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the philosophy of Plato. The central concept of Platonism is the distinction between that reality which is perceptible, but not intelligible, and that which is intelligible, but imperceptible; to this distinction the Theory of Forms is essential. The forms are typically described as perfect archetypes, of which objects in the everyday world are imperfect copies.

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Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with huge limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar.

The term comes from the classical Greeks' belief that only the mythical Cyclopes had the strength to move the enormous boulders that made up the walls of Mycenae and Tiryns.

René Descartes

(31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650)

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a natural philosopher and writer who has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy." Much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day. In particular, his Meditations on First Philosophy continues to be a standard text at most university philosophy departments. Descartes's influence in mathematics is also apparent. Descartes was also one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution.

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a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. Plainsong is monophonic, consisting of a single, unaccompanied melodic line. It generally has a more free rhythm than the metered rhythm of later Western music.

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a word in Classical music that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. A polyphonic composition based on a sacred text and usually sung without accompaniment.

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a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration. Accompanied canon is a canon accompanied by one or more additional independent parts which do not take part in imitating the melody.

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the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent. It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period, especially in Baroque music.

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a melody in a polyphonic texture that is repeated shortly after its first appearance in a different voice , usually at a different pitch. The melody may vary through transposition, inversion, or otherwise, but retain its original character.

Charles Edward Ives

(October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954)

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a broad philosophical movement emphasizing the study of conscious experience. It was founded in the early years of the 20th century by Edmund Husserl.

Phenomenology, in Husserl's conception, is primarily concerned with the systematic reflection on and analysis of the structures of consciousness, and the phenomena which appear in acts of consciousness. 

Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl

(April 8, 1859 – April 26, 1938)

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a philosopher and mathematician who is deemed the founder of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic. Not limited to empiricism, but believing that experience is the source of all knowledge, he worked on a method of phenomenological reduction by which a subject may come to know directly an essence.

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a set of epistemological perspectives and philosophies of science which hold that the scientific method is the best approach to uncovering the processes by which both physical and human events occur.

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a theory of history holding that the course of events is determined by unchangeable laws or cyclic pattern. The theory also states that the only true understanding of a person, society, historical period, etc. comes about through knowledge of its historical context.

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a distinctive heraldic design on a tunic used to cover and protect armour, but the term is more broadly applied to mean a full heraldic achievement which consists of a shield and certain accessories. In either sense, the design is a symbol unique to a person, family, corporation, or state.

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a glide in music from one pitch to another.

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an element of musical notation indicating that the note should be sustained for longer than its note value would indicate.

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a metrical pattern in which two bars in simple triple time (3/2 or 3/4 for example) are articulated as if they were three bars in simple duple time (2/2 or 2/4).

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a comedy about religious hypocrisy by Molière. The character of Tartuffe represents those members of society who preach religious piety but do not themselves live by the morals they try to force upon others.

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a style of jazz characterized by fast tempo, instrumental virtuosity and improvisation based on the combination of harmonic structure and melody. It was developed in the early and mid-1940s.

Paul Desmond

(November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977)

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a jazz alto saxophonist and composer best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five". He was not only one of the most popular musicians to come out of the West Coast's "cool jazz" scene, but also the possessor of a legendary and idiosyncratic wit.

Ornette Coleman

(born March 9, 1930)

Joseph Heller

(May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999)

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an American satirical novelist, short story writer and playwright. He wrote the influential novel Catch-22 about American servicemen during World War II. The title of this work entered the English lexicon to refer to absurd, no-win choices, particularly in situations in which the desired outcome of the choice is an impossibility, and regardless of choice, the same negative outcome is a certainty. Heller is widely regarded as one of the best post-World War II satirists. Although he is remembered primarily for Catch-22, his other works center on the lives of various members of the middle class and remain exemplars of modern satire.

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a novel by the American author William Faulkner.
The novel is known for its stream of consciousness writing technique, multiple narrators, and varying chapter lengths. It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family's quest and motivations—noble or selfish—to honor her wish to be buried in the town of Jefferson.

William Cuthbert Faulkner

(September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962)

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an Athenian tragedy by Euripides. It dramatises Andromache's life as a slave, years after the events of the Trojan War, and her conflict with her master's new wife, Hermione.

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a tragedy by Sophocles written before or in 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first.

Sophocles

(c. 497/6 BC – 406/5 BC)

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the second of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived. Of his 123 plays, only seven have survived: Ajax, Antigone, Trachinian Women, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. His most famous tragedies are Oedipus and Antigone. Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by adding a third actor and thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus.

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an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history, free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the Agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods amid colonnades.

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a Russian writer many consider to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. His literary masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina represent, in their scope, breadth and vivid depiction of 19th-century Russian life and attitudes, the peak of realist fiction. His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist.

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church plan in the form of a Greek cross, with a square central mass and four arms of equal length. The Greek-cross plan was widely used in Byzantine architecture and in Western churches inspired by Byzantine examples.

Eugène Ionesco

(26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994)

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a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd. Beyond ridiculing the most banal situations, Ionesco's plays depict in a tangible way the solitude and insignificance of human existence. Ionesco's most famous work includes The Lesson (1951), The Chairs (1952), and Rhinoceros (1959).

Victor-Marie Hugo

(26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885)

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a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France.

In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry but also rests upon his novels and his dramatic achievements. Among many volumes of poetry, Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles stand particularly high in critical esteem, and Hugo is sometimes identified as the greatest French poet. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris.

Though a committed royalist when he was young, Hugo's views changed as the decades passed; he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work touches upon most of the political and social issues and artistic trends of his time.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter

or St. Peter's Basilica

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a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world. It is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. In Catholic tradition, the basilica is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter.

Occam's razor

or Ockham's razor

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any theory that, given the available evidence cited to support the theory, has a rival theory which is inconsistent with it that is at least as consistent with the evidence. Underdetermination is an epistemological issue about the relation of evidence to conclusions.