Sci. Rev. & Enlightenment
Terms
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- Voltaire
- believed in a strong central government that provided for individual rights to speech, press & religion
- recant
- to take back; foreswear
- Catherine the Great
- Enlightened despot of Russia, contemplated freeing the serfs
- Jacques Rousseau
- believed government was a social contract between people & ruler; ruler should make decisions according to the general will
- Scientific Revolution
- 17th & 18th century movement that transitioned Europe from a medieval worldview to a rational, secular, materialistic worldview
- Geocentric Theory
- the idea that the earth is the center of the universe, popularized by Ptolemy
- Galileo Galilei
- made many astronomical observations with his improved telescope; embraced heliocentric theory; forced to recant by the Church
- Enlightened Despot
- an absolute ruler who embraced some enlightenment/liberal ideas
- Francis Bacon
- British scientist who helped develop the scientific method
- Adam Smith
- Scottish economist, wrote Wealth of Nations, advocated laissez-faire capitalism
- Diderot
- French philosophe who created a 28 volume encyclopedia
- John Locke
- believed men were born with the natural rights to life, liberty & property
- Heliocentric Theory
- the idea that the sun is the center of the universe
- Nicholas Copernicus
- embraced the heliocentric theory of the universe with circular planetary orbits
- Separation of Powers
- idea that governing power should be separated between branches of government
- Baron de Montesquieu
- French noble who proposed separation and balance of powers in government
- Rene Descartes
- French mathematician, father of modern rationalism, demanded proof of all things
- Joseph II
- Enlightened despot of Austria, abolished serfdom & the death penalty, provided religious toleration
- Laissez-faire
- to let alone, capitalist economic theory that suggests that the economy is best served when the government does not interfere in business
- philosophes
- intellectuals of the Enlightenment who embraced reason above all things
- Scientific Method
- use of experiments & observations to develop general conclusions
- General will
- the will of the people, the majority
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- advocated for female equality; first feminist
- Frederick the Great
- Enlightened despot of Prussia, granted some freedom of speech & press
- Balance of Powers
- idea that the power of government is balanced between branches, checks & balances
- salons
- social gathering of intellectuals & artists; held in homes of wealthy women during the Enlightenment
- Enlightenment
- 18th century intellectual movement that stressed the application of reason
- Johann Kepler
- embraced heliocentric theory of the universe; elliptical orbits of planets; Three laws of planetary motion
- Social Contract
- idea that government is an agreement between ruler and ruled
- Deist
- belief in a distant God who does not interfere in human life
- Isaac Newton
- developed calculus and three laws of motion
- Thomas Hobbes
- believed human nature was inherently bad & necessitated strong laws and government