bundle theory Theory advanced by David Hume to the effect that the mind is merely a bundle of perceptions without deeper unity or cohesion, related only by resemblance, succession, and causation. Hume’s well- argued denial of a substantial or unified self precipitated a philosophical crisis from which Immanuel Kant sought to rescue Western philosophy.
Bundy, McGeorge (b. March 30, 1919, Boston, Mass., U.S.—d. Sept. 16, 1996, Boston) U.S. public official and educator. He served in World War II as an intelligence officer. He joined the faculty of Harvard Uni¬ versity in 1949 and became dean of arts and sciences in 1953. As special assistant for national security to presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, he was a forceful advocate of expanding U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He resigned to become president of the Ford Founda¬ tion (1966-79) and later taught at New York University (1979-89).
bungee jumping Vbon-jeV Sport in which the jumper falls from a high place with a rubber (“bungee”) cord attached both to his or her feet and to the jump site, and, after a period of headfirst free fall, is bounced part-
Bunche.
H. ROGER-VIOLLET
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Bunin ► Burbank I 295
way back when the cord rebounds from its maximum stretch. It traces its roots to the “land diving” practiced on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, in which divers jump off a high tower, their feet connected to it by a vine whose length is calculated to allow the jumper to fall until his hair just brushes the ground below. The Oxford Dangerous Sports Club, inspired by reports of the Pentecost Island divers, made the first Western bungee jumps, and bungee jumping was first offered commercially to the public in New Zealand in 1988.
Bunin Vbu-n y in\, Ivan (Alekseyevich) (b. Oct. 10, 1870, Voronezh, Russia—d. Nov. 8, 1953, Paris, France) Russian poet and novelist. He worked as a journalist and clerk while writing and translating poetry, but he made his name as a short-story writer, with such masterpieces as the title story of The Gentleman from San Francisco (1916). His other works include the novel Mitya’s Love (1925), the story collection Dark Avenues (1943), fictional autobiography, memoirs, and books on Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. The first Russian awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1933), he is among the best stylists in the language.
Bunker Hill, Battle of also known as Battle of Breed's Hill (June 17,1775) First major battle of the American Revolution. Within two months after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, more than 15,000 colonial troops assembled near Boston to prevent the British army from occupy¬ ing several hills around the city, including Bunker and Breed’s hills. The colonists fortified Breed’s Hill in Charlestown, across the Charles River from Boston. They withstood a cannonade from British ships in Boston Harbor and fought off assaults by 2,300 British troops but were eventu¬ ally forced to retreat. Although the British won the battle, it was a Pyr¬ rhic victory that lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause. British casualties (about 1,000) and the colonists’ fierce resistance convinced the British that subduing the rebels would be difficult.
bunraku Vbun-ra-ku\ Japanese traditional puppet theatre, in which nearly life-size dolls act out a chanted dramatic narrative, called joruri , to the accompaniment of a small samisen. Puppet theatre reached its height in the 18th century with the plays of Chikamatsu Monzaemon and declined later because of a lack of good joruri writers.
Bunsen, Robert (Wilhelm) (b. March 31, 1811, Gottingen, Westphalia—d. Aug. 16, 1899, Heidelberg, Baden) German chemist. With Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, he observed (c. 1859) that each element emits light of a characteristic wavelength, opening the field of spectrochemical analy¬ sis. They discovered several new elements (including helium, cesium, and rubidium) by spectroscopy. His only book discussed methods of measur¬ ing volumes of gases. He invented the carbon-zinc battery, grease-spot photometer (see photometry), filter pump, ice calorimeter, and vapour calo¬ rimeter. Though often credited with inventing the Bunsen burner, he seems to have made only a minor contribution to its development.
bunting Common name for any of about 37 Old World species (genus Emberiza ) of finch, as well as certain similar species found in the New World. All belong to the family Frin- gillidae, and many are recognizable by strongly patterned heads or bright colours. Emberiza species are seed eaters that commonly breed in tem¬ perate Eurasia and from northern Africa to India. The snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis ) breeds in the far north, and the lark bunting ( Cala- mospiza melanocorys ) inhabits the U.S. Great Plains. U.S. species include the indigo bunting ( Passe - rina cyanea) and the painted bunting ( P. ciris ). The male painted bunting, with red, green, and blue feathers, is the most colourful bird that breeds in the U.S.
Bunuel X.bun-yu-'weL, Luis (b. Feb. 22, 1900, Calanda, Spain—d. July 29, 1983, Mexico City, Mex.) Spanish film director. As a student at the University of Madrid he met Salvador Dau, with whom he later made the Surrealist film Un chien andalou (1928). Bunuel then directed the anti¬ clerical L’Age d’or (1930) and the documentary Land Without Bread (1932). After working as a commercial producer in Spain and a technical adviser in Hollywood, he moved to Mexico, where he directed Los olvida- dos (1950) and Nazarin (1958). He returned to Spain to make Viridiana (1961), which was suppressed in Spain as anticlerical but internationally
acclaimed. He attacked conventional morality in such later films as Belle de jour (1967), Tristana (1970), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), and That Obscure Object of Desire (1977).
Bunyan, John (b. November 1628, Elstow, Bedfordshire,
Eng.—d. Aug. 31, 1688, London)
English minister and author. Bunyan encountered the seething religious life of various left-wing sects while serving in Oliver Cromwell’s army in the English Civil Wars. He under¬ went a period of spiritual crisis, con¬ verted to Puritanism, and became a preacher. After the Restoration, he was jailed as a Nonconformist for 12 years, during which he wrote his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding (1666). He is best known for The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678- 84), a religious allegory expressing the Puritan religious outlook. A sym¬ bolic vision of the character Chris¬ tian’s pilgrimage through life, it was at one time second only to the Bible in popularity among ordinary read¬ ers. Despite his ministerial responsi¬ bilities, he published numerous works in his last 10 years.
Bunyan, Paul Legendary giant lumberjack of the U.S. frontier. A symbol of strength and vitality, he is accompanied by a giant blue ox, Babe. He was credited with creating Puget Sound, digging the Grand Canyon, and building the Black Hills, and was known for his prodigious appetite, eating hotcakes off a griddle so large it was greased by men using sides of bacon as skates. Tales of his exploits probably originated in lumber camps, and were first published by James MacGillivray in “The Round River Drive” (1910), which soon led to a national myth.
Bunyoro See Nyoro
Buonarroti, Michelangelo See Michelangelo buoyancy See Archimedes' principle
burakumin \bu- , ra-ku-min\ Japanese "hamlet people" Japanese minority group that suffers discrimination based on its historical outcaste status. In the late 16th century, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi divided the popu¬ lace into four social classes, one group remained outside and beneath the system: those whose occupation involved the taking of life (such as butch¬ ers or executioners) or handling flesh or dead bodies (such as leather- workers or gravediggers). Buddhist and Shinto beliefs in the polluting nature of these occupations have long stigmatized those who held them. Though their outcaste status was removed by law in 1871, prejudice remains, and burakumin heritage often stands in the way of marriages and employment opportunities. Burakumin are estimated to number 1-3 mil¬ lion.