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Popper, Sir Karl Raimund

(Encyclopedia)Popper, Sir Karl Raimund, 1902–94, Anglo-Austrian philosopher, b. Vienna. He became familiar with the Vienna circle of logical positivists (see logical positivism) while a student at the Univ. of Vi...

existentialism

(Encyclopedia)existentialism ĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important existentialists o...

military government

(Encyclopedia)military government, rule of enemy territory under military occupation. It is distinguished from martial law, which is the temporary rule by domestic armed forces over disturbed areas. The practices o...

Brecht, Bertolt

(Encyclopedia)Brecht, Bertolt bĕrˈtôlt brĕkht [key], 1898–1956, German dramatist and poet, b. Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht. His brilliant wit, his outspoken Marxism, and his revolutionary experiments in th...

German literature

(Encyclopedia)German literature, works in the German language by German, Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, and Swiss authors, as well as by writers of German in other countries. The postwar decades saw a gradual litera...

logical positivism

(Encyclopedia)logical positivism, also known as logical or scientific empiricism, modern school of philosophy that attempted to introduce the methodology and precision of mathematics and the natural sciences into t...

Volgograd

(Encyclopedia)Volgograd vôlgəgrätˈ [key], formerly Stalingrad, city (1989 pop. 999,000), capital of Volgograd region, SE European Russia, a port on the Volga River and the eastern terminus of the Volga-Don Cana...

Humboldt, Alexander, Freiherr von

(Encyclopedia)Humboldt, Alexander, Freiherr von hŭmˈbōlt, Ger. älĕksänˈdər frīˈhĕr fən ho͝omˈbôlt [key], 1769–1859, German naturalist, inventor, explorer, and author, the most eminent scientist of ...

Anatolian languages

(Encyclopedia)Anatolian languages ănˌətōˈlēən [key], subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see The Indo-European Family of Languages, tableIndo-European, table); the term “Anatolian languages...

parallax

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The trigonometric parallax of a star, expressed by the angle θ, is a measure of its apparent motion against the background of more distant stars as a result of the earth's motions in its orbit...