A History of Western Society: Chapter 16
cartesian dualism
descartes' view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind/matter
philosophes
group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing light of knowledge to fellow humans in Age of Enlightenment
public sphere
idealized intellectual space that emerged in Europe during Enlightenment where public came together to discuss important issues relating society/economics/politics
enlightenment
influential/intellectual and cultural movement of late 17th/18th centuries that introduced new worldview based on use of reason, scientific method, and progress
haskalah
jewish enlightenment of the second half of the 18th century led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn
law of inertia
law formulated by Galileo that states that motion, not rest, is the natural state of an object and that an object continues in motion forever unless stopped by some external force
salons
regular social gathering held by talented/rich Parisians in their homes where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, philosophy
experimental method
the approach, pioneered by Galileo, that the proper way to explore the workings of the universe was through repeatable experiments rather than speculation
copernican hypothesis
the idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe
cameralism
view that monarchy was the best form of government, that all elements of society should serve the monarch and in turn, state should use its resources and authority to increase the public guard
Law of universal gravitation
Newton's law that all objects are attracted to one another and that the force of attraction is proportional to the objects' quantity of matter and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them
empiricism
theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation rather than deductive reason/speculation
rationalism
a secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith and everything was to be submitted to reason
natural philosophy
an early modern term for the study of nature of universe, its purpose, and how it functioned; it encompasses what we would call "Science" today
Rococo
popular style in europe 18th century, known for soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids
Reading Revolution
transition in Europe from society where literacy consists of patriarchal communal reading of religious texts to society where literacy was commonplace and reading material broad and diverse
enlightened absolutism
term coined by historians to describe the rule of 18th century, monarch who without renouncing their own absolute authority, adopted enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, tolerance