Social Studies Vocabulary

Geocentric Theory

A theory that took place in the Middle Ages, where the earth was the center of the universe and scholars believed that the Earth was an immovable object. It was “the earth-centered view.”

Scientific Revolution

A drastic change in European thought. It started in the mid-1500s, where the study of the natural world was characterized by precise observation and the questioning of accepted beliefs.

Heliocentric Theory

The theory that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun.

Scientific Method

A logical procedure to gather information about the natural world, where observations are used to test hypotheses.

Inductive Reasoning

A method of drawing conclusions by going from specific to general.

Universal Law of Gravitation

The law states that the force acting on a body is proportional to the rate of change of the body’s momentum. 

Rationalism

The theory that opinions/actions should be based on reason and knowledge instead of religious belief or emotional response.

Nicolaus Copernicus

He proposed a heliocentric system, where planets orbit around the sun. He was a Renaissance polymath who worked hard for his ideas.

Johannes Kepler

A German mathematician that used detailed astronomical data to arrive at his laws of planetary motion. He showed that the planets’ orbits around the sun were not circular but elliptical.

Galileo Galilei

An Italian scientist that was the first European to make regular observations of the heavens using a telescope. He found himself under suspicion by the Catholic Church.

Isaac Newton

English polymath who was a professor at Trinity College at Cambridge. He is known for formulating the laws of motion and gravitation. The laws are math formulas that explain how an object moves when a force acts on them.

Rene Descartes

He was a creative mathematician of the first order and an original metaphysical thinker. He was known for his philosophical statement, “I think, therefore I am.” He argued the theory of innate knowledge and all humans were born with knowledge through the higher power of God.

Separation of Powers

The separation of government responsibility where different parts of the government have different functions.

Laissez-Faire

the idea that the government should not interfere with/regulate industries and businesses.

Social Contract

The agreement where people define and limit their individual rights which created an organized society or government.

Salon

A social gathering of intellectuals and artists like those held in the homes of wealthy women in Paris and other European cities at the time of Enlightenment.

John Locke

English philosopher and physician who was known as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. He developed the theory of natural rights as well as natural rights, social contract, religious toleration, and the right to revolt. His vastly known idea is based on “life, liberty, property.”

Montesquieu

He was one of the greatest political philosophers. He was known for The Spirit of Laws (1748) and the idea of separation of powers.

Voltaire

French writer who focused on the efficacy of reason. He published many works involving books, plays, poems, and polemics.

Denis Diderot

Known as one of the originators and interpreters of the Enlightenment as well as being a French philosopher and art critic.

Adam Smith

Scottish economist and philosopher who published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

He was a philosopher and writer who was known for his work on the Social Contract. The contract questioned the purpose and place of government and its responsibility for its citizens.

Mary Wollstoncraft

Born in England during the Enlightenment. She was a British writer and philosopher. Also, she was a women’s rights activist.

Cesare Beccaria

He was an Italian criminologist and jurist. He was known for his treatise On Crimes and Punishments (1764).