Chapter 16
What were Brahe's early accomplishments?
Brahe completed detailed observations of the new star of 1572. He built the most sophisticated observatory of his time with grants from the king of Denmark.
Johannes Kepler
Brahe's assistant, united astronomical philosophy and mathematics
marquise du Châtelet
Châtelet was passionate about science and believed that women's limitation in the field was due to to their unequal education
What did Kant believe about knowledge?
Kant thought that if the philosophes were given the freedom to interpret and express their own opinions, knowledge would follow
Joseph II
Maria Theresa's radical son
What ideas were medieval universities based off of and why?
The Islamic, because the Islamic were the only ones to have access to the works of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers after the fall of Rome
What project did Brahe begin for Rudolph II?
The Rudolphine Tables
What was the Seven Years' War caused by?
The Seven Years' War was caused by Maria Theresa wanting to regain Silesia, so she allied with France and Russia.
What made France the hub of the Enlightenment?
The emergence of philosophes, French being the wealthiest, most populated country in Europe, the rising unpopularity of Louis XV, and the philosophes' goal of reaching a larger audience of elites
controversy
disagreement, typically when prolonged, public, and heated
salonnières
female hostesses of salons
masonic lodges
groups of Freemasons
reason
the idea that the methods of natural science could and should be used to examine and understand all aspects of life
What 2 occurrences brought more support for the Copernican hypothesis?
A new star, which was actually a distant exploding star, was viewed in the night sky in 1572. In 1577, a comet moved across the sky.
Cartesian dualism
Descartes's view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind and matter
What parts of the Enlightenment did Rousseau agree with? What parts did he disagree with? Why?
Rousseau embraced the idea of individual freedom but attacked rationalism and civilization because he thought they destroyed, rather than liberated, the individual.
How did Rousseau view women?
Rousseau saw women as subordinate beings, and rejected their sophisticated lifestyle and love for social power.
Tycho Brahe
a Danish noble who was Europe's leading astronomer in his time
Ptolemy
a Hellenized Egyptian who developed a different theory for the movement of the planets and stars than Aristotle
philosophes
a group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow humans in the Age of the Enlightenment
law of inertia
a 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
What was the (revised) Aristotelian view of the universe?
a motionless earth at the center of the universe, with 10 perfect spheres of the sun, moon, and planets revolving around it, with the heavens beyond these spheres
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
What was Newton's method of scientific inquiry like?
a scientist must first observe something, then test that thing through experiments, and only then slowly form hypotheses based on their observations and data
Freemasons
a secret society that accepted craftsmen and shopkeepers as well as middle-class men and nobles
rationalism
a secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith, and everything was to be submitted to reason
What did Montesquieu think would promote liberty and prevent tyranny?
a separation of powers, with political powers shared by a variety of classes and legal estates.
Pale of Settlement
a territory including parts of modern-day Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus, in which most Jews were required to live
empiricism
a theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation rather than deductive reason and speculation
Republic of Letters
a truly cosmopolitan set of networks stretching from western Europe to its colonies in the Americas, to Russia and eastern Europe, and along the routes of trade and empire to Africa and Asia, an imaginary transnational realm of the well-educated
What did Aristotle believe about the physics of the universe?
a uniform force moved an object at a constant speed and the object would stop moving as soon as the force was removed
What did Galileo discover about physics that proved Aristotle wrong?
a uniform force produced a uniform acceleration and the law of inertia
Royal Society
created in 1660 by followers of Bacon, met weekly to conduct experiments and discuss the latest findings of scholars across Europe, still in existence
Sapere Aude
dare to know, what Kant thought was the official phrase of the Enlightenment, have the courage to use your own understanding
race (Enlightenment)
designates biologically distinct groups of humans, akin to distinct animal species
Maria Theresa
female monarch of Austria
quintessence
fifth or "perfect" essence
What was the term race associated with before the Enlightenment?
geographical and cultural differences
What did Joseph II do for religious freedom for Jews?
he allowed Jews to be eligible to military service, higher education, and artisanal trades, and they weren't required to wear any special indicative clothing.
How did Pugachev spark the rebellion?
he claimed to be the true tsar and said that serfdom, taxes, and the army service were abolished
What did Leopold II do when he inherited the throne after Joseph II?
he required peasants, once again, to do forced labor for their lords
What did Kant believe about laws?
he supported the rigorous following of rules and laws
Madame de Duffand
her weekly Parisian salon hosted well-known and educated guests, invitations were highly coveted
How did Catholics respond to the Copernican hypothesis?
it was relatively unnoticed until the 1600s, when it was declared false in 1616
James I
king of England, made Bacon his lord chancellor
Louis XV
king of France, had many mistresses
Philip II
king of Spain, allowed his physician to travel to the Americas for 7 years to study different species there
What thinking method did Bacon prefer?
knowledge had to be pursued through empirical research, inductive reasoning
deferents
larger circles
What aspects of medieval culture paved the way for the Scientific Revolution?
long-term developments in European culture, philosophy was placed alongside law, medicine, and theology in universities, giving medieval philosophers a slight independence from the restrictions of Catholicism
How did women play a part in the Enlightenment?
mainly through salons; the art, style of dress, and even some of the societal rules were influenced by them.
What did Voltaire believe about servants?
making servants equal to their masters was absurd and impossible
Scottish Enlightenment
marked by an emphasis on common sense and scientific reasoning
Thomas Aquinas
medieval theologian who revised the Aristotelian astronomical view
When did the term "science" as we use it today come into use?
not until the nineteenth century
What did adherents of occult qualities, numerology, and cosmic harmony believe about the relationship between their studies and God?
only a divine creator could infuse the universe with such meaningful mystery
John Locke
philosopher and scholar inspiring the Enlightenment
Why were common people banned from salons and other public spheres?
philosophes saw them as "lesser" and "unworthy" of knowledge
Kepler's second law of planetary motion
planets don't move at a uniform speed. The closer a planet is to the sun, the faster it moves. Likewise, the farther it is from the sun, the slower it moves.
What was Ptolemy's theory of the universe?
planets moved along smaller circles which moved along larger circles, requiring more calculations but in the end was more accurate
Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
princess praised by Descartes in an intellectual correspondence
three main points of the Enlightenment
rationalism, secularism, and progress
What three things did cameralism emphasize?
rationality, progress, and utilitarianism
salon
regular social gathering held by talented and rich Parisians in their homes, where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, and philosophy
How did exploration fuel the Enlightenment?
the discovery of different customs in different areas caused people's perspectives grew due to exposure to other cultures
What was Galileo's biggest achievement?
the experimental method
What were Kepler's accomplishments in areas outside of astronomy?
the explanation of refraction in the eyes, the invention of an improved telescope, and mathematical discoveries which laid the foundation for calculus and advances in geometry
one cause of the Enlightenment (people)
the generation that came of age during the publication of Newton's Principia and the death of Louis XIV
monism
the idea that good and evil were relative values shaped by the events of the outside world
What was a particularly important legacy of the magical tradition?
the idea that objects possessed invisible or "occult" qualities that allowed them to affect other objects through their innate "sympathy" with each other
Copernican hypothesis
the idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe
skepticism
the idea that you can't prove anything without a shadow of a doubt
What aspects of the Aristotelian theory did Copernicus still believe in?
the ideas of divine circular motion and fixed heavenly spheres outside the solar system
How did Protestants respond to the Copernican hypothesis?
was accepted by some and aspects rejected by others, especially the idea that the earth moved because this contradicted a literal passage from the Bible
general will (according to Rousseau)
what is in the best interests of the people in general, the will of the people as a whole
How long did Copernicus spend trying to prove his hypothesis?
worked the majority of his life to prove his hypothesis, waiting until the year he died to publish his work
spread of the Enlightenment
writers explained hard-to-explain concepts to people other than nobles
Mary Astell
contributed to debates about Descartes's mind-body dualism and other issues
Historical and Critical Dictionary
(Bayle) examined religious beliefs and persecutions of the past
On Crimes and Punishments
(Beccaria) passionate plea for reform of the penal system that decried the use of torture, arbitrary imprisonment, and capital punishment, and advocated the prevention of crime over the reliance on punishment
Rudolphine Tables
(Brahe and Kepler) a new and improved set of tables of planetary motions, which he researched for 20 years with the naked eye
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
(Copernicus) all of his work explaining the Copernican hypothesis
Frederick II
(Frederick the Great) emperor of Prussia, reformed the bureaucracy
The Sidereal Messenger
(Galileo) a short astronomical treatise published in New Latin in March 1610
Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World
(Galileo) work published in Italian that openly attacked the traditional views of Aristotle and Ptolemy and defended those of Copernicus
Of Natural Characters
(Hume) declared all other "species" of man to be inferior to whites
On the Different Races of Man
(Kant) claimed that there were 4 different human races, each of which had derived from an original race
What is Enlightenment?
(Kant) pamphlet which posed and answered the question "What is the Enlightenment?"
The New Astronomy
(Kepler) book published in 1609 containing his first two laws of astronomy.
Theodicy
(Leibniz) declared that our world must be the "best of all possible worlds" because it was created by God
The System of Nature
(Linné) argued that nature was organized into a God-given hierarchy
Essay Concerning Human Understanding
(Locke) put forth the idea of sensationalism
Two Treatises of Civil Government
(Locke) put forth the idea that the elected Parliament should be sovereign from the Crown
The Spirit of Laws
(Montesquieu) complex, comparative study of republics, monarchies, and despotisms
The Persian Letters
(Montesquieu) social satire consisting of amusing letters supposedly written by two Persian travelers who as outsiders saw European customs in unique ways, allowing Montesquieu to criticize existing practices and beliefs
Philosophicae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
(Newton) explanatory system that integrated the astronomy of Copernicus (as corrected by Kepler) with the physics of Galileo and his predecessors. It also laid down his three laws of motion, using mathematical laws that explain motion and mechanics.
Geography
(Ptolemy) a second-century-C.E. work that synthesized the classical knowledge of geography and introduced the concepts of longitude and latitude. Reintroduced to Europeans about 1410 by Arab scholars, its ideas allowed cartographers to create more accurate maps.
History of the Two Indies
(Raynal) fiercely attacked slavery and the abuses of European colonization
The Social Contract
(Rousseau) based on two fundamental concepts: the general will and popular sovereignty
Theory of Moral Sentiments
(Smith) argued that the thriving commercial life of the 18th century produced civic virtue through the values of competition, fair play, and individual autonomy
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
(Smith) attacked the laws and regulations that prevented commerce from reaching its full capacity
On the Structure of the Human Body
(Vesalius) book of 200 precise drawing of human anatomy
Candide or Optimism
(Voltaire) ridiculed Leibniz's Theodicy
Encyclopedia: The Rational Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts
(edited by Diderot and d'Alembert, written by the philosophes) the seventeen-volume encyclopedia that taught people how to think critically and objectively about all matters
What three reforms did Maria Theresa use to strengthen her state?
1. initiated church reform 2. administrative renovations 3. improve the lot of the agricultural population
Why was Aristotle's theory accepted more widely than Ptolemy's?
1. natural philosophy was considered more logical than mathematics 2. made sense to Christians because humans were at the center of the universe and were the critical link between animals and God
What were Catherine II's three goals as ruler?
1. to continue Peter the Great's effort to bring the culture of western Europe to Russia 2. to reform Russia from within 3. to expand her territory
Act of Union
1707, when Scotland unified with Britain
How did the Scientific Revolution affect women in Italy?
Academies offered jobs to women, who worked as anatomical models and botanical and zoological illustrators. They also were involved in informal scientific discussions. They attended salons, participated in experiments, and wrote treatises.
Why did Galileo recant his discoveries?
After publishing his Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World in 1632, he was put on trial for heresy, imprisoned, and tortured until he recanted, saying his belief in Copernican ideas was an error.
How did Frederick II come to decide to reform Prussia domestically?
After the close call with the Seven Years' War, Frederick II realized that expanding his territory would be too dangerous, so he sought a way to better his country from within.
What was Frederick II's view on serfs?
Although he disapproved of the idea of serfdom, he never freed the serfs on his own lands, and extended the privileges of the nobility.
In the Aristotelian worldview, what moved the stars?
Angels moved the stars around the earth
Whose ideas was science before the middle of the seventeenth century based on?
Aristotle
How was astrology viewed in the time of the Scientific Revolution?
Astrology was viewed with as high regard as all the other sciences, unlike today. Almost all astronomers were also astrologers and developed horoscopes for their patrons, and astrology was used regularly in medicine.
What were the flaws of Bacon's method of reasoning?
Bacon's inability to appreciate the logicalness of mathematics and his obsession with practical results showed the flaws in empiricism.
Who issued the Pale of Settlement?
Catherine II
Gregory Orlov
Catherine II's lover, he and his three brothers murdered Peter III for her so she could gain the throne
Emilian Pugachev
Cossack soldier who sparked an uprising of serfs
Who were the editors of the Encyclopedia?
Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Francis Bacon
English politician and writer, greatest early propagandist for the new experimental method
Isaac Newton
English scientist who revolutionized the ideas of physics and motion, most famous for his discovery of gravity
Andreas Vesalius
Flemish physician, dissected human bodies to study anatomy
Galileo Galilei
Florentine noble who revolutionized scientific thought
How did the Seven Year's War end?
Frederick II fought on, seemingly without a chance, but then Peter III came to the Russian throne and called off the attack due to a personal fondness for him.
Frederick William I
Frederick II's father
Pierre Bayle
French Huguenot who took refuge in the Dutch Republic
René Descartes
French philosopher, used mathematics to create a deductive thinking method
Gottfried von Liebniz
German mathematician and philosopher, developed calculus independently of Newton
Charles VI
Habsburg leader of Austria
What did William Harvey discover?
Harvey discovered the circulation of the heart, veins, and arteries, and was the first to explain that the heart worked like a pump and to explain the function of its muscles and valves.
What did Frederick II do to encourage Enlightenment ideas?
He allowed religious and philosophical freedom, improved schools, and allowed scholars to freely publish their findings. He also reformed the legal system, abolishing torture and hiring impartial judges. He encouraged modesty and hard work, and never claimed his "divine right" as king.
What religion was Kepler? What impact did this have on the spread of his ideas?
He also was a part of an unorthodox brand of Lutheranism, isolating himself from both Lutherans and Catholics.
What did Brahe believe about the arrangement of the universe?
He believed that all the planets except Earth revolved around the Sun, which revolved around the Earth
What did Kepler believe about the universe?
He believed that the universe was built on mystical mathematical relationships and a musical harmony of the heavenly bodies.
What other discoveries did Galileo make?
He discovered the first 4 moons of Jupiter and invented his own telescope
What other influences and impacts did Kepler's three laws have?
He eliminated the work of Aristotle and Ptolemy, and came close to the idea of universal gravitation with his third law. He also finished Brahe's Rudolphine Tables in 1627 which were used by astronomers for many years.
How did Descartes expand on Galileo's idea that everything was made up of the same materials?
He theorized that everything was made up of "corpuscles" that collided together in an endless series of motions. Everything that happened could be analyzed as matter in motion and the total "quantity of motion" was constant. His view of the universe depended on the idea that a vacuum was impossible.
What did Copernicus believe about Ptolemy's ideas?
He thought that people still relied on Ptolemy's observations but that those observations were overly complex and flawed
What were Robert Boyle's findings/beliefs?
He thought that the world was made up of infinitely small atoms. He also created a vacuum for the first time. Finally, he found Boyle's law.
What were Voltaire's religious views?
He was a deist, and challenged the Catholic church in his writings. He also hated religious intolerance and believed strongly in simple piety and human kindness
What did Newton think of alchemy?
He was fascinated with it and viewed it as another way (along with mathematics and astronomy) to discover the mysteries of the universe
What religion was Newton?
He was intensely Christian but rejected the doctrine of the Trinity
Pope Urban VIII
Holy Roman Emperor crowned in 1623, sympathetic to developments in the new science, put Galileo on trial for heresy
Rudolph II
Holy Roman emperor, commissioned Brahe to build an observatory in Prague and the Rudolphine tables
What did Hume believe about the individual mind and religion?
Hume thought that beliefs came from feelings and experiences rather than reason. He also thought that miracles and blind faith were not the explanation for our universe.
How did medieval scholars interpret Aristotle's ideas?
It made sense but it had multiple holes
What 4 things did the Copernican hypothesis do to influence scientific and religious thought?
It put the stars at rest, destroying the idea that heavenly spheres moved the stars around the earth. It suggested an unthinkably large universe. It challenged the traditional ideas of what could be used to explain things by using math to prove the theory and not philosophy. Finally, it portrayed the earth as just another planet, reversing the idea that the earthly sphere was different from the heavenly one.
What did Kepler do with Brahe's work?
Kepler examined Brahe's findings and decided that Ptolemy's ideas couldn't explain them.
How did Kepler back up his ideas with fiction and astrology?
Kepler was deeply influenced by ideas of astrology and wrote horoscopes for people and himself. He also wrote about cosmic harmonies and explained elliptical motion of planets through ideas about the beautiful music created by the combined motion of the planets. He also wrote a fictional account of travelling to the moon, causing controversy.
Who opposed Newton's ideas?
Leibniz
What other factors played a role in the increase of public spheres and the spread of knowledge?
Lending libraries also helped the reading revolution by providing books to those who couldn't afford them otherwise. Also, masonic lodges, which mixed the middle and artisan classes, newspapers, book clubs, debating societies, also played a role in the creation of new public spheres
How did the increase in exploration lead to the Scientific Revolution?
Mainly because of the increasing need for accurate navigational tools. Mathematicians were hired to create tables to help seamen find their latitude, and new scientific instruments such as the telescope, barometer, thermometer, pendulum clock, microscope, and air pump allowed for more experimentation.
What laws of physics did Newton discover?
Newton discovered his law of universal gravitation and the concepts of centripetal force and acceleration.
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
What fueled the makings of these encyclopedias?
Often what fueled the makings of these encyclopedias was exploration of the Americas as well as the eagerness of European royalty to discover what inhabited their land and, more importantly, what made it profitable.
What did Paracelsus discover?
Paracelsus was the first to use chemicals to treat illnesses, showing that humans were more chemical than humoral as was previously thought.
What were the points people made against racism?
People pointed out that whites had started out as "barbaric" as nonwhites supposedly were, and that nonwhites had acheived high levels of civilization in areas other than Europe
Nicolaus Copernicus
Polish cleric that revolutionized astronomical thought
What 4 aspects of the Aristotelian theory helped to have a distinct understanding of the world?
Purposeful (vs primary vs secondary qualities) hierarchical (uniform) qualitative (vs. quantitative) contemplative (vs rational, empirical)
Who opposed racist views?
Raynal, Beattie, Diderot, and former slaves such as Equiano and Cugoana
Peter III
Russian tsar, called off the Seven Years' War
What was covered in the Encyclopedia?
Science and the arts were praised and religion was questioned. Intolerance, legal injustice, and obsolete social institutions were criticized. The encyclopedias stated their belief that greater knowledge would result in greater human happiness.
How did Catherine achieve her third goal?
She gained a large piece of land through the Partition of Poland.
What did Smith believe about economics?
Smith was the first to propose the idea of a free-market economy as we use today, which is the underlying concept of capitalism. He thought that a healthy competition leads to a thriving economy. He also thought that too many restrictions on commerce would slow down the increase in economic wealth
What were the flaws of Descartes's method of reasoning?
Some of Descartes's ideas showed the problems with rigid, dogmatic rationalism.
What ideas did Baruch Spinoza form?
Spinoza supported Descartes's rationalistic views but rejected mind-body dualism. Instead, he put forth monism
How did the Renaissance lead to the Scientific Revolution?
The Renaissance's encouragement of geometrically correct art influenced the Scientific Revolution, as did the recovery of ancient texts like Ptolemy's Geography and other works. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans sped this.
How did the Scientific Revolution affect women? (in most parts of Europe)
The addition of new universities put more barriers on the education of women because they weren't accepted into these institutions.
What two things changed about reading during the Enlightenment?
The consumption and production of books increased, and the type of books read changed: people read more scientific and artistic books and less religious books
Why didn't Galileo publicly support heliocentricism?
The growing fervor of the Catholic Reformation made the church more opposed to such radical ideas, and in 1616 the Catholic church made the works of Copernicus and his supporters forbidden to read. In addition, belief in a heliocentric world was considered "foolish and absurd, philosophically false, and formally heretical."
What social implications were there for scientists?
The new social group of scientists and scholars were linked in communities and to the king. The Crown often endorsed scientists and academies of science were supported by the state.
How did technological developments influence the Scientific Revolution?
The printing press caused a rise in intellectual activity, especially as the fascination with Asia and the Americas increased the demand for printed material.
What social impacts did the presence of salons have?
The salons were very socially selective; only nobles attended. It became popular and fashionable to attend salons and discuss ideas critically
What did practitioners of magic desire?
They desired to understand and control hidden connections they perceived among different elements of the natural world (ex. between a magnet and iron).
How did these two occurrences become evidence supporting the Copernican hypothesis?
They went against the Aristotelian theory. They contradicted the notion that heavenly spheres existed which moved the unchanging stars around the earth
What did Voltaire like about England?
Voltaire praised England's government style as well as its scientific achievements. He mixed the glorification of science and reason with an appeal for better individuals and institutions.
Catholic Enlightenment
aimed to renew and reform the Catholic church from within, looking to divine grace rather than human will as the source of progress
sensationalism
all ideas are derived from experience (sensory impressions)
natural philosophy
an early modern term for the study of the universe, its purpose, and how it functioned; it encompassed what we would call "science" today
What did The New Astronomy bring?
an entirely new theory of the cosmos
public spheres
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
What was Descartes's first mathematical discovery?
analytic geometry, the perfect correspondence between geometry and algebra where the geometrical equations could be expressed as algebraic equations and vice versa
Theophrastus
ancient Greek philosopher who wrote a treatise on botany
comte de Buffon
argued that humans originated with one species that then developed into distinct races due largely to climatic conditions
What are the 3 forms of the disputatio that compel belief?
authority, reason, and experience (illustrative, not inductive logic, nor systematic means of inquiry)
How did the Scientific Revolution lead to the Enlightenment?
because now people the world from the perspective of the physical world rather than the religious viewpoint
Why wasn't Brahe able to complete his Rudolphine Tables?
because of the limitations in mathematical discoveries and his sudden death in 1601
deist
belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it (clockmaker analogy)
Maria Sybilla Merian
botanical and zoological illustrator in Europe
How did Joseph II attempt to reform society and help the peasants?
by abolishing serfdom and instead requiring peasants to pay their lords in cash
How did Maria Theresa improve the lot of the agricultural population?
by reducing power of lords over their serfs and tenants
How did Kepler unite philosophy and mathematics?
by using mathematics to prove his findings of a sun-centered system rather than just using it to prove planetary movement as Copernicus had done
What effect did Hume's ideas have?
challenged both the Enlightenment's rationalism and the Catholic church
Anne Conway
contributed to debates about Descartes's mind-body dualism and other issues
Margaret Cavendish
contributed to debates about Descartes's mind-body dualism and other issues
What writings increased the accumulation and transmission of knowledge?
scholars formed encyclopedias that documented life forms in northern Europe, Asia, and the Americas that hadn't been known by the ancients. These works included realistic drawings and descriptions and showed the usefulness of different species for trade, medicine, food, etc.
What did Catherine do in response to Pugachev's rebellion?
she extended serfdom into new areas and gave nobles absolute control of their serfs. She also freed nobles from taxes and state service.
How did Catherine achieve her first goal?
she imported Western architects, musicians, and intellectuals, bought Western art, and patronized the philosophes. She also befriended Voltaire and published the Encyclopedia in St. Petersburg.
How did Maria Theresa initiate church reforms?
she limited the papacy's influence by eliminating many religious holidays and reducing the number of monasteries
How did Maria Theresa perform administrative renovations?
she strengthened central bureaucracy, smoothed out provincial differences, and revamped the tax system (in which nobles weren't even exempt)
consummate
showing a high degree of skill and flair; complete or perfect
coffeehouses
similar to salons, except that they were more open to people of more social statuses than nobles
epicycles
smaller circles
enlightened absolutism
term coined by historians to describe the rule of eighteenth-century monarchs who, without renouncing their own absolute authority, adopted Enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, and tolerance
What did Pugachev's rebellion convince Catherine?
that peasants were dangerous
Aristotle
the Greek philosopher of the 4th century B.C.E.
Haskalah
the Jewish Enlightenment of the second half of the 18th century, led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn
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
What inspired interest in astronomy for most of human history?
the belief that the changing relationships between planets and stars influence events on earth
refraction
the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where its speed is different
What were Galen's ideas about the human body?
the body contained 4 humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Illness occurred from an imbalance of humors, and doctors often prescribed the drawing of blood as a medical cure for disease.
What did Voltaire believe about laws?
the citizen only depends on the laws that protect the freedom of the weak against the ambitions of the strong
How was the middle class influenced by the Scientific Revolution?
the increase in the experimental method. Artisans were the ones to craft instruments used by scientists, and they conducted experiments of their own, influencing noble scholars.
Enlightenment
the influential intellectual and cultural movement of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress
Voltaire
the most famous and perhaps most representative philosophe
Kepler's first law of planetary motion
the orbits of planets are elliptical rather than circular
popular sovereignty (according to Rousseau)
the populace having power over the monarchs
What social change happened in Jewish communities during the Jewish Enlightenment?
the power of the rabbis lessened and there was more interaction with Christians
Boyle's law
the pressure of a gas varies inversely with volume
religious cause of the Enlightenment
the questioning of religious truth, mainly spawned by the 30 Years' War and the new ways of thinking induced by the Scientific Revolution.
What did Aristotle believe about the makeup of the universe?
the spheres outside earth consisted of a "perfect" element, and the earth was made up of four elements: air, fire, earth, and water
astrology
the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world
parlements
the thirteen high courts in France, Montesquieu believed that they were frontline defenders of liberty against royal despotism
Kepler's third law of planetary motion
the time a planet takes to make its orbit is geometrically linked to its distance from the sun
reading revolution
the transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of a patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was common-place and reading material was broad and diverse
What were the primary causes for the changes in racial view?
the urge to classify nature, the idea of nature being organized in a God-given hierarchy, and the organization of plant and animal species into taxonomies sparked by the Scientific Revolution
Why were Jews especially successful in banking and trade?
they could rely on having business across the world in other Jewish communities
Why did peasants reject Joseph II's reforms?
they lacked the necessary cash to pay the nobles
What pessimistic view did Voltaire hold about humans?
they weren't worthy of governing themselves, so a good monarch was necessary
How were members of the lower class still able to learn?
through cheap pamphlets and spoken word, ideas still spread
What was the goal of the Encyclopedia?
to change the general way of thinking
What did the religious Enlightenments seek?
to reconcile reason with faith, rather than emphasizing the errors of religious fanaticism and intolerance
What caused the Scottish Enlightenment?
took place after Scotland became part of Britain through the Act of Union. It was also stimulated by the creation of the first public educational system in Europe
How did Catherine achieve her second goal?
trick question, she didn't; she attempted to reform the legal system, but never did. She did, however, restrict the practice of torture and allowed limited religious toleration. She also tried to improve and strengthen education and local government.
What did Newton do that was so monumental?
united the experimental and theoretical-mathematical sides of modern science
Seven Years' War
unsuccessful war intending to conquer Prussia and divide up its territory
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
War of Austrian Succession
war in which Maria Theresa was forced to cede almost all of Silesia to Prussia