Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) induction, in logic, a form of argument in which the premises give grounds for the conclusion but do not necessitate it. Induction is contrasted with deduction, in which true premises do necessitate t...

(Encyclopedia) abdication, in a political sense, renunciation of high public office, usually by a monarch. Some abdications have been purely voluntary and resulted in no loss of prestige. For instance, Holy Roman Em...

(Encyclopedia) Varanasi bənäˈrĭz [key], city (1991 pop. 1,030,863), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. Although a rail hub and trade center, Varanasi is chiefly important as a holy city. ...

(Encyclopedia) Mo Yan, 1955–, Chinese novelist, pen name of Guan Moye, b. Shandong prov. Mo is one of contemporary China's most prolific and popular writers. He left school in the fifth grade and did farm and fact...

(Encyclopedia) Norwich nôrˈĭj, –ĭch [key], city (1991 pop. 32,664) and district, county seat of Norfolk, E England, on the Wensum River just above its confluence with the Yare. Norwich is a principal city mark...

(Encyclopedia) association, in psychology, a connection between different sensations, feelings, or ideas by virtue of their previous occurrence together in experience. The concept of association entered contemporary...

(Encyclopedia) Dulles, Allen Welsh dŭlˈəs [key], 1893–1969, U.S. public official, b. Watertown, N.Y.; brother of John Foster Dulles. The Dulles brothers, born into America's political establishment, became extr...

(Encyclopedia) catastrophism kətăsˈtrəfĭzəm [key], in geology, the doctrine that at intervals in the earth's history all living things have been destroyed by cataclysms (e.g., floods or earthquakes) and replac...

(Encyclopedia) Wilson, Robert, 1941–, dramatist, director, and designer, b. Waco, Tex. He began his arts career as a painter. A leading figure in postmodern theater since 1963, when he arrived in New York City, he...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Triumphal arch triumphal arch, monumental structure embodying one or more arched passages, frequently built to span a road and designed to honor a king or general or to commemorate a military ...