foundation Part of a structural system that supports and anchors the superstructure of a building and transmits its loads directly to the earth. To prevent damage from repeated freeze-thaw cycles, the bottom of the foundation must be below the frost line. The foundations of low-rise resi¬ dential buildings are nearly all supported on spread footings, wide bases (usually of concrete) that support walls or piers and distribute the load over a greater area. A concrete grade beam supported by isolated footings, piers, or piles may be placed at ground level, especially in a building with¬ out a basement, to support the exterior wall. Spread footings are also used—in greatly enlarged form—for high-rise buildings. Other systems for supporting heavy loads include piles, concrete caisson columns, and building directly on exposed rock. In yielding soil, a floating foundation— consisting of rigid, boxlike structures set at such a depth that the weight of the soil removed to place it equals the weight of the construction supported—may be used.
foundation Nongovernmental, nonprofit organization with assets pro¬ vided by donors and managed by its own officials and with income expended for socially useful puiposes. Foundations can be traced back to ancient Greece. The late 19th century first saw the establishment of large foundations with broad purposes and great freedom of action, usually originating in the fortunes of wealthy industrialists. Today foundations are
classified as community (having support from many donors and located in a specific community), corporation-sponsored, and independent. Notable examples include the Smithsonian Institution (1846), the Carnegie Corp. of New York (1911), the Rockefeller Foundation (1913), and the Ford Foundation (1936), one of the largest in the world. Nongovernmental organizations are known colloquially as “NGOs.”
foundationalism In epistemology, the view that some beliefs can jus¬ tifiably be held directly (e.g., on the basis of sense perception or rational intuition) and not by inference from other justified beliefs. Other types of beliefs (e.g., beliefs about material objects or about theoretical entities of science) are not regarded as basic or foundational in this way but are held to require inferential support. Foundationalists have typically recognized self-evident truths and reports of sense-data as basic, in the sense that they do not need support from other beliefs. Such beliefs thus provide the foundations on which the edifice of knowledge can properly be built. See also COHERENTISM.
founding Process of pouring molten metal into a mold. When the metal solidifies, the result is a casting, a metal object conforming to that shape. Multitudinous metal objects are molded at some point during their manu¬ facture. Modern foundries capable of large-scale production are charac¬ terized by a high degree of mechanization, automation, and robotics; microprocessors accurately control the automated systems. Advances in chemical binders have resulted in stronger molds and cores and in more accurate castings. Accuracy and purity are increased in vacuum condi¬ tions, and further advances are expected from zero-gravity casting in space.
fountain Artificially produced jet of water, and the structure from which it rises. Fountains have been an important feature of landscape design since ancient times. Displaced for a time by the medieval well, the foun¬ tain reemerged in the late Middle Ages. It reached its peak in the Renais¬ sance and Baroque eras, with designs in which sculpture became prominent (e.g., Rome’s Trevi Fountain). Supplying water through con¬ duits to multiple fountains, as at the Palace of Versailles, was an impor¬ tant feat. In Muslim countries, fountains for drinking and for ablutions are of great importance. A common type is the simple spout and basin enclosed in a graceful niche; more ambitious designs take the form of a richly decorated pavilion.
Fouquet \fu-'ke\, Jean (b. c. 1420, Tours, Fr.—d. c. 1481, Tours) French painter. Little is known about his early life or training, but a trip to Rome in the 1440s exposed him to Italian Renaissance art; upon his return to Tours, Fouquet created a new style, combining the experiments of Italian painting with the exquisite precision of characterization and detail of Flemish art. His most famous works were produced for Charles VII’s secretary, Etienne Chevalier: a large Book of Hours with some 60 full-page miniatures and a diptych from Notre-Dame at Melun (c. 1450), with Chevalier’s portrait on one panel and a Madonna and Child on the other. The altarpiece of the Pieta in the church at Nouans is his only monumental painting. In 1475 he became royal painter to Louis XI. He broadened the range of miniature painting to include vast panoramas of architecture and landscape and made brilliant use of aerial perspective and colour tonality. He was the preeminent French painter of the 15th century.
Fouquet \fu-'ke\, Nicolas (b. 1615, Paris, France—d. March 23, 1680, Pignerol) French finance minister (1653-61) in the early years of the reign of Louis XIV. He was a wealthy supporter of the powerful Cardinal Maz- arin and of the royal government during the turmoil of the Fronde (1648- 53), when he lent large sums to the treasury. In 1653 he was appointed superintendent of finance. After Mazarin’s death (1661) Jean-Baptiste Col¬ bert sought to succeed Fouquet by destroying his reputation with the king. Fouquet was arrested for embezzlement, while Colbert suppressed papers that would have absolved him. Though public opinion was in his favour, he was sentenced in 1664 to imprisonment in the fortress of Pignerol, where he died.
Four Books Chinese Sishu Ancient Confucian texts used as the basis of study for civil service examinations (see Chinese examination system) in China (1313-1905). They served as an introduction to Confucianism and were traditionally studied before the more difficult Five Classics. The pub¬ lication of the four texts as a unit in 1190 with commentaries by Zhu Xi helped revitalize Confucianism in China. The texts are Daxue, Zhong- yong, Lunyu (the Analects, which reputedly contains direct quotations from Confucius and is deemed the most reliable source of his teachings), and Mencius.
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698 i four-colour map problem ► Fourth Republic
four-colour map problem In topology, a long-standing conjecture asserting that no more than four colours are required to shade in any map such that each adjacent region is coloured differently. First posed in 1852 by Francis Guthrie, a British math student, it was solved by Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken using a computer-assisted proof in 1976.
Four Freedoms Essential social and political objectives described by Pres. Franklin Roosevelt in his State of the Union message in January 1941: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear of physical aggression. He called for the last freedom to be achieved through a “worldwide reduction in armaments.” In August 1941 he and Winston Churchill included the four freedoms in the Atlantic Char¬ ter.
Four Horsemen Name given by the sportswriter Grantland Rice to the backfield of the University of Notre Dame’s undefeated football team of 1924: quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Don Miller and Jim Crowley, and fullback Elmer Lay den. They and their teammates, coached by Knute Rockne, lost only two of 30 games in the years 1922-24.
Four Hundred, Council of the (411 bc) Oligarchical council that briefly took power in Athens during the Peloponnesian War in a coup inspired by Antiphon and Alcibiades. An extremely antidemocratic coun¬ cil, it was soon replaced, at the insistence of the Athenian fleet, by a more moderate oligarchy, the Five Thousand. The new council lasted only 10 months, but full democracy was restored in 410 and a commission set up to prevent a recurrence. See also Theramenes.
Four Noble Truths Statement of the basic doctrines of Buddhism. They were formulated by the Buddha Gautama in his first sermon. The truths are (1) existence is suffering; (2) desire, or thirst, is its cause; (3) the cessa¬ tion of suffering is possible; and (4) the way to accomplish this is to fol¬ low the Eightfold Path. Though differently interpreted, these four truths are recognized by virtually all Buddhist schools.