Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution Key Concepts for Students

Copernican hypothesis

Idea that the sun, not Earth, is at the center of the universe.

Aristotelian world-view

Belief that Earth is the center of the universe and everything has a purpose.

Empiricism

Belief that knowledge comes from observation and experience.

Deductive reasoning

Using general rules to reach specific logical conclusions.

Rationalism

Belief that reason and logic are the main sources of knowledge.

General will

Rousseau's idea that the common good should guide government.

Skepticism

Doubt about what is true; questioning accepted beliefs.

Tabula rasa

Locke's idea that people are born with a blank mind shaped by experience.

Parlement of Paris

French high court that registered royal laws and could protest them.

Enlightenment

18th-century movement using reason to improve society and government.

Enlightened absolutism

Rulers who used Enlightenment ideas to strengthen their power and help people.

Philosophes

French thinkers who promoted reason, progress, and reform.

Cartesian dualism

Descartes' idea that mind and body are separate substances.

Silesia

Austrian province taken by Prussia during the War of Austrian Succession.

Social contract

Agreement between people and government for order and protection.

State of nature

Life without government; used by philosophers to explain why society forms.

Spirit of Laws

Montesquieu's book about separating government powers.

Principia

Newton's work explaining gravity and laws of motion.

Two Treatises on Government

Locke's book arguing for natural rights and government by consent.

Separation of powers

Dividing government into branches to prevent tyranny.

Checks and balances

System where each branch limits the others' power.

Deism

Belief that God created the world but doesn't interfere in it.

Heliocentric

Sun-centered view of the universe.

On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

Copernicus's book presenting the heliocentric theory.

Tycho Brahe

Danish astronomer who collected detailed data on the stars and planets.

Johannes Kepler

German scientist who discovered planets move in elliptical orbits.

Galileo Galilei

Italian scientist who used the telescope to support heliocentrism.

Isaac Newton

English scientist who discovered gravity and laws of motion.

Francis Bacon

English thinker who promoted the scientific method and experimentation.

Bernard de Fontenelle

Writer who explained science in simple terms for the public.

The public

Educated group that discussed and spread Enlightenment ideas.

The people

Broader population often excluded from political power in Enlightenment society.

Baron de Montesquieu

French thinker who argued for separation of powers in government.

Voltaire

French writer who attacked injustice and supported freedom of speech and religion.

Madame du Châtelet

Female mathematician who translated Newton's works and promoted science.

The Encyclopedia

Collection of Enlightenment ideas edited by Diderot and d'Alembert.

David Hume

Scottish philosopher who believed reason is limited and based on experience.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Philosopher who valued emotion, equality, and the general will.

Immanuel Kant

German philosopher who said people should think for themselves.

Frederick II

Prussian ruler who used Enlightenment ideas to reform his government.

Seven Years' War

Global conflict between major European powers (1756-1763).

Catherine the Great

Russian ruler who embraced Enlightenment reforms but kept serfdom.

Pugachev's rebellion

Russian peasant revolt against Catherine the Great's rule.

Maria Theresa

Austrian ruler who improved taxes and military but stayed conservative.

Joseph II

Austrian emperor who abolished serfdom and reformed laws.

Louis XV

French king whose weak rule led to growing discontent before the Revolution.

War of Austrian Succession

War over Maria Theresa's inheritance of the Austrian throne.

Natural philosophy

Early term for science, focused on nature and the universe.

Experimental method

Using experiments to test ideas and find truth.

Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World

Galileo's book comparing Copernican and Ptolemaic systems.

René Descartes

French philosopher who founded modern rationalism and said "I think, therefore I am."

Andreas Vesalius

Scientist who studied human anatomy and wrote On the Structure of the Human Body.

William Harvey

English doctor who discovered blood circulates through the body.

Robert Boyle

Founder of modern chemistry who studied gases and their properties.

Pierre Bayle

French skeptic who argued for religious tolerance and freedom of thought.

Baruch Spinoza

Dutch philosopher who believed God and nature were one and the same.

Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Locke's work explaining how the mind learns through experience.

John Locke

English thinker who said people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property.

The Social Contract

Rousseau's book arguing that government must follow the general will.

Adam Smith

Economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations and promoted free markets.

Cesare Beccaria

Italian reformer who opposed torture and promoted fair punishment.

Reading revolution

Shift to more private and varied reading during the Enlightenment.

Public sphere

Space where citizens discussed ideas and influenced society.

The System of Nature

Materialist book by Holbach saying everything follows natural laws.

James Beattie

Scottish thinker who argued against racism and inequality.

Cameralism

German idea that monarchy should use economy and administration to strengthen the state.