50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know is a concise‎,‎ accessible and popular guide to the central tenets of Western thought‎.‎ Every important principle of philosophy‎,‎ religion‎,‎ politics‎,‎ economics‎,‎ the arts and the sciences is profiled in a series of short illustrated essays‎,‎ complemented by an informative array of timelines and box features‎.‎ Platonism‎,‎ The Soul‎,‎ Communism‎,‎ Aristotelianism‎,‎ Faith‎,‎ Fascism‎,‎ The Golden rule‎,‎ Atheism‎,‎ Racism‎,‎ Altruism‎,‎ Secularism‎,‎ Feminism‎,‎ Pluralism‎,‎ Fundamentalism‎,‎ Islamism‎,‎ Liberty‎,‎ Creationism‎,‎ Capitalism‎,‎ Toleration‎,‎ War‎,‎ Globalization‎,‎ Scepticism‎,‎ Duty‎,‎ Classicism‎,‎ Reason‎,‎ Utopia‎,‎ Romanticism‎,‎ Punishment‎,‎ Liberalism‎,‎ Modernism‎,‎ Materialism‎,‎ Democracy‎,‎ Surrealism‎,‎ Relativism‎,‎ Conservatism‎,‎ Censorship‎,‎ Utilitarianism‎,‎ Imperialism‎,‎ Big Bang‎,‎ Existentialism‎,‎ Nationalism‎,‎ Chaos‎,‎ Evil‎,‎ Social contract‎,‎ Evolution‎,‎ Fate‎,‎ Republicanism‎,‎ Relativity‎,‎ Quantum mechanics‎,‎ Gaia‎.‎