AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
There are 4 goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma (duties), Artha (prosperity), Kama (desires/passions), Moksha (liberation/freedom/salvation); karma (action, intent and consequences), Saṃsāra (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha). Hindu rituals include puja (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and become sanyasi to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, non-violence (ahimsa), patience, self-restraint, and compassion, among others. The four largest sects of Hinduism are the Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism.
Hinduism is the world's third largest religion, There are approximately 1.15 billion Hindus which are 15-16% of the global population. The vast majority of Hindus live in India, Nepal and Mauritius. Hindus are also found in other countries.
The word "Hindu" is taken from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word " Sapta Sindhu", which is Sanskrit name for the Indus River which lies west of the border of India and Pakistan. According to Gavin Flood, The word Hindu was used by Persians for the people who live beyond the Indus River, Inscription of Darius I which was written around 550–486 BCE also refer Hindu as the people who live beyond the Indus River. These records didn't refer Hindu as a religion. The earliest record which refer "Hindu" as religion may be the 7th-century CE Chinese text "Record of the Western Regions" by Xuanzang, and 14th-century Persian text "Futuhu's-salatin" by 'Abd al-Malik Isami. This is because the name if the religion is called Hinduism, not Hindu.
The Arabic term "al-Hind" referred to the people who live across the River Indus. It means "Land of Hindus" which is what it stood for until Muslims started to come into India.
The term "Hindu" was later used in some Sanskrit texts such as the later "Rajataranginis" of Kashmir (Hinduka, c. 1450) and some 16th- to 18th-century Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava texts including "Chaitanya Charitamrita" and "Chaitanya Bhagavata". These texts used to distinguish Hindus from Muslims who are called Yavanas (foreigners) or Mlecchas (barbarians), with the 16th-century "Chaitanya Charitamrita" text and the 17th century "Bhakta Mala" text using the phrase ""Hindu dharma"". In the end of the 18th century the European merchants and colonists began to call followers of Indian religions collectively as "Hindus". The term "Hinduism", then spelled "Hindooism", was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions native to India.
Hinduism is diverse on ideas on spirituality and traditions, but has no ecclesiastical order, no unquestionable religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, agnostic, atheistic or humanist. Because of the wideness and openness of Hinduism, arriving at a definition is difficult. Hinduism has been defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and "a way of life." From a Western point of view, Hinduism like other faiths is referred to as a religion. In India the term "dharma" is preferred, which is broader than the western term "religion".
The study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of "Hinduism", has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, and have also been taken over by critics of the Western view on India.
Hindu beliefs include (but are not restricted to) Dharma (ethics/duties), (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (Every action has a reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara or liberation in this life), and the various Yogas (paths or practices).
Hindism have accepted four proper goals or aims of human life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. These are known as the Puruṣārthas:
Dharma is considered one of the most important goal of a human being in Hinduism. Dharma is considered Important because it is dharma which makes running of Universe and life possible, and includes duties, virtues and "right way of living". Hindu Dharma includes the religious duties, moral rights and duties of each individual, as well as behaviors that enable social order, right conduct, and those that are virtuous. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states it as:
In the Mahabharata, Krishna says it is Dharma which is holding both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs. (Mbh 12.110.11). The word "Sanātana" means "eternal", "perennial", or "forever"; thus, "Sanātana Dharma" means that it is the dharma that has neither beginning nor end.
Artha is second goal of life in Hinduism which means pursuit of wealth for livelihood, and economic prosperity. It includes political life, diplomacy and material well-being. The Artha includes all "means of life", activities and resources that enables one to be in a state one wants to be in, wealth, career and financial security. The aim of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism.
Kāma (Sanskrit, Pali; Devanagari: काम) means desire, wish, passion, pleasure of the senses, the enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations. In Hinduism, Kama is considered an important and healthy goal of human life when pursued without sacrificing Dharma, Artha and Moksha.
Moksha (Sanskrit: ') or mukti (Sanskrit: ) is the ultimate, most important goal in Hinduism. In one school Moksha means liberation from sorrow, suffering and saṃsāra (birth-rebirth cycle). In other schools of Hinduism, such as monistic, moksha means self-realization,"realizing the whole universe as the Self".
"Karma" means "action", "work", or "deed", and also the vedic theory of cause and effect". The theory is a combination of (1) causality that may be moral or non-moral; (2) moralization, that is good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth. Karma theory means <nowiki>"Whatever experience currently a man have is due to his/her past work". These actions may be in a person'</nowiki>s current life, or, in some schools of Hinduism, actions in their past lives. This cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth is called "samsara". Liberation from samsara through moksha is believed to ensure lasting happiness and peace. Hindu scriptures teach that the future depends on the current action and our past deeds.
The ultimate goal of life,according to Hinduism is "moksha", "nirvana" or "samadhi", but is understood in different ways in different schools.For example, Advaita Vedanta says that after attaining moksha a person knows their "soul, self" and identifies it as one with Brahman (Ultimate reality or cause of everything). The followers of Dvaita (dualistic) schools,state that after attaining moksha a person identify "soul, self" different from Brahman but very close to Brahman, and after attaining moksha one will spend eternity in a loka (higher planes). According to theistic schools of Hinduism, moksha is liberation from samsara, while for other schools such as the monistic school, moksha is possible in current life and is a psychological concept.
Hinduism is diverse and Hinduism include monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, pandeism, monism, and atheism among others; Basically it depends on individuals choice and that's why sometimes Hinduism is referred to as henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an over generalization.
Hindus believe that all living creatures have a soul. This soul or true "self" of every living being is called the "ātman". The soul is believed to be eternal. According to the monistic/pantheistic (non-dualist) theologies of Hinduism (such as Advaita Vedanta school), this Atman is indistinct from Brahman. The goal of life, according to the Advaita school, is to realise that one's soul is identical to supreme soul, that the supreme soul is present in everything and everyone, all life is interconnected and there is oneness in all life. Dualistic schools (see Dvaita and Bhakti) sees Brahman as a Supreme Being separate from individual souls. They worship the Supreme Being variously as Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, or Shakti, depending upon the sect. God is called "Ishvara", "Bhagavan", "Parameshwara", "Devadu" or "Devi", and these terms have different meanings in different schools of Hinduism. Devi is typically used when refereeing to a female goddess.
The Hindu scriptures refer to celestial entities called "Devas" (or "" in feminine form; ' used synonymously for "Deva" in Hindi), which in English means demi-"gods" or "heavenly beings". The devas are an integral part of Hindu culture and are depicted in art, architecture and through icons, and stories about them are related in the scriptures, particularly in Indian epic poetry and the Puranas. They are, however, often distinguished from Ishvara, a personal god, with many Hindus worshipping Ishvara in one of its particular manifestations as their ', or chosen ideal. The choice is a matter of individual preference, and of regional and family traditions. The multitude of Devas are considered as manifestations of Brahman.
Hinduism has no central doctrinal authority and Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular sect or tradition. Four major sects in Hinduism are: "Vaishnavism", "Shaivism", "Shaktism" and "Smarthism".
Vaishnavism is the tradition that worships Vishnu and his avatars, such as Krishna and Rama. The people of this sect are generally non-ascetic, monastic. These practices include community dancing, singing of Kirtans and Bhajans, with sound and music believed by some to have meditative and spiritual powers.
Shaivism is the tradition that focuses on Shiva. Shaivas are more attracted to ascetic individualism, and it has several sub-schools. Their practices include Bhakti-style devotion but they leaned to philosply such as Advaita and Yoga. Some Shaivas worship in temples, but some practice yoga, striving to be one with Shiva within. Shaivas visualize god as half male, half female, as a combination of the male and female principles (Ardhanarishvara). Shaivism is related to Shaktism, wherein Shakti is seen as wife of Shiva. Shaivism is mainly practiced in the Himalayan north from Kashmir to Nepal, and in south India.
Shaktism focuses on goddess worship of Shakti or Devi as cosmic mother, and it is mainly worshipped in northeastern and eastern states of India such as Assam and Bengal. Devi is depicted as in gentler forms like Parvati, the consort of Shiva; or, as warrior goddesses like Kali and Durga. Community celebrations include festivals, some of which include processions and idol immersion into sea or other water bodies.
Smartism worship all the major Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda. The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions. The Smarta tradition is very much same as Advaita Vedanta, and consider Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer, who considered worship of God-with-attributes (saguna Brahman) as a journey towards ultimately realizing God-without-attributes (nirguna Brahman, Atman, Self-knowledge).
Hindu text are world's oldest and had been written in Sanskrit and Tamil. The oldest Text is Rig Veda which is about 4000 years old.Hindu Texts can be divided in two parts:
Shruti or Shruthi (Sanskrit: श्रुति; IAST: "Śruti"; IPA/Sanskrit: [ʃrut̪i]) in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" These ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism includes the four Vedas including its four types of attached texts - the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the early Upanishads
Smriti (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: "Smṛti"), means "that which is remembered" are a body of Hindu texts. Smriti were the texts which were remembered and were spread through mouth from generation to generation. Smriti includes (the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana), the Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras (or Smritiśāstras), the Arthasaśāstras, the Purānas, the Kāvya or poetical literature.
There are many Hindu Festivals celebrated throughout the world but mainly in India and Nepal. These festivals include worship, offerings to deities, fasting, rituals, fairs, charity, celebrations, Puja, etc. The festivals mainly celebrate events from Hindu mythology, changes in season, changes in Solar System. Different sects celebrate different festivals but festivals like Diwali, Holi, Shivratri, Raksha Bandhan, Janamashtmi etc. are celebrated by the majority of Hindus.
Hinduism can be divided in following ages
The origins of Hinduism are unknown but the earliest traces of Hinduism come from Mesolithic in the sites such as the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older, as well as neolithic times. Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE. Several tribal religions still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions.
According to one view, the Varna, which later transformed into caste system during the British rule, shows how strongly many have felt about each person following his or her dharma, or destined path. Many Hindus say it goes against the true meaning of dharma. However, Varna plays a big role in Hindu society. It's later transformation as Caste system by the British rule of India lost favor and became illegal after the independence of India.
Puja (worship) takes place in the Mandir (temple). Mandirs vary in size from small village shrines to large buildings, surrounded by walls. People can also visit the Mandir at any time to pray and participate in the bhajans (religious songs). Hindus also worship at home and often have a special room with a shrine to particular gods.
Temple construction in India started nearly 2000 years ago. The oldest temples that were built of brick and wood no longer exist. Stone later became the preferred material. Temples marked the transition of Hinduism from the Vedic religion of ritual sacrifices to a religion of Bhakti or love and devotion to a personal deity. Temple construction and mode of worship is governed by ancient Sanskrit scriptures called agamas, of which there are several, which deal with individual deities. There are substantial differences in architecture, customs, rituals and traditions in temples in different parts of India. During the ritual consecration of a temple, the presence of the universal all-encompassing Brahman is invoked into the main stone deity of the temple, through ritual, thereby making the deity and the temple sacred and divine
The Bhakti (Devotional) school takes its name from the Hindu term that signifies a blissful, selfless and overwhelming love of God as the beloved Father, Mother, Child, or whatever relationship finds appeal in the devotee's heart. The philosophy of Bhakti seeks to tap into the universal divinity through personal form, which explains the proliferation of so many gods and goddesses in India, often reflecting the singular inclinations of small regions or groups of people. Seen as a form of Yoga, or union, it seeks to dissolve the ego in God, since consciousness of the body and limited mind as self is seen to be a divisive factor in spiritual realization. Essentially, it is God who effects all change, who is the source of all works, who acts through the devotee as love and light. 'Sins' and evil-doings of the devotee are said to fall away of their own accord, the devotee shriven, limitedness even transcended, through the love of God. The Bhakti movements rejuvenated Hinduism through their intense expression of faith and their responsiveness to the emotional and philosophical needs of India. They can rightly be said to have affected the greatest wave of change in Hindu prayer and ritual since ancient times.
The most popular means of expressing love for God in the Hindu tradition has been through "puja", or ritual devotion, frequently using the aid of a "" (statue) in conjunction with the singing or chanting of meditational prayer in the form of mantras.
Devotional songs called bhajans (written primarily from the 14th-17th centuries), kirtan (praise), and arti (a filtered down form of Vedic fire ritual) are sometimes sung in conjunction with performance of puja. This rather organic system of devotion attempts to aid the individual in connecting with God through symbolic medium. It is said, however, that the "bhakta", through a growing connection with God, is eventually able to avoid all external form and is immersed entirely in the bliss of undifferentiated Love in Truth.
Altogether, bhakti resulted in a mass of devotional literature, music and art that has enriched the world and gave India renewed spiritual impetus, one eschewing unnecessary ritual and artificial social boundaries. See bhakti yoga for more.
According to the most famous Western Tantrik scholar, Sir John Woodroffe (pseudonym Arthur Avalon): "The Indian Tantras, which are numerous, constitute the Scripture (Shastra) of the Kaliyuga, and as such are the voluminous source of present and practical orthodox 'Hinduism'. The Tantra Shastra is, in fact, and whatever be its historical origin, a development of the Vaidika Karmakanda, promulgated to meet the needs of that age. Shiva says: 'For the benefit of men of the Kali age, men bereft of energy and dependent for existence on the food they eat, the Kaula doctrine, O auspicious one! is given' (Chap. IX., verse 12). To the Tantra we must therefore look if we would understand aright both ritual, yoga, and sadhana of all kinds, as also the general principles of which these practices are but the objective expression." (Introduction to Sir John Woodroffe's translation of "Mahanirvana Tantra.")
The word "tantra" means "treatise" or "continuum", and is applied to a variety of mystical, occult, medical and scientific works as well as to those which we would now regard as "tantric". Most tantras were written in the late Middle Ages and sprang from Hindu cosmology and Yoga.
Many Hindus are vegetarians (do not eat meat) because of their respect for life. About 30% of today's Hindu population, especially in orthodox communities in South India, in certain northerly states like Gujarat, and in many Brahmin areas around the subcontinent, are vegetarian.
Most Hindus who do eat meat do not eat beef. Some do not even use leather products. This is most likely because many Hindus have relied so heavily on the cow for all sorts of dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertiliser that its status as a willing 'caretaker' of humanity grew to identifying it as an almost motherly figure. Thus, while most Hindus do not worship the cow, and rules against eating beef arose long after the Vedas had been written, it still has an honored place in Hindu society. It is said that Krishna is both Govinda (herder of cows) and Gopala (protector of cows), and Shiva's attendant is Nandi, the bull. With the stress on vegetarianism (which is usually followed even by meat-eating Hindus on religious days or special occasions) and the sacred nature of the cow, it is no wonder that most holy cities and areas in India have a ban on selling meat-products and there is a movement among Hindus to ban cow-slaughter not only in specific regions, but in all of India.
Hindus use many symbols and signs. The two most important symbols used by Hindus are the "Aum" and the "Swastika (Hinduism)".
Contrary to popular belief, practiced Hinduism is neither polytheistic nor strictly monotheistic. The various Hindu gods and avatars that are worshipped by Hindus are understood as different forms of One truth, sometimes seen as beyond a mere god and as a formless Divine Ground (Brahman), akin but not limited to monism, or as one monotheistic principle like Vishnu or Shiva.
Whether believing in the One source as formless (nirguna brahman, without attributes) or as a personal god (saguna Brahman, with attributes), Hindus understand that the one truth may be seen as different to different people. Hinduism encourages devotees to describe and develop a personal relationship with their chosen deity (ishta devata) in the form of a god or goddess.
While some censuses hold worshippers of one form or another of Vishnu (known as "Vaishnavs") to be at 80% and those of Shiva (called "Shaivaites") and Shakti at the remaining 20%, such figures are perhaps misleading. The vast majority of Hindus worship many gods as varicolored forms of the same prism of Truth. Among the most popular are Vishnu (as Krishna or Rama), Shiva, Devi (the Mother as many female deities, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali and Durga), Ganesha, Skanda and Hanuman.
Worship of the said deities is often done through the aid of pictures or icons ("murti") which are said not to be God themselves but conduits for the devotee's consciousness, markers for the human soul that signify the ineffable and illimitable nature of the love and grandeur of God. They are symbols of the greater principle, representing and are never presumed to "be" the concept or entity itself. Thus, Hindu image worship is a form of iconolatry, in which the symbols are venerated as putative sigils of divinity, as opposed to idolatry, a charge often levied (erroneously) at Hindus. For more details on this form of worship, see murti.
Hindus use several prayers and group of words. Some group of words are called mantras.
These words are said to give the speaker a deeper concentration and understanding, thus coming closer to Brahman.
A well known mantra is "om" or "aum". It symbolizes Brahman, and is often the opening word in many prayers.
To pronounce a mantra well, you should say it slowly, and in a deep voice.
The nations of India, Mauritius, and Nepal as well as the Indonesian island of Bali have more people who are Hindus than people who are not Hindus.In these nations, specially Nepal and India Hinduism is very popular.
These countries also have many Hindus:
There are also strong Hindu communities in the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, especially in Russia and Poland. The Indonesian islands of Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Borneo also have big native Hindu populations. In its Yoga stream, Hinduism is even more widespread all over the world with 30 million (less than one percent can not be 30 million for US population) Hindus in the United States alone.
List of elements by symbol
This is a list of elements by atomic number with symbol.
Periodic table (big)
Periodic table (metals and non-metals)
Color coding for atomic numbers:
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés (1485 - 2 December 1547) was an explorer and Conquistador from Spain. Between 1519 and 1521, he conquered the Aztec Empire of emperor Montezuma II where Mexico is today.
Cortes was born Medellín, Extremadura province, in the Kingdom of Castile in Spain. He went to Salamanca University, but dropped out at the age of 17. After two years, Cortes failed and finished schooling, returning home. This, however, was later helpful, as he knew how the law of Spain worked.
Hernan's journeys started in 1502 when he had heard stories about the New World. He then went on a journey led by Nicolas de Ovando and Diego Velazquez to the West Indies. He turned out to be a good soldier under the orders of Velázquez.
He went to the New World in 1506. In 1511, he took part in the Spanish conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba, where the Arawak people lived. In 1513, the Spanish built the town Bayamo. The next year, they built Trinidad, Santo Espiritu, Puerto Principe, and Santiago de Cuba.
In 1519, Cortes set out from Cuba with a fleet of ships, 600 men, and about 20 horses. They went to Yucatán to look for gold and to get Mexico ready for colonization. They landed in Yucatán Peninsula and met Jeronimo de Aguilar, a priest who lived through a shipwreck. He knew a lot about the Maya, who owned this section of land.
Cortes took over Yucatán by winning a battle against the people of Tabasco.
He met a woman, La Malinche, who knew the Maya and Nahuatl languages. She acted as his translator when he talked with Maya and Aztec people.
In July of 1519, the Spanish took over Veracruz, and left 100 men there. That August, Cortes went to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. He brought 400 men, 15 horsemen, and 15 cannons with him. On his way, he met Native American tribes like the Nahuas of Tlaxcala and the Totonacs of Cempoala.
In October 1519, Cortes gathered his soldiers and around three thousand Tlaxcalteca (who had long been enemies of the Aztecs). His goal was to scare the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan. He then went on a killing spree and burned down the city. When he came to Tenochtitlan, he had a vast army of Aztec enemies.
Cortés was surprised that Tenochtitlan was as great as Constantinople. In November, the emperor of the Aztecs, Moctezuma II, welcomed Cortes and his army. Montezuma II let them into Aztec territory, where they learned the Aztecs' weaknesses and then destroyed them. The emperor gave them gold, and Cortes later told King Charles V that the Aztecs might have thought he was one of their gods: Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent with fair skin and a beard. Cortes quickly realized that some Spaniards had been attacked on the coast and planned to kidnap Moctezuma and his house and make him swear loyalty to King Charles V.
On the night of June 30 – July 1, 1520 the Aztecs attacked, but the majority of the Spanish escaped and allied themselves with enemies of the Aztec empire. Later, in 1521, with his army of a few Spaniards and many natives, Cortés destroyed Tenochtitlan and took over the Aztec Empire.
Cortés returned from Honduras and was Governor of the Viceroyalty of New Spain for a while. Later, he went back to Europe with a lot of treasure. He died in Seville, Spain, in 1547 from pleurisy.
Bible study
Bible study is intensive reading of the Bible.
For Christians, study of the Bible is often part of daily life. A lot of other people are also interested in this piece of world literature.
In Europe before the 16th century it was not possible for most people to study the Bible. Books were written using only the languages Latin and Greek. Only people who had learned to read those languages could study the Bible. The Roman Catholic Church said people could not translate the Bible into other languages, for example Italian or English because many people could not read and it took the lifetime of a monk, by himself, to translate the Bible.
When the Reformation started in 16th century Europe, the Bible was translated into several languages. Many books were printed in these languages. People were then able to read the Bible in their own language.
Medlar
The medlar is a tree and the name of the fruit of this tree. Its Latin name is "Mespilus germanicus", or "German medlar", but it is not from Germany. It grows in the Near East and South-Eastern Europe, and the Romans took it to Germany. Near the Caspian Sea, people grew the medlar about three thousand years ago. It came to Greece in about 700 BC and to Rome in about 200 BC. It was an important fruit plant in Roman and medieval times. But by 1600-1700, people started eating other fruits and not the medlar. Today people do not grow it very often.
The medlar needs warm summers and mild (not too cold) winters and likes to grow in sunny, dry places. In the best places, the plant can grow up to eight metres tall. The medlar is "deciduous": it is not green all year. Usually, it is shorter than a tree. It lives between thirty and fifty years. Medlar leaves are dark green, maximum fifteen centimetres long and three centimetres wide. The plant has flowers in late spring. The flowers are white. The red-brown medlar fruits are similar to apples and grow to two to three centimetres. They are very hard and acidic, and we can only eat them after the cold weather makes them soft.
Atheism is rejecting the belief in a god or gods.
It is the opposite of theism, which is the belief that at least one god exists. A person who rejects belief in gods is called an atheist. Theism is the belief in one or more gods. Adding an a, meaning "without", before the word theism results in atheism, or literally, "without theism".
Atheism is not the same as agnosticism: agnostics say that there is no way to "know" whether gods exist or not. Being an agnostic does not have to mean a person rejects or believes in god. Some agnostics are theists, believing in god. The theologian Kierkegaard is an example. Other agnostics are atheists. Gnosticism refers to a claim of knowledge. A gnostic has sufficient knowledge to make a claim. Adding an a, meaning "without", before the word gnostic results in agnostic, or literally, "without knowledge".
While theism refers to "belief" in one or more gods, gnosticism refers to "knowledge". In practice, most people simply identify as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.
Anaxagoras was the first known atheist. He was an Ionian Greek, born in Clazomenae in what is now Asia Minor. He travelled to other Greek cities, and his ideas were well known in Athens. Socrates mentioned that his works could be bought in Athens for a drachma. Eventually he was prosecuted and condemned for impiety, and banished from Athens.
Anaxagoras' beliefs were interesting. He thought the Sun was not a god, and was not animated (alive). The Sun was "a red-hot mass many times larger than the Peloponnese". The Moon was a solid body with geographical features, and made of the same substance as the Earth. The world was a globe (spherical).
Atheists often give reasons why they do not believe in a god or gods. Three of the reasons that they often give are the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief. Not all atheists think these reasons provide complete proof that gods cannot exist, but these are the reasons given to support rejecting belief that gods exist.
Some atheists do not believe in any god because they feel that there is no evidence for any god nor gods and goddesses, so believing any type of theism means believing unproved assumptions. These atheists think a simpler explanation for everything is methodological naturalism which means that only natural things exist. Occam's razor shows simple explanations without many unproved guesses are more likely to be true.
The word "atheism" comes from the Greek language. It can be divided into "a-" (ἄ), a Greek prefix meaning "without", and "theos" (θεός), meaning "god", and recombined to form "without gods" or "godless". In Ancient Greece it also meant "impious".
Starting in about the 5th century BC, the word came to describe people who were "severing relations with the gods" or "denying the gods". Before then, the meaning had been closer to "impious". There is also the abstract noun, (""), "atheism".
Cicero transliterated the Greek word into the Latin "atheos". This word was often used in the debate between early Christians and Hellenists. Each side used it to label the other, in a bad way.
Karen Armstrong writes that "During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the word 'atheist' was still reserved exclusively for polemic ... The term 'atheist' was an insult. Nobody would have dreamed of calling "himself" an atheist."
"Atheism" was first used to describe an openly positive belief in late 18th-century Europe, meaning disbelief in the monotheistic Abrahamic god.
The 20th century saw the term expand to refer to disbelief in all deities. However, it is still common in Western society to describe atheism as simply "disbelief in God".
In many places, it is (or was) a crime to make public the idea of atheism. Examples would be to claim the Bible or Qur'an could not be true, or to speak or write that there is no god.
Muslim apostasy, that is becoming an atheist or believing in a god other than Allah, may be a dangerous act in places with many conservative Muslim people. Many religious courts have punished and some still punish this act with the death penalty. Many countries still have laws against atheism. Although it is considered by most Muslim scholars to be a sin, not all agree, that is should be punishable. For example, "Surat Al Kafirun" in Qur'an is clearly stating everyone's freedom to choose his religion and beliefs. The laws against Athiesm in the Muslim World is not universal, and is based on each society's interpretation of the Holy Book.
Atheism is becoming more common, mainly in South America, North America, Oceania and Europe (by percentage of people that had a religion before and started to be atheist).
In many countries, mainly in the Western world, there are laws that protect atheists' right to express their atheistic belief (freedom of speech). This means that atheists have the same rights under the law as everyone else. "Freedom of religion" in international law and treaties includes the freedom to not have a religion.
Today, about 2.3% of the world's population describes itself as atheist. About 11.9% is described as nontheist.
Between 64% and 65% of Japanese describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or non-believers,
and up to 48% in Russia. The percentage of such people in European Union member states ranges between 6% (Italy) and 85% (Sweden). In the United States, according to Pew and Gallup—two of the most reputable polling firms in America—both conclude that about 10% of Americans say they do not believe in God, and this figure has been slowly creeping up over the decades. The real number is likely higher than this, due to the stigma around atheism.
People disagree about what atheism means. They disagree on when to call certain people atheists or not.
Atheism is generally described as not believing in God.
George H. Smith created the expressions "implicit atheism"" "and "explicit atheism" to describe the difference between different types of Atheism. "Implicit atheism" is when you do not believe in God because you do not know about the concept of God. "Explicit atheism" is when you do not believe in God after learning about the idea.
In 1772, Baron d'Holbach said that "All children are born atheists; they have no idea of God".
In 1979 George H. Smith said that: "The man who is unacquainted with theism is an atheist because he does not believe in a god. This category would also include the child [who is able to] grasp the issues involved, but who is still unaware of those issues. The fact that this child does not believe in god qualifies him as an atheist".
Those two quotes describe implicit atheism.
Ernest Nagel disagrees with Smith's definition of atheism as an "absence of theism", saying only "explicit" atheism is true atheism. This means that Nagel believes that to be an atheist, a person needs to know about God and then reject the idea of God.
Philosophers like Antony Flew,
have looked at "strong" (sometimes called positive) atheism against "weak" (sometimes called negative) atheism. According to this idea, anyone who does not believe in a god or gods is either a weak or a strong atheist.
Strong atheism is the certain belief that no god exists. An older way of saying strong atheism is to say "positive atheism". Weak atheism is all other forms of not believing in a god or gods. An older way of saying weak atheism is to say "negative atheism" These terms have been used more in philosophical writing and in Catholic beliefs.
since at least 1813.
Under this definition of atheism, most agnostics are weak atheists.
Michael Martin says that agnosticism includes weak atheism. Some agnostics, including Anthony Kenny, disagree. They think being an agnostic is different from being an atheist. They think atheism is no different from believing in a god, because both require belief. This overlooks the reality that agnostics also have their own belief or "claim to knowledge"
Agnostics say that it cannot be known if a god or gods exist. In their view, strong atheism requires a leap of faith.
Atheists usually respond by saying that there is no difference between an idea about religion with no proof, and an idea about other things
The lack of proof that god does not exist does not mean that there is no god, but it also does not mean that there is a god.
Scottish philosopher J.J.C. Smart says that "sometimes a person who is really an atheist may describe herself, even passionately, as an agnostic because of unreasonable generalised philosophical skepticism which would preclude us from saying that we know anything whatever, except perhaps the truths of mathematics and formal logic".
So, some popular atheist authors such as Richard Dawkins like to show the difference between theist, agnostic and atheist positions by the probability assigned to the statement "God exists".
In everyday life, many people define natural phenomena without the need of a god or gods. They do not deny the existence of one or more gods, they simply say that this existence is not necessary. Gods do not provide a purpose to life, nor influence it, according to this view.
Many scientists practice what they call methodological naturalism. They silently adopt philosophical naturalism and use the scientific method. Their belief in a god does not affect their results.
Practical atheism can take different forms:
Theoretic atheism tries to find arguments against the existence of god, and to disprove the arguments of theism, such as the argument from design or Pascal's Wager. These theoretical reasons have many forms, most of them are ontological or epistemological. Some rely on psychology or sociology.
According to Immanuel Kant, there can be no proof of a supreme being that is made using reason. In his work, "Critique of Pure Reason", he tries to show that all attempts of either proving the existence of God, or disproving it, end in logical contradictions. Kant says that it is impossible to know whether there are any higher beings. This makes him an agnostic.
Ludwig Feuerbach published "The Essence of Christianity" in 1841. In his work he postulates the following:
The following phrases sum up Feuerbach's writing:
Hippocrates
Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) was a Greek doctor who is called the "father of medicine". He was the first person to teach that people got sick for scientific reasons. Previously, people believed that disease was caused by angry gods.
Many of Hippocrates' writings are still important to doctors. For example, patient confidentiality, meaning that doctors can only discuss a patient with the patient themselves. Another of his ideas is to never knowingly lead a patient to suffering or death. These kinds of ideas are part of medical ethics.
The Hippocratic Oath is named after him. This is a set of rules which doctors promise to obey. This is an example of a modern "Hippocratic Oath" used at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. I do solemnly swear by all I hold most sacred:
Commensurability is a concept in the philosophy of science. Scientific theories are described as "commensurable" if one can compare them to find out which is more accurate. If there is no way one can compare them to determine which is more accurate, they are "incommensurable".
Behind this is the idea that it is possible to see the world in multiple ways, and that there is not one fair method to see which way is right. Some think that scientific traditions (or "paradigms") can be incommensurable: it is not really possible to say which one is right. This idea has been defended by Thomas Kuhn. He wrote: "when paradigms change, the world changes with them". Paul Feyerabend was another philosopher who said that incommensurability was possible in scientific topics. He wrote that it is important to remember this, because it means that it is possible to say things that are not scientific, but also not wrong. These ideas were mainly aimed at Karl Popper and his ideas on falsification.
Two theories may not be comparable if one cannot find a way to compare them and decide which is right.
The concept of incommensurability is dramatized in the 2006 movie "Idiocracy", when U.S. Army scientist Joe Bauers attempts to explain before a full Cabinet meeting his theory that the nation's crops would be better irrigated with water rather than with a sports drink.
Harvest means to collect what has been planted and grown in the ground. It is usually done by farmers, and in the fall season. This is also called picking crops. Crop failure (also known as harvest failure) is a loss or reduced crop yield due to plants being damaged, killed, or destroyed. Sometimes it brings famine.
"Harvest" can also mean to collect other things than plants such as cultivated bivalves including oysters, scallops, and other animals.
ELISPOT
ELISPOT stands for "Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Spot Assay". It is a laboratory technique for detecting cells that make (or "secrete") various substances. These substances include specific types of cytokines or antibodies. The ELISPOT method is typically used with blood cells, and is a helpful tool in studying the human immune system and various treatments for disease (e.g. vaccines).
In the ELISPOT technique, tiny wells are used to contain the cells, with a variety of other substances. The substances cause colored spots to form near the cells that secrete the substances in question. These spots can then be counted manually (using a microscope, for example) or automatically using specialized equipment with computer vision capabilities.
The ELISPOT technique is very sensitive, and can detect even a single substance-producing cell. It is also very versatile, since it can be tailored to detect a wide variety of very specific secretions.
List of biochemistry topics
This is a list of all the articles related to biochemistry.
abiogenesis - adenine - adenosine diphosphate (ADP) - adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - albumin - allotrope - alpha helix - amino acid - amylase - antibiotic - antibody - antigen -
B vitamin complex - base pair - bilirubin - benzene - biochemistry - bioluminescence - blood - blood type
carbohydrate - carbon dioxide - catabolism - cell - cell membrane - cellobiose - cellular respiration - cellulose - chemoautotroph - chloroplast - choline - chromatography - citric acid - coenzyme A - cytoplasm - cytokine - cytosine - cytosol -
deoxyribose - disaccharide - DNA - DNA replication -
ELISA - ELISPOT - energy level - enkephalin - enzyme - epinephrine - erythropoietin -
fat - formaldehyde -
gel electrophoresis - glycolysis - glycoprotein - granzyme - guanine -
hemoglobin - hormone - hydrocarbon - hydrogen bond - hydrolysis -
immunoglobulin - immunology - insulin - intermolecular force - ion channel - ionic bond - isomer -
keratin - kinetic energy - Krebs cycle -
Le Chatelier's principle - light-dependent reactions - light-independent reactions - Link reaction - lipid -
macromolecule - membrane protein - metabolism - microbiology - molecular biology - molecule - monosaccharide -
NADPH - neurotransmitter - niacin - nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate - Nobel Prize in Chemistry - nucleic acid - nucleobase - nucleotide - nutrient - nutrition -
organic chemistry - organic compound - osmosis - oxidation -
peptide - pesticide - pH - photosynthesis - physiology - polymer - polysaccharide - potential energy - prion - protein - protein biosynthesis -
redox - respiration (physiology) - riboflavin - ribose - ribosome - RNA -
saturated fat - scientific notation - sequence analysis - signal transduction - solvation - starch - substrate (biochemistry) - sugar - synapse
T cell - thymine - toxin - trans fat - transcription (genetics) - translation (genetics) -
unsaturated fat - uracil -
vaccine - virus - vitamin - Vitamin A - Vitamin C - Vitamin D - Vitamin E - Vitamin K -
yeast -
The Aztecs were Native American people who lived in Mesoamerica. They ruled the Aztec Empire from the 14th century to the 16th century.
The name "Aztec" comes from the phrase "people from Aztlan". Legends say that Aztlan was the first place the Aztecs ever lived. "Aztlan" means "place of the herons" in the Nahuatl language.
Often the term "Aztec" refers just to the people of Tenochtitlan. This was a city on an island in Lake Texcoco. These people called themselves the Mexica which is why the country is called Mexico, or the Nahua which is why their language is called Nahuatl.
Before the Aztec Empire conquered them, the indigenous (native) people lived in many separate city-states. These were small cities with farmland around them. Each state had its own ruler. Around 1100 AD, these city-states started to fight each other for power and control of the area's resources.
Historians think the Aztecs came to central Mesoamerica around 1200. They came from what is now northwest Mexico. According to historian Lisa Marty:
By 1325, the Aztecs had built Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco. Tenochtitlan became a city-state that gradually became more and more powerful.
By about 1400, three city-states had grown into small empires. In 1428, these two empires fought the Tepanec War for control of the area. The Texcoco empire made an alliance with some other powerful city-states, including Tenochtitlan, and won the war. These allies were supposed to share power equally as they started to gain control of more land. However, by 1430, Tenochtitlan became the most powerful member of the alliance. It became the capital city of the Aztec Empire, and its ruler became the 'high king' of the Empire.
The Aztec Empire existed between about 1438 AD and 1521 AD. When the Empire was largest, it spread across most of Mesoamerica and controlled about 11,000,000 people.
Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan was one of the greatest cities of the world in that time. By the early 1500s, at least 200,000 people lived in the city. This made Tenochtitlan the largest city in the Americas before Christopher Columbus arrived.
Mexico City now covers the whole area where Tenochtitlan used to be.
The Aztecs believed in many gods. Two of the most important gods they worshipped were "Huitzilopochtli", the god of war and the sun, and "Tlaloc", the rain god. Another important god was "Quetzalcoatl" (feathered snake), the god of learning and civilization.
The Aztecs did many things to keep the gods happy. These things included human sacrifices. They believed this helped keep the world from ending. The Aztecs believed that the gods had created them, and that human sacrifice was the most powerful way of giving back the gift of life. The Aztecs also believed that the gods were in an almost never-ending struggle. The hearts and blood from the sacrifice fed the good gods to give them strength to fight the evil gods. The human sacrifices often took place on the Templo Mayor, the Aztecs' great pyramid temple.
The Aztecs ate plants and vegetables that could grow easily in Mesoamerica. The main foods in the Aztec diet were maize, beans, and squash. They often used tomatoes and chili as spices. Aztec markets sold fruit, vegetables, spices, flowers, dogs, birds, and cocoa beans. They also created chocolate. However, they did not have sugar, so their chocolate was a strong liquid with chili in it. They also made an alcoholic drink called chocolatl. These foods later spread around the world.
In Aztec society, there were different social classes with different social statuses. The most important people were the rulers. The Aztecs' first king was Acamapichtli. Their last king was Cuauhtemoc. He surrendered control of the Aztec Empire to Hernan Cortes during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Next were nobles. These were the Empire's powerful members of the government; great warriors; judges; and priests. These people enjoyed a high social status.
The next social class was the commoners (common people). These were the Empire's everyday workers. Most of them farmed, ran stores, or traded. Other workers included artisans, regular soldiers, and fishers. Commoners were allowed to own land as a group or a family. However, a single person was not allowed to own land.
The lowest social classes in Aztec society were serfs and then slaves. Slaves had no rights at all. They were bought and sold at Aztec markets. The Aztecs also sacrificed some prisoners of war to their gods. However, if they had the money, they could buy their own freedom and become commoners.
For most of the Aztec Empire's existence, it was very difficult to move between social classes. Usually, if a person was born in a social class, they would stay in that class for the rest of their life.