Ch. 17: Toward a New Worldview
the difference between Enlightenment thinkers compared to those of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Enlightenment thinkers believed that their era had surpassed antiquity, which demonstrated the possibility of human progress
core concept of the Enlightenement
the methods of natural science should be used to examine all aspects of life
striking feature of the salons
philosophes, nobles, and members of the upper middle class intermingled`
Emilie du Chatelet
published the first translation of Newton's Principia into French
salons
regular social gatherings held by talented and rich Parisian women in their homes, where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, and philosophy
the concept of the reading revolution
shift from reading religious texts aloud as a family to reading diverse texts individually
the reason why Leopold II canceled his brother Joseph's radical edicts in the early 1790's
Leopold was attempting to restore order in Austria
the focus of the discipline of natural philososphy
fundamental questions about the nature, purpose, and function of the universe
the change within the Jewish community that accompanied the Haskalah Enlightenment movement
interactions between Jews and Christians increased, and rabbinic controls diminished
emergence of scientific racism
justified the growth of slavery in the 18th century
enlightened absolutism
term coined by historians to describe the rule of 18th century monarchs who, without renouncing their absolute authority, adopted Enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, and tolerance
Haskalah
the Jewish Enlightenment of the second half of the 18th century, led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mesndelssohn
experimental method
the approach, pioneered by Galileo, that the proper way to explore the workings of the universe was through repeatable experiment rather than speculation
Copernican hypothesis
the idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe
Enlightenment
the influential, intellectual, and cultural movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress
Immanuel Kant
>1724-1804 >wrote What Is Enlightenment? (1784) >>>argued that if serious thinkers were granted the freedom to exercise their reason publicly in print, enlightenment would almost surely follow >wrote On the Different Races of Man (1775)
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783)
>Editors of Encyclopedia
Nicolaus Copernicus
>1473-1543 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >wrote On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543) >theorized that the sun. rather than the earth, was the center of the galaxy
Francis Bacon
>1561-1626 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >formalized the research of methods of Tycho Brahe and Galileo into a theory of reasoning known as empiricism
Joseph II
conversion of peasant labor obligations to cash payments; nobles and peasant opposed
1700-1789
growth of book publishing
William Harvey
>1578-1657 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >discovery of circulation of blood (1628)
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Denis Diterot's co-editor of the Encyclopedia
the idea of "race" transformed European's idea of their superiority over the peoples
European superiority was increasingly defined as biologically superior as well as culturally superior
1740-1789
French salons led by elite women
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 object's quantity of matter and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them
1740-1748
War of Austrian Succession >involved most of the powers of Europe >over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg
Voltaire's attitude toward government
a good monarch was the best one could hope for in a government
philosophes
a group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow creatures in the Age of Enlightenment
law of intertia
a law formulated by Galileo that states that motion, not rest, is the natural state of an object, that an object continues in motion forever unless stopped by external force
rococo
a popular style in Europe in the 18th century, known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids
rationalism
a secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith, and everything was to be submitted to reason
empiricism
a theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation rather than reason and speculation
Voltaire's view of God
believed that God was a clock maker who set the universe in motion and then ceased to intervene in human affairs >deist
Catherine the Great of Russia
came to power in 1762 through Frederick II of Prussia's invasion of Russia
the cause of Catherine the Great's goal of domestic reform never coming into function
the rebellion led by Emelian Pugachev in 1773
reading revolution
the transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse
the most influential aspect of Rene Descartes' theories of nature
the universe functioned in a mechanistic fashion
Copernicus
theory of the universe that postulated a sun-centered view of the universe
the primary goal of Galileo Galilei's experimental method
to discover what actually occurred in nature rather to speculate on what should occur
cameralism
view that monarchy was the best form of government, that all elements of society should serve the monarch, and that, in turn, the state should use its resources and authority to increase the public good
Cartesian dualism
Descartes's view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind and matter
Andreas Vesalius
>1514-1564 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >wrote On the Structure of the Human Body (1543) >>>200 precise drawing revolutionized the understanding of human anatomy
Tycho Brahe
>1546-1601 >built observatory >compiled data for the Rudolfine Tables, a new table of planetary data
Johannes Kepler
>1571-1630 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >believed the the elliptical orbit of planets produced a musical harmony of heavenly bodies >used Brahe's data to mathematically prove the Copernican hypothesis >his new laws of planetary motion united for the first time natural philosophy and mathematics >completed the Rudolfine Tables in 1627
Rene Descartes
>1596-1650 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >used deductive reasoning to formulate the theory of Cartesian dualism
Robert Boyle
>1627-1691 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >Boyle's law (1662) governing the pressure of gases
Baruch Spinoza
>1632-1677 >major figure of the Enlightenment >early Enlightenment thinker excommunicated from the Jewish religion for hid concept of a deterministic universe
John Locke
>1632-1704 >major figure of the Enlightenment >wrote Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) >>>concerning the foundation of human knowledge and understanding
Isaac Newton
>1642-1727 >major contributor to the Scientific Revolution >wrote Principia Mathematica (1687) >set forth the law of universal gravitation, synthesizing previous findings of motion and matter
Pierre Bayle
>164701706 >major figure of the Enlightenment >wrote Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697) >>>critical examination of religious beliefs and persecutions of the past >>>demonstrating that human beliefs had been extremely varied and often mistaken
powers that participated in the partitioning of Poland in the late eighteenth century
Prussia, Russia, Austria
1740-1780
Reign of the empress Maria Theresa
1756-1763
Seven Years' War
1791
establishment of the Pale of Settlement >a territory including parts of modern-day Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belorussia >Jews were required to live
Rousseau's concept of the general will
general will is not necessarily the will of the majority
David Hume
>1711-1776 >central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment >wrote Of Natural Characteristics
Montesquieu
>1689-1778 >major figure of the Enlightenment >wrote The Persian Letter (1721) >>>consisted of letters supposedly written by two Persian travelers >>>>>outsiders see European customs in unique ways and thereby allow Montesquieu a vantage point for criticizing existing practices and beliefs >wrote The Spirit of Laws (1748) >>>apply the critical method to problem solving to the problem of government
Voltaire
>1694-1778 >major figure of the Enlightenment >renowned French philosophe and author of more than 70 works
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
>1712-1778 >major figure of the Enlightenment >wrote The Social Contract (1762) >>>two fundamental concepts >>>>>the general will and popular sovereignty >believed that women were best suited to a passive role in social relations
characteristics of rococo
>soft pastels >ornate interiors >sentimental portraits
Galileo Galilei
>used telescopic observation to provide evidence for Copernican hypothesis >experimented to formulate laws of physics, such as inertia
natural philosophy
an early modern term for the study of the nature of the universe, its purpose, and how it functioned; it encompassed what we would call "science" today
public sphere
an idealized intellectual space that emerged in Europe during the Enlightenment, where the public came together to discuss important issues relating to society, economics, and politics
public sphere that emerged during the Enlightenment
an idealized space where individual gathered to discuss social and political issues
1765
philosophes publish Encyclopedia: The Rational Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
reduced nobles; power over their serfs in order to improve the rural economy and the lived of peasant
1762-1796
reign of Catherine the Great of Russia
1740-1786
reign of Frederick the Great of Prussia
1780-1790
reign of Joseph II of Austria
1720-1780
rococo style in art and decoration
1540-1690
scientific revolution >early modern period >developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy), and chemistry >transformed views of society and nature
enlightened policies of Frederick the Great
simplifying Prussia's laws