AP Euro Ch. 17

Aristotelian world-view

Aristotle viewed the earth as being the center of the solar system, and that everything revolved around us. He also said that each planet and the sun had an invisible crystal sphere around them; and that the stars showed the surface of the massive crystal sphere surrounding the whole solar system. This view is important because it defined what everyone believed about the universe for an extremely long time.

Secular

Secular is being separate from the Church and religion. It is living a fairly non-pious life that doesn't involve much with religious pursuits.

Bacon

Sir Bacon was an English politician and writer and the greatest early supporter of the experimental method. He rejected speculative reasoning and said that empirical research was needed to pursue new knowledge. His position as Lord Chancellor under James I and his theory of inductive reasoning known as empiricism led to the widespread adoption of "experimental philosophy" in England after his death.

Skepticism

Skepticism is the idea that nothing can ever be known beyond all doubt. It is the belief that nobody will ever know something as a solid fact, and that everything should be questioned.

Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa literally translates to "blank slate." It was used to describe the mind as a blank slate, ready to be filled, in Western philosophy.

What was the partitioning of Poland and who was involved?

An agreement to break Poland apart and split it between Austria, Prussia, and Russia. (Rulers = Austria: Maria Theresa; Prussia: Frederick the Great; Russia: Catherine the Great.)

Who wrote Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds and for what purpose was it written?

Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle. It was written as an explanation to the heliocentric (sun is the center) model of the Universe.

Brahe

Brahe agreed with Copernicus' ideas about the universe and the earth's rotating around the sun. He built an observatory in Prague under the commission of the Holy Roman emperor Rudolph II. In return for the emperor's support, Brahe pledged to create new and improved tables of planetary motion. He observed the stars and did record a new table, but because of his low mathematical knowledge, there were many errors. The largest of which being that he said that all the planets but the earth revolved around the sun and the sun revolved around the earth. These errors were fixed by his assistant, Kepler.

Copernicus

Copernicus was an intellectual and an astronomer. He was deeply religious and had a pious life for God. However, even with his religious standing, he found time and made effort to observe the stars and planets. Without denying Aristotle's idea about crystal spheres or circular motion, he proposed that the sun, instead of the earth, was the center of the solar system. He proposed the Copernican hypothesis.

Deductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning was fostered by Descartes and called for the use of logic, reason, and facts when determining situations. It revolved around the teachings of the Enlightenment, as aforementioned, and shunned the idea of skepticism and speculation.

Descartes

Descartes worked in a similar fashion to Sir Bacon's experimental philosophy. He formed the idea of Cartesian Dualism and accepted Galileo's claim that all elements of the universe were made of the same matter. Descartes used deductive mathematical reasoning in his pursuits of knowledge.

"Essay Concerning Human Understanding"

Essay Concerning Human Understanding, by John Locke, is often viewed as the first major text of the Enlightenment. In this work, Locke brilliantly sets forth a new theory about how humans learn and form ideas. Descartes based his deductive logic on the conviction that certain innate ideas are imbued in all humans by God, Locke insisted that all ideas are derived from experience.

What was the reading revolution?

Exactly as it sounds - a burst in the number of people that can and do read. This is thanks to the printing press as well as the interesting scientific findings of the time and the Enlightenment books of the time.

Fredrick the Great

Fredrick the Great led the takeover of the Austrian province of Silesia and successfully got it through military means. Thus, doubling the population of Prussia. Maria Theresa regained and formed an alliance with France and Russia, and nearly destroyed Prussia; greatly weakening Fredrick's army and image. Nevertheless, Fredrick fought with courage and was saved when Peter III took the Russian throne and called off the attack on him.

Galileo

Galileo was a professor who examined motion and mechanics greatly. One of his great achievements was the elaboration and consolidation of the experimental method. He formed the law of inertia, as well, and found that rest was not the natural state of objects. His experiments on motion and physics proved Aristotelian physics wrong. Galileo feared publishing his works due to religious persecution.

Haskalah

Haskalah was the Jewish Enlightenment of the second half of the eighteenth century, and was led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. It was achieved through an argument that during an era of reason, tolerance, and universality, restrictions on religious grounds could not stand. The most progressive reforms took place under Austrian emperor Joseph II; he helped to integrate Jews more fully into society. Most other places, however, made little to no reforms for the Jews.

What was unique about Joseph II of Austria and why did his reforms fail?

He was the MOST enlightened ruler of all of the Enlightenment. He abolished serfdom and introduced a cash payment system (rather than labor payment) between the serfs and the nobles. Unfortunately, the serfs had no money to pay nobles and were now out of jobs, homes, and food because they were not provided it by nobles anymore. This caused civil unrest, to say the least; and was the reason why his reforms failed.

Madame du Chatelet

Madame du Chatelet was a gifted woman from the high aristocracy of France with a passion for science. She studied physics and mathematics and published scientific articles and translations. In fact, she published the first and only translation of Newton's "Prinicpia" into French. She believed that women's limited role in science was due to their unequal education, and wrote that she believed that women should participate in all the rights of humankind.

Montesquieu

Montesquieu was one of the greatest philosophes and brilliantly pioneered the method of spreading new-age, church-hated ideas of science and society through indirect manuscripts such as plays and encyclopedias rather than books. He saw the relationship between men and women as highly representative of the overall social and political system.

Who wrote the Persian Letters and what was their purpose?

Montesquieu. It was written as a satire to show the political differences between men and women in this time.

Moses Mendelssohn

Moses Medelssohn was a Prussian philosopher that was responsible for initiating the Haskalah. He studied Jewish law in Berlin and later went on to write a number of books and philosophies regarding religion and the Enlightenment. He supported tolerance and equality for Jews.

Newton

Newton is best known for his studies on physics and his experiments regarding physics. He was a genius and was born in England; he attended Cambridge University. Between 1664 and 1666 he discovered his law of universal gravitation as well as the concepts of centripetal force and acceleration. Newton also had the towering accomplishment of integrating Copernicus' astronomy, as corrected by Kepler, with the physics of Galileo and his predecessors in his book: "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy."

"On the Different Races of Man"

On the Different Races of Man, by David Hume, claims that there were four human races, each of which had derived from a supposedly original race of "white brunette" people. According to the book, the closest descendants were people in northern Germany, and that other people had degenerated both physically and culturally from origin. We now know that these claims are incorrect.

"On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, written by Copernicus, was an account of his astronomical studies. It compiled all his records of the earth not being the center of the solar system, and his theory that the stars and planets all revolved around the sun. It was not published until the year of his death for fear of ridicule.

Philosophes

Philosophes were a group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow creatures in the Age of Enlightenment. This group of people helped greatly in spreading the newfound ideas of the Enlightenment; and they were responsible for bringing the Enlightenment to its highest development in France.

"Principia Mathematica"

Principia, written by Isaac Newton, was an integration of all of Copernicus' astronomy, as corrected by Kepler, and the physics of Galileo and his predecessors. It was admired for its compiling of all of these records and ideas into one, very informative book.

Progress

Progress is all that the name implies: progress. It is a movement through time with the introduction of new ideas and new thoughts that result in greater education about everything for everyone.

Emelian Pugachev

Pugachev was a common Cossack soldier that sparked a gigantic uprising of serfs. He proclaimed himself as the true tsar (not Catherine the Great) and issued orders abolishing serfdom, taxes, and army service. Emelian's untrained forces eventually proved no match for Catherine's noble-led army. Betrayed by his own people, Pugachev was captured and executed.

Rationalism

Rationalism is a secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith, and everything was to be submitted to reason. This way of thinking broke off from the typical blind following of religion and church doctrine that was common in the past.

Rococo

Rococo was a popular style in Europe in the eighteenth century. It was known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids. This style was fostered by elite women and showed the femininity in art. The fact that it this style was so ruled by female tastes and ideas shows progress - as in the past, even noble women would not have had a great say in art, let alone a popular art form.

Salons

Salons were 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. Although it did help the new ideas of rationalism, thought, and discussion, Salons were exclusive and only allowed the rich and powerful to take part in the gatherings. The Public Sphere, however, fixed this issue.

What are the characteristics of the Rococo style and how did this style emerge during this time period?

Soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids. It was popularized with feminine influence among wealthy women.

"Structure of the Human Body"

Structure of the Human Body, written by Vesalius, was a compile of hundreds of precise drawings and information that revolutionized the understanding of the human anatomy. It's experimental approach led English royal physician William Harvey to discover the circulation of blood through the veins and arteries.

Copernican Hypothesis

The Copernican hypothesis was the idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe. This was a revolutionary new idea that was not publicly thought of until Copernicus.

Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was the influential intellectual and cultural movement of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress. It was a key turning point regarding society's overall view of science and the world.

Experimental Method

The Experimental Method was the approach that the proper way to explore the workings of the universe was through repeatable experiments rather than speculation. This method was developed by Galileo and is important because it was the foundation and 'first draft' of the Scientific Method (but it was NOT the scientific method).

Public Sphere

The Public Sphere was 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. Places such as coffeehouses and libraries served to assist this new public sphere, and offered places where anyone (not just the rich) could meet and discuss philosophically.

Reading Revolution

The Reading Revolution was the transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religions texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse. This move shows a great step forward to a new worldview for everyone, as reading is perhaps one of the most useful tools to education and understanding.

"The Social Contract"

The Social Contract, by Rousseau, called for the general will and popular sovereignty. It proved a highly significant political theory and, according to Rousseau, the general will is sacred and absolute and reflected all the people who have displaced the monarch as holder of sovereign power.

"The Spirit of the Laws"

The Spirit of the Laws, by Montesquieu, was his attempt at setting out to apply the critical method to the problem of government. Montesquieu focused on conditions that would promote liberty and prevent tyranny, as well as the separation of powers, as an appropriate and well-working governmental system.

"Encyclopedia: The Rational Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts"

This encyclopedia was a group effort that was created by the philosophes as a whole. It was one of their greatest achievements. It was made to make people think objectively and critically and to expand human knowledge through the knowledge of the philosophes. It survived initial Church and Government resistance.

Bayle

Bayle was a French writer and philosopher. He was a known skeptic, and attacked all theories; saying that they were not and could not be proven. He wrote The Historical and Critical Dictionary.

Cameralism

Cameralism was the 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. Before the Enlightenment, this view was very much based around war for the good of the people; but during the Enlightenment, it was focused much more on rationality, progress, and utilitarianism for the good of the people.

Cartesian Dualism

Cartesian Dualism was Descartes' view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind and matter. This view was very influential in France and the Netherlands but not so much in England. Nevertheless, it provides a significant example of reasoning.

Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great of Russia was one of the most remarkable rulers of her age, and the French philosophes adored her. She had connections with the Romanovs and was able to secure her position as wife of the heir to the Russian throne. She conspired to kill her husband, and the plans went through; making her empress of Russia. She had three objectives: bring Western culture to Russia; domestic reform; and territorial expansion.

Diderot

Diderot was the coeditor of the Encyclopedia. He worked tirelessly to find coauthors for the book, and to stress the importance of the book to "change the general way of thinking."

Enlightened Absolutism

Enlightened Absolutism was a term coined by historians to describe the rule of eighteenth-century monarchs. These monarchs did not renounce their absolute authority, but they did adopt Enlightenment ideals such as rationalism, progress, and tolerance. This is yet another example of the strives of progress that were achieved during the Enlightenment.

Identify the policies enacted by Frederick II of Prussia that are considered to be enlightened.

Frederick the Great allowed his subjects to believe as they wished in religious and philosophical matters. He promoted the advancement of knowledge, improving schools. Torture was abolished.

Joseph II

Joseph II was an Austrian emperor and was very liberal in a number of his edicts. He helped to integrate Jews into society fully and abolished serfdom in Austria. He also decreed that peasants could pay off debts with money instead of labor; but this was violently rejected by both the nobles and the peasants. At his death at age 49, his brother took power and cancelled many of Joseph's radical reforms.

Kepler

Kepler was the assistant to Brahe, and worked to fix his mathematical errors while he was creating an updated table of planetary motion. He also created three new and revolutionary laws of planetary motion: planets orbited the sun in an elliptical fashion rather than a circular one; planets do not orbit at a uniform speed; and, the time that a planet takes to make its complete orbit is precisely related to its distance from the sun.

Who is given credit for formulating the scientific method?

Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon.

Maria Theresa

Maria Theresa was a female monarch of Austria and had a goal to reform her nation. However, she followed traditional power politics rather than Enlightenment teachings. She was a remarkable but old-fashioned absolutist and was mother to the more radical Joseph II.

"Historical and Critical Dictionary"

The Historical and Critical Dictionary, by Pierre Bayle, demonstrated that human beliefs had been extremely varied and very often mistaken. It stated, in alignment with skepticism, that nothing can ever be known beyond all doubt.

"The Parisian Letters"

The Parisian Letters, written by Montesquieu, was an extremely influential social satire. It showed how the relationship between men and women represented society's social and political system as a whole. It showed how these relationships and systems often did not work correctly or at all; and how there were often unintended consequences for these relationships.