Follow your curiosity

What discovery has been shared with you?

FACTREE gives you something interesting to discover every day — and something worth talking about together.

Start with one fact. Explore it, go deeper, then follow whichever branch catches your imagination.

Choose subjects for a surprise

Exploring any topic

Begin your discovery

Your next discovery is one click away.

Choose one or more subjects above, or leave Any Topic selected and let curiosity decide.

Philosophy

The Political Philosophy of Civil Disobedience and Conscientious Objection

Quick fact

Henry David Thoreau, who coined the term 'civil disobedience,' refused to pay a poll tax in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War, and spent a night in jail. His essay on the act has influenced Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Tolstoy, showing that a single act of conscience can inspire worldwide movements.

Why this is interesting

You see someone being arrested at a protest, and they're smiling. They aren't a criminal—they're a philosopher in action. Why would someone deliberately break a law they believe is unjust, and yet claim to respect the rule of law?