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Natural Rights & the Enlightenment
The idea of natural rights is the concept used in philosophy and legal studies that a person has certain rights from birth and which, because they were not awarded by a particular state or legal authority, cannot be removed, that is, they...
Article
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the foundational document of the United States of America. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it explains why the Thirteen Colonies decided to separate from Great Britain during the American Revolution...
Article
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Declaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) is a human rights document adopted in the early stages of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Inspired by Enlightenment Age principles...
Definition
State of Nature
The state of nature is an idea which became especially popular with certain philosophers during the Enlightenment, notably Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). It refers to a state of existence...
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Title Page, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
The title page of A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797). The book, first published in 1792, called for greater educational opportunities for women and equality with men. (Library of Congress)
Video
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (French Revolution: Part 4)
The long-awaited fourth installment of my French Revolution series addresses the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which was passed by the National Assembly in 1789. The Declaration outlines the principles of the French Revolution...
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Page from On the Fabric of the Human Body
An intricately labelled diagram of the human muscles from Andreas Vesalius' (1514-1564) celebrated book on anatomy, On the Fabric of the Human Body, first published in 1543. (Wellcome Images)
Definition
Denisovan
The Denisovans are an extinct group of fossil humans who, along with their sister group the Neanderthals, also share an ancestor with Homo sapiens. Thus far, they are known only from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia, where...
Definition
Homo Sapiens
Homo sapiens ('wise man'), or modern humans, are the only species of human still around today. Despite having invented countless ways of labelling the world around us, we have so far done a surprisingly poor job at defining ourselves. Originating...
Article
The Iraq Museum: A Brightness in the Darkness
For whom have I labored? For whom have I journeyed? For whom have I suffered? I have gained absolutely nothing for myself, I have only profited the snake, the ground lion! The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI This is how...