AP Euro Chapter 17- Toward a New Worldview

Scientific Revolution

A major shift in thinking between 1500 and 1700 in which modern science emerged as a new way of gaining knowledge about the natural world

Enlightened Despot

Absolute ruler who used his or her power to bring about political and social change

Philosophers

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

Cameralism

View that monarchy was the best from 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.

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 rather than reason and speculation

Cartesian Dualism

Descartes's view that all of the reality could ultimately be reduced to mind and matter.

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.

Joseph II

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

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 importatnt issues relating to society, economics, and politics.

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.

American Revolution

This political revolution began with the Declaration of Independence in 1776 where American colonists sought to balance the power between government and the people and protect the rights of citizens in a democracy.

Mary Wollstonescraft

"A Vindication of the Rights of Women", was a leader in the women's rights movement.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"Social Contract" he explained an ideal society where each community member would vote on issues and majority would become one law.

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.

Baruch Spinoza

Believed that God had no existence apart from the world, that everything was itself an aspect of God.

Baron de Montesquieu

French aristocrat who wanted to limit royal absolutism; Wrote The Spirit of Laws, urging that power be separated between executive, legislative, and judicial branches, each balancing out the others, thus preventing despotism and preserving freedom. This greatly influenced writers of the US Constitution.

John Locke

17th century English philosopher who opposed the Divine Right of Kings and who asserted that people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property.

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.

Johannes Kepler

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

War of Austrian Succession

Conflict caused by the rival claims for the dominions of the Habsburg family. Before the death of Charles VI, Holy Roman emperor and archduke of Austria, many of the European powers had guaranteed that Charles's daughter Maria Theresa would succeed him.

Tycho Brahe

Danish astronomer who studied the night sky for 20 years gathering data, and discovered a new star, which challenged Aristotle's theory that the universe was perfect and unchanging

Rene Decartes

Developed analytical geometry. Relied on math and logic to make scientific discoveries. said "I think, therefore I am".

Francis Bacon

English politician, writer. Formalized the empirical method. "Novum Organum". Inductive reasoning.

Pugachev Rebellion

Eugene Pugachev, a Cossack soldier, led a huge serf uprising-demanded end to serfdom, taxes and army service; landlords and officials murdered all over southwestern Russia; eventually captured and executed

Gabrielle-Emilie

Fascinated by the new world system of Issac Newton. Helped spread Newton's ideas in France by translating his Principia and by influencing Voltaire.

Voltaire

French philosopher. He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

Pierre Bayle

Huguenot; wrote Historical and Critical Dictionary; skepticism (nothing can be known beyond all doubt)

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.

Cesare Beccaria

One of the first scholars to develop a systematic understanding of why people committed crime, believed that punishment should fit the crime, in speedy and public trials, and that capital punishment should be done away with completely

French Revolution

Period of political and social upheaval in France, during which the French government underwent structural changes, and adopted ideals based on Enlightenment principles of nationalism, citizenship, and inalienable rights. Changes were accompanied by violent turmoil and executions.

Denis Diderot

Philosopher who edited the Encyclopedia which was banned by the French King and Pope, was a leading figure of the Enlightenment in France

Immanuel Kant

Professor in East Prussia, argued that if serious thinkers were granted freedom to exercise their reason in print, enlightenment would surely follow. He said that Frederick the Great was an enlightened monarch because he allowed this.

Salon

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

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.

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.

Copernican Hypothesis

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

Haskalah

the Jewish Enlightenment of the 2nd half of the 18th century, led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.