 664,...
Xunzi summary
Xunzi, or Hsün-tzu , (born c. 300, Zhao kingdom, China—died...
Huguenots summary
Huguenots , French Protestants of the 16th–17th century, many...
Huitzilopochtli summary
Huitzilopochtli , Aztec sun and war god.
Hong Xiuquan summary
Hong Xiuquan , or Hung Hsiu-ch’üan , (born Jan. 1, 1814, Fuyuanshui,...
Jan Hus summary
Jan Hus, or Jan Huss , (born c. 1370, Husinec, Bohemia—died...
Edmund Husserl summary
Edmund Husserl, (born April 8, 1859, Prossnitz, Moravia, Austrian...
Hussite summary
Hussite , Member of a group of 15th-century Bohemian religious...
hylomorphism summary
hylomorphism , Metaphysical view according to which every natural...
Ibn al-ʿArabī summary
Ibn al-ʿArabī , (born July 28, 1165, Murcia, Valencia—died Nov....
Ibn Gabirol summary
Ibn Gabirol , orig.
Ibn Ḥazm summary
Ibn Ḥazm , in full Abū Muḥammad ʿAli ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn...
Ibn Taymiyyah summary
Ibn Taymiyyah , (born 1263, Harran, Mesopotamia—died Sept. 26,...
Saint Ignatius of Antioch summary
Saint Ignatius of Antioch, (died c. 110, Rome; Western feast...
imam summary
imam , Head of the Muslim community.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal summary
Sir Muhammad Iqbal, (born Nov. 9, 1877, Siālkot, Punjab, India—died...
Saint Irenaeus summary
Saint Irenaeus, (born c. 120/140, Asia Minor—died c. 200/203,...
Isaiah summary
Isaiah , (flourished 8th century bc, Jerusalem), Prophet of...
Ithnā ʿAshariyyah summary
Ithnā ʿAshariyyah , or Imāmīs English Twelvers , The largest...
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad summary
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad , (born 699/700, Medina, Arabia—died 765,...
Jainism summary
Jainism , Religion of India established between the 7th and...
Rūmī summary
Rūmī , in full Jalāl al-Dīn al-Rūmī byname Mawlānā (Arabic: “Our...
Cornelius Otto Jansen summary
Cornelius Otto Jansen, (born Oct. 28, 1585, Acquoi, near Leerdam,...
Karl Jaspers summary
Karl Jaspers, (born Feb. 23, 1883, Oldenburg, Ger.—died Feb....
ren summary
ren, or jen , In Confucianism, the most basic of all virtues,...
Jerusalem summary
Jerusalem, Hebrew Yerushalayim Arabic Al-Quds , City (pop.,...
Jesuit summary
Jesuit , Member of the Roman Catholic order of religious men...
jihad summary
jihad , In Islam, the central doctrine that calls on believers...
jizya summary
jizya, or jizyah , Poll tax that early Islamic rulers demanded...
Joachim of Fiore summary
Joachim of Fiore , (born c. 1130/35, Celico, Kingdom of Naples—died...
Johanan ben Zakkai summary
Johanan ben Zakkai , (flourished 1st century ad), Palestinian...
Saint John XXIII summary
Saint John XXIII, orig.
Saint Justin Martyr summary
Saint Justin Martyr, (born c. 100, Flavia Neapolis, Palestine—died...
Vasily Kandinsky summary
Vasily Kandinsky, (born Dec. 4, 1866, Moscow, Russia—died Dec....
Kantianism summary
Kantianism , System of critical philosophy created by Immanuel...
Ruhollah Khomeini summary
Ruhollah Khomeini, orig.
Søren Kierkegaard summary
Søren Kierkegaard, (born May 5, 1813, Copenhagen, Den.—died...
Knights of Malta summary
Knights of Malta, or Hospitallers in full (since 1961) Sovereign...
Laozi summary
Laozi, or Lao-tzu , (flourished 6th century bc, China), First...
Ferdinand Lassalle summary
Ferdinand Lassalle, orig.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Freiherr von Leibniz summary
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Freiherr von Leibniz, (born July...
Saint Leo IX summary
Saint Leo IX, orig.
Stanisław Leśniewski summary
Stanisław Leśniewski, or Stanisław Leshniewski , (born March...
Franz Liszt summary
Franz Liszt, Hungarian Ferenc Liszt , (born Oct. 22, 1811, Raiding,...
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov summary
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, (born Nov. 19, 1711, near Kholmogory,...
Lorenzo Monaco summary
Lorenzo Monaco , orig.
Louis IX summary
Louis IX, or St.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola summary
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, orig.
Lucian summary
Lucian , or Lucianos Latin Lucianus , (born c.
Lucretius summary
Lucretius , in full Titus Lucretius Carus , (flourished 1st...
Saint Luke summary
Saint Luke, (flourished 1st century ad; feast day October 18),...
Isaac ben Solomon Luria summary
Isaac ben Solomon Luria, (born 1534, Jerusalem—died Aug. 5,...
Luxor summary
Luxor , Arabic Al-Uqṣur , City (pop., 2006: 202,232), Upper...
Mahabharata summary
Mahabharata , One of the two major Sanskrit epics of India,...
Mahavira summary
Mahavira , orig.
Moses Maimonides summary
Moses Maimonides, orig.
Nicolas de Malebranche summary
Nicolas de Malebranche, (born Aug. 6, 1638, Paris, France—died...
Bronisław Malinowski summary
Bronisław Malinowski, (born April 7, 1884, Kraków, Pol., Austria-Hungary—died...
André Malraux summary
André Malraux, (born Nov. 3, 1901, Paris, France—died Nov. 23,...
Manichaeism summary
Manichaeism , Dualistic religion founded by Mani in Persia in...
Andrea Mantegna summary
Andrea Mantegna, (born 1431, Isola di Cartura, near Vicenza,...
Maoism summary
Maoism , Variation of Marxism and Leninism developed by Mao...
Masaccio summary
Masaccio , orig.
Masolino summary
Masolino , orig.
Cotton Mather summary
Cotton Mather, (born Feb. 12, 1663, Boston, Massachusetts Bay...
Jules Cardinal Mazarin summary
Jules Cardinal Mazarin, orig.
Mecca summary
Mecca, Arabic Al-Makkah , City (pop., 2004: 1,294,106), western...
Medina summary
Medina, Arabic Al-Madīnah ancient Yathrib , City (pop., 2004:...
Meher Baba summary
Meher Baba , orig.
Philipp Melanchthon summary
Philipp Melanchthon, orig.
Melchizedek summary
Melchizedek , Canaanite king and priest revered by Abraham.
Hans Memling summary
Hans Memling, or Hans Memlinc , (born c. 1430/35, Seligenstadt,...
Mencius summary
Mencius , Chinese Mengzi or Meng-tzu orig.
Gregor Mendel summary
Gregor Mendel, (born July 22, 1822, Heinzendorf, Austria—died...
Mennonite summary
Mennonite , Member of a Protestant church named for Menno Simonsz.
metalogic summary
metalogic , Study of the syntax and the semantics of formal...
Mithraism summary
Mithraism , Ancient Iranian religion based on the worship of...
Mozi summary
Mozi, or Mo-tzu , (born 470?, China—died 391? bc, China), Chinese...
monotheism summary
monotheism , Belief in the existence of one god.
Montanism summary
Montanism , Heretical Christian movement founded in ad 156 by...
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu summary
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu, (born Jan....
Claudio Monteverdi summary
Claudio Monteverdi, (baptized May 15, 1567, Cremona, Duchy of...
Saint Thomas More summary
Saint Thomas More, (born Feb. 7, 1478, London, Eng.—died July...
al-Muḥāsibī summary
al-Muḥāsibī, (born c. 781, Al-Baṣrah—died 857, Baghdad), Sufi...
Thomas Müntzer summary
Thomas Müntzer, or Thomas Munzer , (born sometime before 1490,...
Mūsā summary
Mūsā , or Mousa , (died 1332/37?), Emperor (mansa) of the West...
Vladimir Nabokov summary
Vladimir Nabokov, (born April 22, 1899, St.
Nagarjuna summary
Nagarjuna , (born 150—died c. 250), Indian monk and philosopher,...
Nanak summary
Nanak , (born April 15, 1469, Rai Bhoi di Talvandi, near Lahore,...
Nefertiti summary
Nefertiti , (flourished 14th century bc), Queen of Egypt and...
Nero summary
Nero, in full Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus (or Drusus) Germanicus...
Pablo Neruda summary
Pablo Neruda, orig.
Blessed John Henry Newman summary
Blessed John Henry Newman, known as Cardinal Newman , (born...
Nicene Creed summary
Nicene Creed , Ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted...
Nichiren summary
Nichiren , orig.
Saint Nicholas summary
Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus , (flourished 4th century, Myra,...
Reinhold Niebuhr summary
Reinhold Niebuhr, (born June 21, 1892, Wright City, Mo., U.S.—died...
Martin Niemöller summary
Martin Niemöller, (born Jan. 14, 1892, Lippstadt, Ger.—died...
Friedrich Nietzsche summary
Friedrich Nietzsche, (born Oct. 15, 1844, Röcken, Saxony, Prussia—died...
Nikon summary
Nikon , orig.
William of Ockham summary
William of Ockham, or William of Occam , (born c. 1285, Ockham,...
Odysseus summary
Odysseus , Roman Ulysses , Hero of Homer’s Odyssey.
Origen summary
Origen , orig.
Osiris summary
Osiris , Ancient Egyptian god of the underworld.
Wilhelm Ostwald summary
Wilhelm Ostwald, (born Sept. 2, 1853, Riga, Latvia—died April...
Pagan summary
Pagan , Village, central Myanmar (Burma).
Saint Gregory Palamas summary
Saint Gregory Palamas, (born Nov. 11/14, 1296, Constantinople—died...
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina summary
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, (born c. 1525, Palestrina,...
Andrea Palladio summary
Andrea Palladio, orig.
papacy summary
papacy , System of central government of the Roman Catholic...
Paracelsus summary
Paracelsus , orig.
Parmigianino summary
Parmigianino , orig.
Parthenon summary
Parthenon , Chief temple of Athena on the Acropolis at Athens.
Blaise Pascal summary
Blaise Pascal, (born June 19, 1623, Clermont-Ferrand, France—died...
Saint Patrick summary
Saint Patrick, (flourished 5th century; feast day March 17),...
Blessed Paul VI summary
Blessed Paul VI, orig.
Charles Sanders Peirce summary
Charles Sanders Peirce, (born Sept. 10, 1839, Cambridge, Mass.,...
penology summary
penology , Branch of criminology dealing with prison management...
Perugino summary
Perugino , orig.
Saint Peter Damian summary
Saint Peter Damian, (born 1007, Ravenna—died Feb. 22, 1072,...
Petrarch summary
Petrarch , Italian Francesco Petrarca , (born July 20, 1304,...
Pharisee summary
Pharisee , Member of a Jewish religious party in Palestine that...
Philo Judaeus summary
Philo Judaeus , or Philo of Alexandria , (born 10–15 bc, Alexandria—died...
Saint Photius summary
Saint Photius, (born c. 820, Constantinople—died 10th century;...
Piero della Francesca summary
Piero della Francesca , (born c. 1420, Sansepolcro?, Republic...
Pius II summary
Pius II, orig.
Saint Pius V summary
Saint Pius V, orig.
Pius IX summary
Pius IX, orig.
Saint Pius X summary
Saint Pius X, orig.
Platonism summary
Platonism , Any philosophy that embodies some major idea of...
Georgy Plekhanov summary
Georgy Plekhanov, (born Dec. 11, 1856, Gudalovka, Russia—died...
Plotinus summary
Plotinus , (born ad 205, Lyco, or Lycopolis, Egypt?—died 270,...
Henri Poincaré summary
Henri Poincaré, (born April 29, 1854, Nancy, France—died July...
Nicolas Poussin summary
Nicolas Poussin, (born 1594, Villers, France—died Nov. 19, 1665,...
Sergey Prokofiev summary
Sergey Prokofiev, (born April 23, 1891, Sontsovka, Ukraine,...
Ptolemy summary
Ptolemy , Latin Claudius Ptolemaeus , (born c.
Samuel, baron von Pufendorf summary
Samuel, baron von Pufendorf, (born Jan. 8, 1632, Dorfchemnitz,...
Henry Purcell summary
Henry Purcell, (born c. 1659, London, Eng.—died Nov. 21, 1695,...
Pythagoreanism summary
Pythagoreanism , Philosophical school, probably founded by Pythagoras...
Quetzalcóatl summary
Quetzalcóatl , Feathered Serpent, a major deity of ancient Mexico.
Qurʾān summary
Qurʾān , or Koran , Sacred scripture of Islam, regarded by Muslims...
Sergey Rachmaninoff summary
Sergey Rachmaninoff, (born April 1, 1873, Oneg, near Semyonovo,...
Ramadan summary
Ramadan , In Islam, a holy month of fasting, the ninth month...
Ramanuja summary
Ramanuja , (born c. 1017, Shriperumbudur, India—died 1137, Shrirangam),...
Jean-Philippe Rameau summary
Jean-Philippe Rameau, (baptized Sept. 25, 1683, Dijon, France—died...
Ramses II summary
Ramses II, known as Ramses the Great , (flourished 13th century...
Leopold von Ranke summary
Leopold von Ranke, orig.
Raphael summary
Raphael , orig.
Rashi summary
Rashi , in full Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi , (born 1040, Troyes,...
Rastafarian summary
Rastafarian , Member of a political and religious movement among...
Ernest Renan summary
Ernest Renan, (born Feb. 28, 1823, Tréguier, France—died Oct....
Matteo Ricci summary
Matteo Ricci, (born Oct. 6, 1552, Macerata, Papal States—died...
Franz Rosenzweig summary
Franz Rosenzweig, (born Dec. 25, 1886, Kassel, Ger.—died Dec....
Rosicrucian summary
Rosicrucian , Member of a secret worldwide brotherhood claiming...
Dante Gabriel Rossetti summary
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, orig.
Georges Rouault summary
Georges Rouault, (born May 27, 1871, Paris, Fr.—died Feb. 13,...
Saadia ben Joseph summary
Saadia ben Joseph , Arabic Saʿīd ibn Yūsuf al-Fayyūmī , (born...
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve summary
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, (born Dec. 23, 1804, Boulogne,...
Sanhedrin summary
Sanhedrin , Jewish council that operated in Roman Palestine...
Shankara summary
Shankara , or Samkara , (born c. 700, Kaladi village?, India—died...
George Santayana summary
George Santayana, orig.
Santería summary
Santería , Religious movement that originated in Cuba.
Paolo Sarpi summary
Paolo Sarpi, (born Aug. 14, 1552, Venice—died Jan. 14, 1623,...
Jean-Paul Sartre summary
Jean-Paul Sartre, (born June 21, 1905, Paris, France—died April...
Girolamo Savonarola summary
Girolamo Savonarola, (born Sept. 21, 1452, Ferrara, duchy of...
Max Scheler summary
Max Scheler, (born Aug. 22, 1874, Munich, Ger.—died May 19,...
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling summary
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, (born Jan. 27, 1775,...
Friedrich Schiller summary
Friedrich Schiller, (born Nov. 10, 1759, Marbach, Württemberg—died...
Friedrich Schleiermacher summary
Friedrich Schleiermacher, (born Nov. 21, 1768, Breslau, Silesia,...
Arnold Schoenberg summary
Arnold Schoenberg, (born Sept. 13, 1874, Vienna, Austro-Hungarian...
Arthur Schopenhauer summary
Arthur Schopenhauer, (born Feb. 22, 1788, Danzig, Prussia—died...
Erwin Schrödinger summary
Erwin Schrödinger, (born Aug. 12, 1887, Vienna, Austria—died...
Franz Schubert summary
Franz Schubert, (born Jan. 31, 1797, Himmelpfortgrund, near...
Seneca summary
Seneca, (born c. 4 bce, Corduba, Spain—died 65 ce, Rome), Roman...
Sennacherib summary
Sennacherib , (died January 681 bc), King of Assyria (r. 705/704–681...
Michael Servetus summary
Michael Servetus, orig.
shaman summary
shaman , Person who uses magic to cure the sick, divine the...
Sharīʿah summary
Sharīʿah , Legal and moral code of Islam, systematized in the...
Shīʿite summary
Shīʿite
, Member of the Shīʿite branch of Islam, which resulted...
Shinran summary
Shinran , orig.
Dmitry Shostakovich summary
Dmitry Shostakovich, (born Sept. 25, 1906, St.
Shiva summary
Shiva , or Siva , Major deity of Hinduism, believed to have...
sophists summary
sophists , Group of itinerant professional teachers, lecturers,...
Madame de Staël summary
Madame de Staël, orig.
Stendhal summary
Stendhal , orig.
Stoicism summary
Stoicism , School of philosophy in Greco-Roman antiquity.
Strabo summary
Strabo , (born c. 64 bc, Amaseia, Pontus, Asia Minor—died after...
August Strindberg summary
August Strindberg, (born Jan. 22, 1849, Stockholm, Swed.—died...
Sufism summary
Sufism , Mystical movement within Islam that seeks to find divine...
Suger summary
Suger , (born 1081, near Paris—died Jan. 13, 1151), Abbot of...
syllogistic summary
syllogistic , Formal analysis of the syllogism.
al-Ṭabarī summary
al-Ṭabarī, in full Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī ,...
Hippolyte Taine summary
Hippolyte Taine, (born April 21, 1828, Vouziers, Ardennes, France—died...
Tammuz summary
Tammuz , Mesopotamian god of fertility.
dao summary
dao , or tao , In Chinese philosophy, a fundamental concept...
taqiyyah summary
taqiyyah , In Islam, the practice of concealing one’s faith...
tarot summary
tarot , Sets of cards used in fortune-telling and in certain...
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin summary
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, (born May 1, 1881, Sarcenat, France—died...
Georg Philipp Telemann summary
Georg Philipp Telemann, (born March 14, 1681, Magdeburg, Brandenburg—died...
teleology summary
teleology , Causality in which the effect is explained by an...
Templar summary
Templar , or Knight Templar , Member of a religious military...
Blessed Mother Teresa summary
Blessed Mother Teresa, orig.
Saint Teresa of Ávila summary
Saint Teresa of Ávila, orig.
Tertullian summary
Tertullian , (born c. 155/160, Carthage—died after 220, Carthage),...
Thales of Miletus summary
Thales of Miletus , (flourished 6th century bc), Greek philosopher.
theodicy summary
theodicy , Argument for the justification of God, concerned...
Theodosius I summary
Theodosius I , or Theodosius the Great in full Flavius Theodosius...
theosophy summary
theosophy , Religious philosophy with mystical concerns that...
Thomism summary
Thomism , Philosophical and theological system developed by...
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo summary
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, or Giambattista Tiepolo , (born March...
Paul Tillich summary
Paul Tillich, (born , Aug. 20, 1886, Starzeddel, Brandenburg,...
Transcendental Meditation summary
Transcendental Meditation (TM), Spiritual development technique...
François Truffaut summary
François Truffaut, (born Feb. 6, 1932, Paris, France—died Oct....
Paolo Uccello summary
Paolo Uccello, orig.
Usman dan Fodio summary
Usman dan Fodio , (born December 1754, Maratta, Gobir, Hausaland—died...
Lorenzo Valla summary
Lorenzo Valla, (born 1407, Rome, Papal States—died Aug. 1, 1457,...
Sir Anthony Van Dyck summary
Sir Anthony Van Dyck, (born March 22, 1599, Antwerp, Belg.—died...
Varanasi summary
Varanasi , or Benares , City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,100,748),...
Mario Vargas Llosa summary
Mario Vargas Llosa, (born March 28, 1936, Arequipa, Peru), Peruvian...
Vedic religion summary
Vedic religion , or Vedism , Ancient religion of India that...
Diego Velázquez summary
Diego Velázquez, (baptized June 6, 1599, Sevilla, Spain—died...
Paolo Veronese summary
Paolo Veronese, orig.
Giambattista Vico summary
Giambattista Vico, (born June 23, 1668, Naples—died Jan. 23,...
Alfred-Victor, count de Vigny summary
Alfred-Victor, count de Vigny, (born March 27, 1797, Loches,...
Antonio Vivaldi summary
Antonio Vivaldi, (born March 4, 1678, Venice, Republic of Venice—died...
Richard Wagner summary
Richard Wagner, (born May 22, 1813, Leipzig, Ger.—died Feb....
Waldenses summary
Waldenses , French Vaudois Italian Valdesi , Members of a Christian...
Wang Yangming summary
Wang Yangming, or Wang Yang-ming , (born 1472, Yuyao, Zhejiang...
Carl Maria von Weber summary
Carl Maria von Weber, (born Nov. 18, 1786, Eutin, Holstein—died...
Rogier van der Weyden summary
Rogier van der Weyden, (born 1399/1400, Tournai, France—died...
Johann Winckelmann summary
Johann Winckelmann, (born Dec. 9, 1717, Stendal, Prussia—died...
Ludwig Wittgenstein summary
Ludwig Wittgenstein, (born April 26, 1889, Vienna—died April...
Cardinal Wolsey summary
Cardinal Wolsey, (born c. 1475, Ipswich, Suffolk, Eng.—died...
John Wycliffe summary
John Wycliffe, (c. 1330–1384)British theologian, philosopher,...
Saint Francis Xavier summary
Saint Francis Xavier, (born April 7, 1506, Xavier Castle, near...
Yazīdī summary
Yazīdī , Middle Eastern religion, a syncretic combination of...
yeshiva summary
yeshiva , Academy of higher Talmudic learning.
Zionism summary
Zionism , Jewish nationalism movement with the goal of establishing...
Émile Zola summary
Émile Zola, (born April 2, 1840, Paris, France—died Sept. 28,...
Zoroaster summary
Zoroaster , or Zarathustra , (born c. 628, probably Rhages,...
Huldrych Zwingli summary
Huldrych Zwingli, (born Jan. 1, 1484, Wildhaus in the Toggenburg,...
Falun Gong summary
Falun Gong , or Falun Dafa , Controversial spiritual movement...
new religious movement summary
new religious movement (NRM), Any religion originating in recent...
Jerry L. Falwell summary
Jerry L.
Poliziano summary
Poliziano, byname of Angelo Ambrogini , (born July 14, 1454,...
Billy Graham summary
Billy Graham, in full William Franklin Graham, Jr. , (born Nov....
biblical translation summary
biblical translation, Art and practice of translating the Bible.
Olympia summary
Olympia, Ancient sanctuary and site of the Olympic Games, northwestern...
Cartesianism summary
Cartesianism, Philosophical tradition derived from the philosophy...
Francis I summary
Francis I, original name Jorge Mario Bergoglio , (born December...
conclave summary
conclave, In the Roman Catholic Church, the assembly of cardinals...
Sir Michael A. E. Dummett summary
Sir Michael A.
Robert Boyle summary
Robert Boyle, (born Jan. 25, 1627, Lismore Castle, County Waterford,...
Joseph Campbell summary
Joseph Campbell, (born March 26, 1904, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died...
philosophical feminism summary
philosophical feminism, Loosely related set of approaches in...
Constantine I summary
Constantine I, known as Constantine the Great officially Flavius...
defense economics summary
defense economics, Field of national economic management concerned...
Disciples of Christ summary
Disciples of Christ, Group of U.S.
divination summary
divination, Practice of discerning the hidden significance of...
saint summary
saint, Holy person.
Nicholas II summary
Nicholas II, orig.
Leo X summary
Leo X, orig.
literary criticism summary
literary criticism, Discipline concerned with philosophical,...
health law summary
health law, Branch of law dealing with various aspects of health...
skepticism summary
skepticism, Philosophical doubting of knowledge claims in various...
sociology summary
sociology, Science of society, social institutions, and social...
positivism summary
positivism, Any philosophical system that confines itself to...
pragmatism summary
pragmatism, Philosophical movement first given systematic expression...
Shintō summary
Shintō, Indigenous religion of Japan.
Vatican City summary
Vatican City, in full State of the Vatican City , Independent...
Marxism summary
Marxism, Ideology and socioeconomic theory developed by Karl...
mystery religion summary
mystery religion, Any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman...
mysticism summary
mysticism, The theory and practice of religious ecstasies.
sacrifice summary
sacrifice, Act of offering objects to a divinity, thereby making...
existentialism summary
existentialism, Philosophical movement oriented toward two major...
canon law summary
canon law, Body of laws established within Roman Catholicism,...
Germanic religion summary
Germanic religion, Beliefs, rituals, and mythology of the pre-Christian...
Peter (David Albert) Singer summary
Peter (David Albert) Singer, (born July 6, 1946, Melbourne,...
James McNeill Whistler summary
James McNeill Whistler, (born July 11, 1834, Lowell, Mass.,...
John Knox summary
John Knox, (born c. 1514, near Haddington, East Lothian, Scot.—died...
monetary policy summary
monetary policy, Measures employed by governments to influence...
female genital cutting summary
female genital cutting, or female circumcision or female genital...
sun dance summary
sun dance, Most important religious ritual of the Plains Indians...
Leninism summary
Leninism, Principles expounded by Vladimir Ilich Lenin to guide...
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies summary
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, (born Sept. 8, 1934, Manchester, Eng.),...
cremation summary
cremation, Disposing of a corpse by burning.
form summary
form, In the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle the active, determining...
Hillel summary
Hillel, (flourished 1st century bc–c.
Peter Paul Rubens summary
Peter Paul Rubens, (born June 28, 1577
, Siegen, Westphalia
—died...
totemism summary
totemism, Complex of ideas and practices based on the belief...
Bethlehem summary
Bethlehem, Arabic Bayt Laḥm , Town (pop., 2005 prelim.: 29,000),...
Greek religion summary
Greek religion, Beliefs, rituals, and mythology of the ancient...
Karnak summary
Karnak, Village, Upper Egypt.
Roman religion summary
Roman religion, Religious beliefs of the Romans from ancient...
cardinal summary
cardinal, Member of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
Georges Duby summary
Georges Duby, (born Oct. 7, 1919, Paris, France—died Dec. 3,...
philosophy of education summary
philosophy of education, Application of philosophical methods...
Emmanuel Lévinas summary
Emmanuel Lévinas, (born Dec. 30, 1905 [Jan. 12, 1906, Old Style],...
David (Kellogg) Lewis summary
David (Kellogg) Lewis, (born Sept. 28, 1941, Oberlin, Ohio,...
Mormon summary
Mormon, Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
Robert Nozick summary
Robert Nozick, (born Nov. 16, 1938, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—died...
Episcopal Church, USA summary
Episcopal Church, USA, also called Episcopal Church in the United...
Shroud of Turin summary
Shroud of Turin, Linen fragment said to be the burial garment...
Zora Neale Hurston summary
Zora Neale Hurston, (born Jan. 7, 1891, Notasulga, Ala., U.S.—died...
Church of Scientology summary
Church of Scientology, International movement established in...
Matthew Arnold summary
Matthew Arnold, (born Dec. 24, 1822, Laleham, Middlesex, Eng.—died...
Jane Austen summary
Jane Austen, (born Dec. 16, 1775, Steventon, Hampshire, Eng.—died...
John Austin summary
John Austin, (born March 3, 1790, Creeting Mill, Suffolk, Eng.—died...
Roger Bacon summary
Roger Bacon, (born c. 1220, Ilchester, Somerset, or Bisley,...
Robert Benchley summary
Robert Benchley, (born Sept. 15, 1889, Worcester, Mass., U.S.—died...
Saint Benedict of Nursia summary
Saint Benedict of Nursia, (born c. 480, Nursia, Kingdom of the...
Gian Lorenzo Bernini summary
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, (born Dec. 7, 1598, Naples, Kingdom of...
Leonard Bernstein summary
Leonard Bernstein, (born Aug. 25, 1918, Lawrence, Mass., U.S.—died...
George Boole summary
George Boole, (born Nov. 2, 1815, Lincoln, Eng.—died Dec. 8,...
Johannes Brahms summary
Johannes Brahms, (born May 7, 1833, Hamburg—died April 3, 1897,...
Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh summary
Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh, (born Nov. 22,...
Giordano Bruno summary
Giordano Bruno, orig.
John Bunyan summary
John Bunyan, (born November 1628, Elstow, Bedfordshire, Eng.—died...
Edmund Burke summary
Edmund Burke, (born January 12?, 1729, Dublin, Ire.—died July...
Samuel Butler summary
Samuel Butler, (born Dec. 4, 1835, Langar Rectory, Nottinghamshire,...
William Byrd summary
William Byrd, (born 1543, Lincoln, Lincolnshire?, Eng.—died...
Rudolf Carnap summary
Rudolf Carnap, (born May 18, 1891, Ronsdorf, Ger.—died Sept....
Thomas Cranmer summary
Thomas Cranmer, (born July 2, 1489, Aslacton, Nottinghamshire,...
John Dewey summary
John Dewey, (born Oct. 20, 1859, Burlington, Vt., U.S.—died...
Father Divine summary
Father Divine, orig.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle summary
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (born May 22, 1859, Edinburgh, Scot.—died...
Meister Eckhart summary
Meister Eckhart, orig.
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington summary
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, (born Dec. 28, 1882, Kendal, Westmorland,...
Mary Baker Eddy summary
Mary Baker Eddy, orig.
Jonathan Edwards summary
Jonathan Edwards, (born Oct. 5, 1703, East Windsor, Conn.—died...
Church of England summary
Church of England, English national church and the mother church...
formal and informal fallacy summary
formal and informal fallacy, In philosophy, reasoning that fails...
George Fox summary
George Fox, (born July 1624, Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire,...
Society of Friends summary
Society of Friends, known as Quakers , Protestant denomination...
Margaret Fuller summary
Margaret Fuller, married name Marchesa Ossoli , (born May 23,...
Francisco de Goya summary
Francisco de Goya, (born March 30, 1746, Fuendetodos, Spain—died...
El Greco summary
El Greco, orig.
Clement Greenberg summary
Clement Greenberg, (born Jan. 16, 1909, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died...
Saint Gregory I summary
Saint Gregory I, known as Gregory the Great , (born c. 540,...
George Frideric Handel summary
George Frideric Handel, orig.
William Hazlitt summary
William Hazlitt, (born April 10, 1778, Maidstone, Kent, Eng.—died...
Johann Gottfried von Herder summary
Johann Gottfried von Herder, (born Aug. 25, 1744, Mohrungen,...
philosophy of history summary
philosophy of history, Branch of philosophy concerned with questions...
Richard Hooker summary
Richard Hooker, (born March 1554?, Heavitree, Exeter, Devon,...
Alexander, Freiherr von Humboldt summary
Alexander, Freiherr von Humboldt, (born Sept. 14, 1769, Berlin,...
Aldous Huxley summary
Aldous Huxley, (born July 26, 1894, Godalming, Surrey, Eng.—died...
William James summary
William James, (born Jan. 11, 1842, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died...
Saint Jerome summary
Saint Jerome, (born c. 347, Stridon, Dalmatia—died 419/420,...
Temple of Jerusalem summary
Temple of Jerusalem, Either of two temples that were at the...
Saint John the Apostle summary
Saint John the Apostle, or St.
Bartolomé de Las Casas summary
Bartolomé de Las Casas, (born August 1474, Sevilla?—died July...
William Laud summary
William Laud, (born Oct. 7, 1573, Reading, Berkshire, Eng.—died...
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing summary
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, (born Jan. 22, 1729, Kamenz, Upper...
Wyndham Lewis summary
Wyndham Lewis, (born Nov. 18, 1882, on a yacht near Amherst,...
Fra Filippo Lippi summary
Fra Filippo Lippi, (born c. 1406, Florence—died Oct. 8/10, 1469,...
philosophy of logic summary
philosophy of logic, Philosophical study of the nature and scope...
Gustav Mahler summary
Gustav Mahler, (born July 7, 1860, Kaliště, Bohemia, Austrian...
philosophy of mathematics summary
philosophy of mathematics, Branch of philosophy concerned with...
Increase Mather summary
Increase Mather, (born June 21, 1639, Dorchester, Massachusetts...
Felix Mendelssohn summary
Felix Mendelssohn, (born Feb. 3, 1809, Hamburg—died Nov. 4,...
Moses Mendelssohn summary
Moses Mendelssohn, orig.
James Mill summary
James Mill, (born April 6, 1773, Northwater Bridge, Forfarshire,...
William Morris summary
William Morris, (born March 24, 1834, Walthamstow, near London,...
Rudolf Otto summary
Rudolf Otto, (born Sept. 25, 1869, Peine, Prussia—died March...
Arvo Pärt summary
Arvo Pärt, (born Sept. 11, 1935, Paide, Est.), Estonian composer.
Edgar Allan Poe summary
Edgar Allan Poe, (born Jan. 19, 1809, Boston, Mass., U.S.—died...
John Wesley Powell summary
John Wesley Powell, (born March 24, 1834, Mount Morris, N.Y.,...
Joseph Priestley summary
Joseph Priestley, (born March 13, 1733, Birstall Fieldhead,...
John Rawls summary
John Rawls, (born Feb. 21, 1921, Baltimore, Md., U.S.—died Nov....
philosophy of religion summary
philosophy of religion, Branch of philosophy that studies key...
Sir Joshua Reynolds summary
Sir Joshua Reynolds, (born July 16, 1723, Plympton, Devon, Eng.—died...
Gioacchino Rossini summary
Gioacchino Rossini, (born Feb. 29, 1792, Pesaro, Papal States—died...
Ram Mohun Roy summary
Ram Mohun Roy, (born May 22, 1772, Radhanagar, Bengal, India—died...
John Ruskin summary
John Ruskin, (born Feb. 8, 1819, London, Eng.—died Jan. 20,...
Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell summary
Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (born May 18, 1872, Trelleck,...
George Bernard Shaw summary
George Bernard Shaw, (born July 26, 1856, Dublin, Ire.—died...
Joseph Smith summary
Joseph Smith, (born Dec. 23, 1805, Sharon, Vt., U.S.—died June...
Herbert Spencer summary
Herbert Spencer, (born April 27, 1820, Derby, Derbyshire, Eng.—died...
Saint Stephen summary
Saint Stephen, (died c.
Sir Tom Stoppard summary
Sir Tom Stoppard, orig.
Igor Stravinsky summary
Igor Stravinsky, (born June 17, 1882, Oranienbaum, Russia—died...
Sir Arthur Sullivan summary
Sir Arthur Sullivan, (born May 13, 1842, London, Eng.—died Nov....
Emanuel Swedenborg summary
Emanuel Swedenborg, (born Jan. 29, 1688, Stockholm, Swed.—died...
theological liberalism summary
theological liberalism, School of religious thought characterized...
Holy Trinity summary
Holy Trinity, In Christian doctrine, the unity of the Father,...
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor summary
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, (born Oct. 2, 1832, London, Eng.—died...
Alfred North Whitehead summary
Alfred North Whitehead, (born Feb. 15, 1861, Ramsgate, Isle...
Edmund Wilson summary
Edmund Wilson, (born May 8, 1895, Red Bank, N.J., U.S.—died...
philosophy of language summary
philosophy of language, Philosophical study of the nature and...
Madonna summary
Madonna, In Christian art, a depiction of the Virgin Mary.
heaven summary
heaven, Dwelling place of God or the gods and the abode of the...
Jeremiah summary
Jeremiah, (born probably after 650, Anathoth, Judah—died c....
Justinian I summary
Justinian I, orig.
Pius XII summary
Pius XII, orig.
sphinx summary
sphinx, Mythological creature with a lion’s body and a human’s...
vampire summary
vampire, In popular legend, a bloodsucking creature that rises...
Byzantine art summary
Byzantine art, Art associated with the Byzantine Empire.
Deism summary
Deism, Belief in God based on reason rather than revelation...
Greek mythology summary
Greek mythology, Oral and literary traditions of the ancient...
Iranian religions summary
Iranian religions, Ancient religions of the peoples of the Iranian...
Jansenism summary
Jansenism, Roman Catholic reform movement inspired by the writings...
Japanese philosophy summary
Japanese philosophy, Conceptual expression of Japanese culture...
Jehovah’s Witness summary
Jehovah’s Witness, Member of an international religious movement...
logos summary
logos, (Greek: “word,” “reason,” “plan”) In Greek philosophy...
meditation summary
meditation, Private religious devotion or mental exercise, in...
messiah summary
messiah, In Judaism, the expected king of the line of David...
phenomenology summary
phenomenology, Philosophical discipline originated by Edmund...
Scholasticism summary
Scholasticism, Theological and philosophical movement, beginning...
Clement VII summary
Clement VII, orig.
Muslim Brotherhood summary
Muslim Brotherhood, Arabic Al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn , Religio-political...
cantata summary
cantata, Work for voice or voices and instruments of the Baroque...
gospel music summary
gospel music, Form of black American music derived from Pentecostal...
Innocent III summary
Innocent III, orig.
sin summary
sin, Wrongdoing, particularly the breaking of moral or religious...
spiritual summary
spiritual, In North American white and black folk music, an...
motet summary
motet, Latin choral composition, generally in one movement.
musicology summary
musicology, Scholarly and scientific study of music.
navaratra summary
navaratra, In Hinduism, a 9-day festival followed on the 10th...
revivalism summary
revivalism, Reawakening of Christian values and commitment.
scripture summary
scripture, Sacred writings of religions, comprising a large...
klezmer music summary
klezmer music, (Yiddish: “vessel of song”) Traditional music...
hymn summary
hymn, Song used in Christian worship, usually sung by the congregation...
miracle summary
miracle, Extraordinary event attributed to a supernatural power.
mission summary
mission, Organized effort to spread the Christian faith.
Muse summary
Muse, In Greco-Roman religion and myth, any of a group of sister...
Nestorian summary
Nestorian, Member of a Christian sect that originated in Asia...
Nestorius summary
Nestorius, (born 4th century, Germanicia, Syria Euphratensis,...
New Thought summary
New Thought, Mind-healing movement that originated in the U.S.
New Year’s Day summary
New Year’s Day, First day of the new year, celebrated with religious,...
Seth summary
Seth, or Set , Ancient Egyptian god and patron of the 11th nome,...
soul summary
soul, Immaterial aspect or essence of a person, conjoined with...
New Age movement summary
New Age movement, Movement that spread through occult communities...
Augustinian summary
Augustinian, In the Roman Catholic church, a member of any of...
Eastern rite church summary
Eastern rite church, or Eastern Catholic church , Any of several...
empiricism summary
empiricism, Either of two closely related philosophical doctrines,...
Ethiopian Orthodox church summary
Ethiopian Orthodox church, Independent Christian patriarchate...
Franciscan summary
Franciscan, Member of a Christian religious order dedicated...
indulgence summary
indulgence, In Roman Catholicism, the remission of temporal...
Krishna summary
Krishna, One of the most widely venerated Hindu gods, worshiped...
logic summary
logic, Study of inference and argument.
ontology summary
ontology, Theory of being as such.
prayer summary
prayer, Silent or spoken petition made to God or a god.
prehistoric religion summary
prehistoric religion, Religious practices and beliefs of prehistoric...
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite summary
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, (flourished c. 500), Probably...
Stonehenge summary
Stonehenge, Monumental circular arrangement of standing stones...
Venus summary
Venus, Roman goddess of cultivated fields and gardens, later...
communitarianism summary
communitarianism, Political and social philosophy that emphasizes...
political economy summary
political economy, Academic discipline that explores the relationship...
deconstruction summary
deconstruction, Method of philosophical and literary analysis,...
materialism summary
materialism, In metaphysics, the doctrine that all of reality...
natural law summary
natural law, In jurisprudence and political philosophy, a system...
political science summary
political science, Academic discipline concerned with the empirical...
rationalism summary
rationalism, Philosophical view that regards reason as the chief...
realism summary
realism, In philosophy, any viewpoint that accords to the objects...
teleological ethics summary
teleological ethics, Theory that derives duty from what is valuable...
universal summary
universal, In metaphysics, epistemology, and logic, a general...
utilitarianism summary
utilitarianism, Ethical principle according to which an action...
Passion summary
Passion, Musical setting of the suffering and crucifixion of...
consumerism summary
consumerism, Movement or policies aimed at regulating the products,...
Santiago de Compostela summary
Santiago de Compostela, City (pop., 2001: 90,188), capital of...
Celtic religion summary
Celtic religion, Beliefs and practices of the ancient Celts...
creed summary
creed, Officially authorized, usually brief statement of the...
hell summary
hell, Abode of evildoers after death, or the state of existence...
I Am movement summary
I Am movement, U.S.
Jupiter summary
Jupiter, or Jove , Chief god of ancient Rome and Italy.
karma summary
karma, In Indian philosophy, the influence of an individual’s...
Leo XIII summary
Leo XIII, orig.
martyr summary
martyr, Person who voluntarily suffers death rather than deny...
Methodism summary
Methodism, Protestant religious movement originated by John...
Moravian Church summary
Moravian Church, Protestant denomination founded in the 18th...
Noah summary
Noah, Biblical character from Genesis.
occultism summary
occultism, Theories, practices, and rituals based on esoteric...
Oneida Community summary
Oneida Community, Utopian religious community founded by John...
oracle summary
oracle, Source of a divine communication delivered in response...
pantheism summary
pantheism, Doctrine that the universe is God and, conversely,...
Pentecostalism summary
Pentecostalism, Protestant religious movement that originated...
pilgrimage summary
pilgrimage, Journey to a shrine or other sacred place undertaken...
polytheism summary
polytheism, Belief in many gods.
Presbyterianism summary
Presbyterianism, Form of church government based on rule by...
priesthood summary
priesthood, Office of a spiritual leader expert in the ceremonies...
Pure Land Buddhism summary
Pure Land Buddhism, Devotional cult of the buddha Amitabha.
purgatory summary
purgatory, In Roman Catholic doctrine, the condition of those...
Puritanism summary
Puritanism, Movement in the late 16th and 17th century that...
Reform Judaism summary
Reform Judaism, Religious movement that has modified or abandoned...
reincarnation summary
reincarnation, or transmigration of souls or metempsychosis ,...
rosary summary
rosary, Religious exercise in which prayers are recited and...
Russian Orthodox Church summary
Russian Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox church of Russia,...
Sabbath summary
Sabbath, Day of the week set aside for worship and observance...
Samuel summary
Samuel, (c. 11th century bc)Old Testament prophet, the first...
Slavic religion summary
Slavic religion, Beliefs and religious practices of the ancient...
sun worship summary
sun worship, Veneration of the sun or its representation as...
theism summary
theism, View that all observable phenomena are dependent on...
theology summary
theology, Study of the nature of God and the relationship of...
Yoga summary
Yoga, One of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy,...
Zen summary
Zen, Important school of Buddhism that claims to transmit the...
Wicca summary
Wicca, Modern Western witchcraft movement.
Protestantism summary
Protestantism, One of the three major branches of Christianity,...
Baltic religion summary
Baltic religion, Ancient beliefs and practices of the Balts...
Benedictine summary
Benedictine, Member of the Order of St.
Buddhist councils summary
Buddhist councils, In most Buddhist traditions, two early councils...
canonization summary
canonization, Official act of a Christian church declaring a...
Congregationalism summary
Congregationalism, Movement that arose among English Protestant...
Coptic Orthodox Church summary
Coptic Orthodox Church, Principal Christian church in Egypt.
Dome of the Rock summary
Dome of the Rock, or Mosque of Omar , Oldest existing Islamic...
Dominican summary
Dominican, Member of the Order of Friars Preachers, a Roman...
ethical relativism summary
ethical relativism, Philosophical view that what is right or...
fasting summary
fasting, Abstaining from food, usually for religious or ethical...
Good Friday summary
Good Friday, Friday before Easter, commemorating the crucifixion...
grammar summary
grammar, Rules of a language governing its phonology, morphology,...
idealism summary
idealism, In metaphysics, the view that stresses the central...
instrumentalism summary
instrumentalism, or experimentalism , Philosophy advanced by...
phonetics summary
phonetics, Study of speech sounds.
Sylvester II summary
Sylvester II, orig.
truth summary
truth, In philosophy, the property of statements, thoughts,...
Ezra summary
Ezra, (flourished 4th century bc, Babylon and Jerusalem), Jewish...
millennialism summary
millennialism, or millenarianism , Belief in the millennium...
Branch Davidians summary
Branch Davidians, Religious sect that believes in the imminent...
apologetics summary
apologetics, Branch of Christian theology devoted to the intellectual...
Boniface VIII summary
Boniface VIII, orig.
Christian Science summary
Christian Science, officially Church of Christ, Scientist , ...
Dead Sea Scrolls summary
Dead Sea Scrolls, Caches of ancient, mostly Hebrew, manuscripts...
dialect summary
dialect, Variety of a language spoken by a group of people and...
Edda summary
Edda, Body of ancient Icelandic literature.
paleogeography summary
paleogeography, or palaeogeography , Geography of selected portions...
Paul III summary
Paul III, orig.
Ramakrishna (Paramahamsa) summary
Ramakrishna (Paramahamsa), orig.
revelation summary
revelation, Transmission of knowledge from a god or gods to...
semantics summary
semantics, Study of meaning, one of the major areas of linguistic...
Ten Commandments summary
Ten Commandments, List of religious precepts sacred in Judaism...
fiscal policy summary
fiscal policy, Measures employed by governments to stabilize...
Sixtus IV summary
Sixtus IV, orig.
Solomon summary
Solomon, (flourished 10th century bc), Son and successor of...
Urban II summary
Urban II, orig.
humanities summary
humanities, Branches of knowledge that investigate human beings,...
John XXII summary
John XXII, orig.
Julius II summary
Julius II, orig.
Middle Ages summary
Middle Ages, Period in European history traditionally dated...
Tintoretto summary
Tintoretto, orig.
labour economics summary
labour economics, Study of how workers are allocated among jobs,...
macroeconomics summary
macroeconomics, Study of the entire economy in terms of the...
physiocrat summary
physiocrat, Member of a school of economics, founded in 18th-century...
Romanticism summary
Romanticism, Literary, artistic, and philosophical movement...
postmodernism summary
postmodernism, Any of several artistic movements since about...
consumption summary
consumption, In economics, the final using up of goods and services.
econometrics summary
econometrics, Statistical and mathematical analysis of economic...
census summary
census, Enumeration of people, houses, firms, or other important...
circumcision summary
circumcision, Cutting away of all or part of the foreskin (prepuce)...
criminology summary
criminology, Scientific study of nonlegal aspects of crime,...
genealogy summary
genealogy, Study of family origins and history.
magic summary
magic, Use of means (such as charms or spells) believed to have...
physical anthropology summary
physical anthropology, Branch of anthropology concerned with...
Nicholas V summary
Nicholas V, orig.
oratorio summary
oratorio, Large-scale musical composition on a sacred subject...
geopolitics summary
geopolitics, The study of geographic influences on power relationships...
Gregory IX summary
Gregory IX, orig.
Innocent IV summary
Innocent IV, orig.
Inquisition summary
Inquisition, In the Middle Ages, a judicial procedure that was...
Stalinism summary
Stalinism, Method of rule, or policies, of Joseph Stalin in...
fuzzy logic summary
fuzzy logic, Logic based on the concept of fuzzy sets, in which...
burial summary
burial, Ritual disposal of human remains.
church summary
church, Building for Christian worship.
cultural anthropology summary
cultural anthropology, Branch of anthropology that deals with...
fable summary
fable, Narration intended to enforce a useful truth, especially...
headhunting summary
headhunting, Practice of removing, displaying, and in some cases...
Julian summary
Julian, or Julian the Apostate Latin Julianus Apostata orig.
set theory summary
set theory, Branch of mathematics that deals with the properties...