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Social Contract
The social contract is an idea in philosophy that at some real or hypothetical point in the past, humans left the state of nature to join together and form societies by mutually agreeing which rights they would enjoy and how they would be...
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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789
A representation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, oil on canvas by Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier, c. 1789.
Musée Carnavalet, Paris.
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Declaration of Independence by Trumbull
An 1819 painting titled The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull. Various figures such as George Washington are shown presenting the Declaration of Independence of the 13 colonies from British rule to Congress. (United States Capitol...
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Oral Statement by the American Navy Admiral
Oral Statement by the American Navy Admiral, Japanese print showing three men, two seated and one standing, possibly Commander Anan, Perry, and Captain Henry Adams, second half of the 19th century. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs...
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Patrons & Artists in Renaissance Italy
During the Renaissance, most works of fine art were commissioned and paid for by rulers, religious and civic institutions, and the wealthy. Producing statues, frescoes, altarpieces, and portraits were just some of the ways artists made a...
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...
Definition
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a Swiss philosopher whose work both praised and criticised the Enlightenment movement. Although a believer in the power of reason, science, and the arts, Rousseau was convinced that a flourishing culture...
Definition
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher who famously summarised his pessimistic view of human nature in his greatest work, Leviathan, published in 1651. Hobbes believed that the life of humanity in the state of nature is short...
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Love, Sex, & Marriage in Ancient Mesopotamia
Medical texts from ancient Mesopotamia provide prescriptions and practices for curing all manner of ailments, wounds, and diseases. There was one malady, however, which had no cure: passionate love. From a medical text found in the Library...
Definition
Saga
The Old Norse word saga means 'story', 'tale' or 'history' and normally refers specifically to the epic prose narratives written mainly in Iceland between the 12th- and 15th centuries CE, covering the country's history as well as Scandinavia's...