Chapter 16 Study Study Guide

Brahe

(1546-1601) A Danish astronomer who designed and built new instruments for observing the heavens and trained many other astronomers. He rejected heliocentric beliefs and amassed nearly 20 years worth of astrological data that eventually led to the disproval of the geocentric theory.

Pierre Bayle

(1647-1706): Famous skeptic Huguenot critically examined religious beliefs wrote "Historical and Critical Dictionary"French philosopher and writer of the 17th century. Influenced by skepticism and new knowledge of world and other cultures. Held that belief systems were relative to time and place/culture. Influenced by scientific discoveries of his time, the writings of Montaigne and the realization that many popular beliefs were unfounded. In his book Thoughts on the Comet (Halley's came around in his lifetime) he argued against superstitions about comets. In 1697 he published Historical and Critical Dictionary in which he reveals fallacies of many previously accepted folklores. His views encouraged toleration. He stated that no opinion was worth burning one's neighbor for. In terms of his personal faith, he changed from Protestant to RC to Jansenist to Protestant.

Montesquieu

(1689-1755) wrote 'Spirit of the Laws', said that no single set of political laws was applicable to all - depended on relationship and variables, supported division of government

David Hume

(1711-1716) Scottish philosopher. Considered a pioneering social scientist. In his work "Treatise on Human Nature", he argued that observation and reflection, grounded in systematized common sense made conceivable a "science of man". He believed that the human mind was nothing but a bundle of impressions. These impressions originate only in our sensory experiences and our habits and of joining these experiences together.

Rousseau

(1712-1778) Believed that society threatened natural rights and freedoms. Wrote about society's corruption caused by the revival of sciences and art instead of it's improvement. He was sponsored by the wealthy and participated in salons but often felt uncomfortable and denounced them. Wrote "The Social Contract."

Diderot

(1713-1784) The chief editor of the Encyclopedia published between 1751-1772. Said that "All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard to one's feelings." and "We will speak against senseless laws until they are reformed; and, while we wait, we will abide by them."

Immanuel Kant

(1724-1804) German philosopher from Prussia who researched, lectured and wrote on philosophy, geography and anthropology; "Dare to know"

Catherine The Great of Russia

(1762-1796) A truly enlightened monarch, this woman did several things to help Russia. Adored by French philosophes, she came to the Russian throne in 1762. She worked hard to bring western culture to Russia by importing musicians, architects, and intellectuals. She sought to improve education, and local government. She also restricted torture and allowed for limited religious tolerance. She developed a deep fear of the peasantry and instated full serfdom on them, and spread serfdom to new territories like in the Ukraine. She worked towards territorial expansion and was very successful.

Adam Smith

(Scottish economist) in The Wealth of Nations, he created the concept of laissez-faire ( government should leave economy alone) & applied natural law to means of production & exchange (supply & demand); saw mercantilism as government interference in economy or free trade; believed that enlightened self-interest would create the best production & exchange for market conditions; government should only have 3 roles: protect society from invasion (army); defend citizens from injustice (police); & keep up public works (roads, canals, bridges) that private individuals could not afford to provide but that society needed

Beccaria

..., "ON THE CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS", believed punishments should serve only as deterrents, not exercises of brutality, opposed capital punishment

Madame du Chatelet

..., French aristocrat excluded from the royal academy of sciences because of her gender. Studied physics and mathematics. translated Principia into French. companion of Voltaire.

Madame Geoffrin

..., One of the most famous salons was that of Madame Geoffrin, the unofficial godmother of the Encyclopedia. She gave generous financial aid and helped save their enterprise from collapse. Madame Geoffrin remained her own woman. The salons seemed to have functioned as informal schools where establish hostesses bonded with younger women and passed on skills to them. (p.613)

Philosophes

A group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow humans in the Age of Enlightenment.

Rococo

A popular style in Europe in the eighteenth 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.

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

Empiricism

A theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation.

Cartesian Dualism

Descartes's view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind (spiritual world) and matter (physical world).

Priestly

Discovered oxygen

John Locke

English empiricist philosopher who believed that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience (1632-1704). He believed in tabula rasa; the idea that, at birth, all humans start off with a clean slate.

Hobbes

English materialist and political philosopher who advocated absolute sovereignty as the only kind of government that could resolve problems caused by the selfishness of human beings (1588-1679)

Zacharias Janssen

He was a Dutch lenscrafter. In 1590 he invented the microscope.

Andreas Vesalius

He was a Flemish physician that managed to prove Galen wrong. He dissected human corpses and published a book with his findings in 1543.

Johannes Kepler

He was a German Scientist that was an assistant to Brahe; used Brahe's data to prove that the earth moved in an elliptical, not circular, orbit; Wrote 3 laws of planetary motion based on mechanical relationships and accurately predicted movements of planets in a sun-centered universe; Demolished old systems of Aristotle and Ptolemy

Renee Descartes

He was a french thinker that lived in teh 1600s. He agreed with Bacon. He believed taht people should think for themselves and base themselves on things that have proof to back them up. They should stop basing themselves on ancient philosophies. He was also the first person to link Algebra and Geometry.

Edward Jenner

He was a scientist from Great Britian that invented the world"s first vaccine in the late 1700s.

William Harvery

He was an English scientist that discovered that the heart had a pump-like function. This was done in the year 1628. He also discovered the role of blood vessels.

Isaac Newtom

He was an English scientist that made some breakthroughs in the 1600s. He discovered: 1.) How gravity acts 2.)The Universal Law of Gravitation 3.) That objects attract eachother is dependent on their mass and distance from eachother.

Frances Bacon

He was an English scientist that published a book that encouraged the Scientific/Experimental Method in 1620.

Robert Boyle

He was an Irish Chemist. He dicided that the world had to be composed of more that four elements.He came up with Boyle's law.

Galileo Galilei

He was an Italian scientist that started making important discoveries in teh year 1581. He discovered things such as: 1.) The Law of the Pendulum 2.) An object accelerates at a predictable rate. 3.) Jupiter has four moons

Frederick II (The Great) of Prussia

He was an enlightened despot; seized Silesia, relative religious toleration, wanted to rationalize legal system (more efficient/national/limit aristocratic influence), 'first servant of the state'.

Moses Mendelssohn

He was the Prussian philosopher that led the Haskalah. HE began to advocate for freedom and civil rights for all European Jews.

Voltaire

His real name was Francois Marie Arouret. He was a very respected philosophe. However, he had to flee to England in order to avoid a prison term in France. He was arrested twice. He wrote works praising England and popularizing English science. He mixed the glorification of science and reason with an appeal for better individuals and institutions. He concluded that the best that one could hope for in the way of government was a good monarch, since human beings would very rarely be worthy to govern themselves.

Nicholas Copernicus

In 1543 he published a book in Poland that had the heliocentric theory in it. He believed that all planets revolved around the sun.

Partition of Poland in the 18th Century

In 1772 war between Russia and Austria threatened over Russian gains from the Ottoman Empire. To satisfy desires for expansion without fighting, Prussia's Frederick the Great proposed that parts of Poland be divided among Austria, Prussia, and Russia. In 1793 and 1795 the three powers partitioned the remainder, and the republic of Poland ceased to exist.

Why did the Enlightenment have such a profound effect of Politics in France and the rest of Europe? What does Enlightened Absolutism imply about the ruler and his ideology?

Many Enlightenment thinkers criticized the way that government was running things and obviously this would have a big impact on the way people viewed politics.

What were the reforms taken in Eastern Europe by the "Enlightened Monarchs" and how did they support/ contradict the Enlightenment in Western Europe?

Many of the Enlightened monarchs tried to Westernize Europe and they did many of things that were supposed to be beneficial to the nation, such as free the serfs, pay the serfs, grant religious freedoms, and so on...

Salons

Regular social gatherings held by talented and rich Parisians in their homes, where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, and philosophy.

What is tabula rasa? Discuss how the view of man in a "state of nature" determines the functions and role of government?

Tabula Rasa is the belief that all men are born with a clean slate and that they are influenced by their surroundings.

What does the term "Enlightenment" mean and what three central concepts stand at the core of Enlightenment thinking?

The Enlightenment was a term given to a new way of thinking and it was influenced by reason, use of the scientific method, and progress.

Haskalah

The Jewish Enlightenment of the second half of the eighteenth century, led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.

What were the causes of the Scientific Revolution?

The Scientific Revolution started because of many reasons. Arabic scholars contributed much knowledge and discovered many "new", old books. The Renaissance also helped because new technology was invented and many printed works were readily available.

Separation of Powers

The breaking up of government that is intended to be a system of checks and balances. This system was implemented to prevent any one person from becoming too powerful.

Copernican Hypothesis

The idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe.

Enlightenment

The influential intellectual movement of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress.

Joseph II of Austria

The most radical royal reformer; son and successor of Maria Theresa; introduced legal reforms & freedom of press; supported freedom of worship; abolished serfdom and ordered that peasants be paid for their labor with cash

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.

What were the consequences from this new view of the physical world that emerged from the Scientific Revolution?

This new world view led to the Enlightenment.