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Topic Review
Utopia
A utopia (/juːˈtoʊpiə/ yoo-TOH-pee-ə) is an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its citizens. The term was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island society in the south Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South America. The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia, which dominates the fictional literature from the 1950s onwards, chiefly because of the impact of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949. However, the term can also denote actual experiments in what participants regard as a vastly superior manner of living, generally in what are termed intentional communities. In common parlance it is synonymous with "impossible", "far-fetched", and "deluded". Literary utopias focus on, amongst other things, equality, in such categories as economics, government and justice, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying based on ideology. Lyman Tower Sargent argues that the nature of a utopia is inherently contradictory because societies are not homogeneous and have desires which conflict and therefore cannot simultaneously be satisfied. According to Sargent:
  • 2.6K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Laïcité
Laïcité ([la.i.si.te]), literally "secularity", is a French concept of secularism. It discourages religious involvement in government affairs, especially religious influence in the determination of state policies; it also forbids government involvement in religious affairs, and especially prohibits government influence in the determination of religion. Laïcité does not preclude a right to the free exercise of religion. Dictionaries ordinarily translate laïcité as "secularity" or "secularism" (the latter being the political system), although it is sometimes rendered in English as laicity or laicism by its opponents. While the term was first used with this meaning in 1871 in the dispute over the removal of religious teachers and instruction from elementary schools, the word laïcisme dates to 1842. In its strict and official acceptance, it is the principle of separation of church (or religion) and state. Etymologically, laïcité is a noun formed by adding the suffix -ité (English -ity, Latin -itās) to the Latin adjective lāicus, a loanword from the Greek λᾱϊκός (lāïkós "of the people", "layman"), the adjective from λᾱός (lāós "people"). French secularism has a long history. For the last century, the French government policy has been based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State.
  • 2.6K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Aarne–Thompson Classification Systems
The Aarne–Thompson classification systems are indices used to classify folktales: the Aarne–Thompson Motif-Index (catalogued by alphabetical letters followed by numerals), the Aarne–Thompson Tale Type Index (cataloged by AT or AaTh numbers), and the Aarne–Thompson–Uther classification system (developed in 2004 and cataloged by ATU numbers). They are named after their authors, Antti Aarne, Stith Thompson, and Hans-Jörg Uther. The indices are used in folkloristics to organize, classify, and analyze folklore narratives and are essential tools for folklorists, as Alan Dundes explained in 1997 about the first two indices, "the identification of folk narratives through motif and/or tale type numbers has become an international sine qua non among bona fide folklorists".
  • 2.6K
  • 05 Dec 2022
Topic Review
History of Human Movement Studies
Knowing the genesis of ideas is important to understand why we are studying a topic. This topic review is an historical excursus about the origin of movement studies, following the ideas of Aristotle until positivism. The main ideas at the origin of biomechanical studies are historically reviewed, with special focus on the enlightment era. Key figures at the origin of movement studies were presented, together with the main ideas they introduced, most of which are still at the basis of modern research in the field of biomechanics. The entry can be of interest for all professionals working in the field of human and animal movement studies.
  • 2.6K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Early Chinese Cartography
Early Chinese cartography began in the 5th century BC during the Warring States period when cartographers started to make maps of the Earth's surface. Its scope extended beyond China's borders with the expansion of the Chinese Empire under the Han dynasty. It entered its golden age with the invention of the compass in the 11th century during the Song dynasty, and reached its peak in the 15th century when the Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He went on a series of voyages to the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, and beyond.
  • 2.6K
  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Swissindo World Trust International Orbit
This article is about a new religious movement in Indonesia. For more information regarding religion in Indonesia, see Religion in Indonesia. Swissindo World Trust International Orbit is a religious movement established in 2010 concerned with eliminating the debt of every individual on Earth. It originated in West Java, Indonesia and is led by Sino Soegihartonotonegoro. The organisation has members from a vast array of nations including the United States , Australia and the Netherlands. Due to its illegal financial practices, the Cirebon office of the Financial Services Authority has conducted an investigation into Swissindo. The organisation has been criticised for targeting poor and marginalised communities. Swissindo asserts its mission is to create “Heaven on Earth” through various means.
  • 2.6K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Grandfather Paradox
The grandfather paradox is a paradox of time travel in which inconsistencies emerge through changing the past. The name comes from the paradox's description: a person travels to the past and kills their own grandfather before the conception of their father or mother, which prevents the time traveller's existence. Despite its title, the grandfather paradox does not exclusively regard the contradiction of killing one's own grandfather to prevent one's birth. Rather, the paradox regards any action that alters the past, since there is a contradiction whenever the past becomes different from the way it was.
  • 2.6K
  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Saṅkhāra
Saṅkhāra (Pali; सङ्खार; Sanskrit: संस्कार or saṃskāra) is a term figuring prominently in Buddhism. The word means 'formations' or 'that which has been put together' and 'that which puts together'. In the first (passive) sense, saṅkhāra refers to conditioned phenomena generally but specifically to all mental "dispositions". These are called 'volitional formations' both because they are formed as a result of volition and because they are causes for the arising of future volitional actions. English translations for saṅkhāra in the first sense of the word include 'conditioned things,' 'determinations,' 'fabrications' and 'formations' (or, particularly when referring to mental processes, 'volitional formations'). In the second (active) sense of the word, saṅkhāra refers to karma (sankhara-khandha) that leads to conditioned arising, dependent origination. According to the Vijnanavada school, there are 51 samskaras or mental factors.
  • 2.6K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Origins of Judaism
The origins of Judaism lie in the Bronze Age amidst polytheistic ancient Semitic religions, specifically Canaanite religion, co-existing with a syncretization with elements of Babylonian religion and of the worship of Yahweh reflected in the early prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible. During the Iron Age I, the Israelite religion became distinct from other Canaanite religions due to the unique monolatristic (proto-monotheistic) worship of Yahweh. During the Babylonian captivity of the 6th and 5th centuries BCE (Iron Age II), certain circles within the exiled Judahites in Babylon refined pre-existing ideas about monotheism, election, divine law and Covenant into a strict monotheistic theology which came to dominate the former Kingdom of Judah in the following centuries. From the 5th century BCE until 70 CE, Israelite religion developed into the various theological schools of Second Temple Judaism, besides Hellenistic Judaism in the diaspora. Second Temple eschatology was significantly influenced by Zoroastrianism. The text of the Hebrew Bible was redacted into its extant form in this period and possibly also canonized as well. Rabbinic Judaism developed during Late Antiquity, during the 3rd to 6th centuries CE; the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud were compiled in this period. The oldest manuscripts of the Masoretic tradition come from the 10th and 11th centuries CE; in the form of the Aleppo Codex of the later portions of the 10th century CE and the Leningrad Codex dated to 1008–1009 CE. Due largely to censoring and the burning of manuscripts in medieval Europe the oldest existing manuscripts of various rabbinical works are quite late. The oldest surviving complete manuscript copy of the Babylonian Talmud is dated to 1342 CE.
  • 2.6K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Latin: Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei; CDF) is the oldest among the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. It was founded to defend the church from heresy; today, it is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine. Formerly known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, it is informally known in many Catholic countries as the Holy Office, and between 1908 and 1965 was officially known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. Founded by Pope Paul III in 1542, the congregation's sole objective is to "spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines." Its headquarters are at the Palace of the Holy Office, just outside Vatican City. The congregation employs an advisory board including cardinals, bishops, priests, lay theologians, and canon lawyers. The current Prefect is Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, who was appointed by Pope Francis for a five-year term beginning July 2017.
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  • 29 Sep 2022
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