Patterns of Nation-States and Culture in the Atlantic World, 1750–1871

The belief that material reality exists independently of the people who observe it.

A form of nationalism in which the nation is defined by a common language, a common faith, and a common ethnic ancestry.

European intellectual movement (1700-1800) growing out of the New Sciences and based largely on Descartes's concept of reality consisting of the two separate substances of matter and mind.

The investigation of truth by discussion; in Hegel's thought, the belief that a higher truth is comprehended by a continuous unification of opposites.

An economic system in which markets are self-regulating and largely free of governmental regulations.

A philosophy advocated by Auguste Comte that favors the careful empirical observation of natural phenomena and human behavior over metaphysics.

The philosophical doctrine that holds that nothing exists except matter.

Intellectual and artistic movement that emphasized emotion and imagination over reason and sought the sublime in nature.

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