Main Page
Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,436,411 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleConatus is a term used in early philosophies of psychology and metaphysics to refer to an innate inclination of a thing to continue to exist and enhance itself. This “thing” may be mind, matter or a combination of both. Over the millennia, many different definitions and treatments have been formulated by philosophers. The most important of these include the seventeenth century philosophers René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and Gottfried Leibniz, along with their Empiricist contemporary Thomas Hobbes. The conatus may refer to the instinctual “will to live” of animals or to various metaphysical theories of motion and inertia. Often the concept is associated with God’s will in a pantheist view of Nature. The concept may be broken up into separate definitions for the mind and body, or even split up when discussing centrifugal force or inertia. After its formulation in ancient Greece, successive philosophers to adopt the term put their own personal twist on the concept, each developing the term differently such that it now has no concrete and universally accepted definition. Today, conatus is rarely used in the technical sense, since modern physics and evolutionary biology use concepts such as inertia and conservation of momentum that have superseded it. It has, however, been a notable influence on nineteenth and twentieth-century thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Louis Dumont and Arthur Schopenhauer. (more…)Recently featured: Oxidative phosphorylation – The General in His Labyrinth – Imperial Trans-Antarctic ExpeditionArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that the exact species for which the fish genus Carangoides (C. orthogrammus pictured) was originally created is unknown?… that in the 1800s, Chichester, Quebec claimed to have the largest wooden locks in Canada, built as part of a scheme to encourage boat travel on the upper Ottawa River?… that the 2008 film Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins uses “meerkats actors” to depict the Whiskers and Lazuli groups rather than using actual footage of the real meerkats?… that Bert Freeman was the top scorer in the English Football League in three seasons before 1914?… that Hexaware Technologies Limited is ranked as India’s 11th top IT service provider by NASSCOM since 2005?… that Scottish missionary Carstairs Douglas compiled the first comprehensive Amoy-English Dictionary in 1873, which, with revisions, is still in use today?… that in 1298, Pope Boniface VIII decreed in Periculoso that nuns “ought henceforth to remain perpetually cloistered in their monasteries”?… that the prosecution of Dr. Leonard Arthur for the murder of a Down’s syndrome baby led to a change in British law regarding the disclosure of technical evidence?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsRobert Mugabe (pictured) is sworn in for his sixth term as President of Zimbabwe after a controversial run-off presidential election in which opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew his candidacy due to election-related violence.Spain wins the European Football Championship, defeating Germany 1–0 in the final through a goal by Fernando Torres.Serbian President Boris Tadić names Mirko Cvetković as the new Prime Minister following the parliamentary election held in May.Pakistan holds by-elections, with the contest for one seat delayed by the Supreme Court until it can handle the appeal of disqualified candidate Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (N).In District of Columbia v. Heller, the United States Supreme Court rules that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects an individual’s right to bear arms, with possible consequences for existing gun control laws.New Zealand agrees to hand over forestry assets to seven Maori tribes as part of the reconciliation process.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…July 1: Canada Day1520 – Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire: Conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés (pictured) were nearly annihilated in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, and barely succeeded in escaping by night.1569 – The Union of Lublin was signed, merging the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.1867 – The British North America Act came into effect, uniting the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia into the Canadian Confederation.1916 – World War I: The first day of the Battle of the Somme became the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army, with 57,470 casualties of which 19,240 were killed or died of wounds.1997 – The United Kingdom transferred sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China, ending over 150 years of British colonial rule.More events: June 30 – July 1 – July 2Archive – By email – More anniversaries…It is now 17:51, July 1, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this pageToday’s featured pictureColonel Theodore Roosevelt of the Rough Riders, a regiment of volunteers in the United States Army. Under Roosevelt’s leadership, the Rough Riders became famous for dual charges up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898. On leaving the Army, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1898. He was then chosen to be William McKinley’s vice-presidential running mate in the 1900 election. Roosevelt then succeeded to the presidency upon McKinley’s assassination in 1901.Photo credit: B. J. FalkRecently featured: Double O Arch – “The Two Platforms” – Buffalo SoldiersArchive – More featured pictures…