In a series of 50 accessible and lucidly written essays, Ben Dupre probes some of the most significant ideas in politics, philosophy, religion, economics, science and the arts. Some of these are unimpeachable (liberty, reason); others mind numbing (The Big Bang chaos); a few mysterious (fate, surrealism) or downright despicable (fascism, racism). What they have in common is that they all matter and have left a deep impression on human civilization. The full sweep of such ideas – from the beautiful and the wondrous to the ugly and the debased – is covered in this volume.