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materialism

(Encyclopedia)materialism, in philosophy, a widely held system of thought that explains the nature of the world as entirely dependent on matter, the fundamental and final reality beyond which nothing need be sought...

Thucydides

(Encyclopedia)Thucydides tho͞osĭdˈĭdēz [key], c.460–c.400 b.c., Greek historian of Athens, one of the greatest of ancient historians. His family was partly Thracian. As a general in the Peloponnesian War he ...

ethics

(Encyclopedia)ethics, in philosophy, the study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of moral principles. Moral principles may be viewed either as the standard of conduct that individuals have constructed fo...

substance

(Encyclopedia)substance, in philosophy, term used to denote the changeless substratum presumed in some philosophies to be present in all being. Aristotle defined substance as that which possesses attributes but is ...

Locke, John

(Encyclopedia)Locke, John lŏk [key], 1632–1704, English philosopher, founder of British empiricism. Locke summed up the Enlightenment in his belief in the middle class and its right to freedom of conscience and ...

Lipton, Sir Thomas Johnstone

(Encyclopedia)Lipton, Sir Thomas Johnstone, 1850–1931, Scottish merchant and yachting enthusiast. After spending several years in the United States he returned (1869) to his native Glasgow and opened a small groc...

Lancaster, Thomas, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Lancaster, Thomas, earl of: see Lancaster, house of. ...

Morton, William Thomas Green

(Encyclopedia)Morton, William Thomas Green, 1819–68, American dentist and physician, b. Charlton, Mass., studied at Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. He practiced dentistry in Boston, for a time with Horace We...

McGee, Thomas D'Arcy

(Encyclopedia)McGee, Thomas D'Arcy məgēˈ [key], 1825–68, Canadian journalist and statesman, a leader in the movement for confederation, b. Ireland. He emigrated (1842) to Boston, where he became editor of the ...

Hastings, Thomas, American composer

(Encyclopedia)Hastings, Thomas, 1784–1872, American composer, b. Washington, Conn. Of his hymns, Rock of Ages is most famous. He compiled several books of hymns, including Musica Sacra (1815) and Spiritual Songs ...