AP Euro: ch 17

natural philosophy

and 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

salons significance

helped spread Englightened concepts and sparked debate in philosophes about their current issues

rationalism significance

increased the use of reason and scientific methods to examine the world

cameralism significance

influential throughout German lands, often overlapped with the ideas of the Enlightenment

experimental method significance

changed science and experiments for finding evidence

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

empiricism

a theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation rather than reason and speculation

natural philosophy significance

its study provided explainations for the world, which reinforced or opposed religious thought

law of universal gravitation

Netwon'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

public sphere significance

had open debate sparked by critical reason

Cartesian dualism significance

highly influential in France and the Netherlands opposing experimental philsophy in England

law of inertia significance

proved Aristotelian physics wrong

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

rococo significance

showed women influence on arts as some philosophes argued for greater women rights

philosophes significance

spread and introduced new "enlightened" concepts

Enlightenment significance

spread new ideas and philosophies, shaping the modern mind

Cartesian dualism

Descarte's view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind and matter

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

empiricism significance

led to widespread experimental philosophy and the scientific method

Haskalah

the Jewish Enlightenment of the 2nd 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

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

cameralism

view that the 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

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 inertia

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 some external force

rationalism

a secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith, and everything was to be submitted to reason

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

enlightened absolutism significance

brought Enlightened reform to absolutist countries and put new ideals into place

Copernican hypothesis significance

opposed religious ideas and contradicted religious scriptures

law of universal gravitation significance

part of Newton's synthesis that remained until the 20th-century, advance in mathematics and physics

reading revolution significance

people began reading new books of Enlightenment ideas and reading became an individual activity where people could interpret texts differently

Haskalah significance

started advocation of freedom and civil rights for Jews, some of which were granted

enlightened absolutism

term coined by historians to describe the rule of 18th century monarchs who, without renouncing their own absolute authority, adopted Enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, and tolerance