AP EURO VOCAB WORDS - UNIT 5 (ENLIGHTENMENT & SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION)

Collection of key vocabulary terms from Unit 5: Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution, covering major figures, intellectual movements, and socioeconomic classes.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)

A Dutch Golden Age painter and etcher. He is considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art.

Tycho Brahe (1546–1601)

A Danish nobleman and astronomer who established a new observatory. His precise observations of the stars and planets were crucial for later astronomical work.

Hermes Trismegistus (Antiquity)

A legendary Hellenistic figure combining the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. He is credited as the author of the Hermetic Corpus, which influenced Renaissance thought.

Robert Boyle (1627–1691)

An Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, and physicist. He is widely considered the first modern chemist for his law regarding the inverse relation of pressure and volume of a gas.

Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727)

An English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica laid the foundations for classical mechanics.

Cartesianism (17th Century)

The philosophical and scientific system developed by René Descartes. Its main principle is that the mind and body are distinct substances.

Hidalgo (15th-19th Centuries)

A member of the Spanish or Portuguese minor nobility, typically without a hereditary title. This class was often characterized by land ownership and a military tradition.

Grandees (16th-20th Centuries)

A Spanish nobleman of the highest rank. They enjoyed special privileges that included being covered in the presence of the king.

Philosophes (18th Century)

The intellectuals of the Enlightenment, who applied reason to the study of many areas of learning. They championed reform and tolerance in society.

Adam Smith (1723–1790)

A Scottish economist and philosopher famous for his work The Wealth of Nations. He is considered the father of modern economics and a key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Voltaire (1694–1778)

A French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. He was famous for his advocacy of freedom of speech and religious tolerance.

Deists (17th-18th Centuries)

Followers of Deism, a belief system that posits a creator God who designed the universe and set it in motion, but who does not intervene in human affairs or require organized religion. They relied on reason and natural law, viewing God as a "divine clockmaker."

Progress (18th Century)

The belief, central to the Enlightenment, that advancements in science and reason would inevitably lead to the improvement of the human condition. This concept drove much of the era's social and political reform movements.

Petit bourgeoisie (18th-19th Centuries)

The lower middle class, including small shopkeepers, minor merchants, and independent artisans. They occupied a socioeconomic position between the working class and the wealthy middle class.

Scientific Rev (Mid-16th to Late 18th Centuries)

A period of dramatic change in European thought where new ways of studying the natural world emerged, based on systematic observation and experimentation. This revolution fundamentally transformed scientific understanding and laid the groundwork for the Enlightenment.

Johannes Kepler (1571–1630)

A German astronomer and mathematician who formulated the laws of planetary motion. His work provided a foundation for Newton's theory of universal gravitation.

Paracelsus (1493–1541)

A Swiss German physician, alchemist, and philosopher known for his revolutionary medical theories. He is credited with challenging traditional medical views and emphasizing observation over ancient texts.

Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564)

A Flemish anatomist and physician considered the founder of modern human anatomy. His book De humani corporis fabrica was a major advance in anatomical knowledge.

Francis Bacon (1561–1626)

An English philosopher, statesman, and scientist who is considered the father of empiricism. He advocated for the inductive method for scientific inquiry, known as the Baconian method.

Neoplatonism (3rd-6th Centuries)

A philosophical system that revived and reinterpreted the teachings of Plato, emphasizing a single, transcendent 'One'. It was influential in early Christian and Renaissance thought.

peerage (Medieval-Present)

A legal system of hereditary titles in the United Kingdom and some other European countries. It denotes the body of peers, who historically held legislative and judicial privileges.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)

A Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of the Enlightenment. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution with concepts like the social contract and the general will.

Encyclopedia (18th Century)

A massive compendium of knowledge published during the Enlightenment, edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Its purpose was to collect and disseminate information and challenge traditional authority.

Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794)

An Italian criminologist, jurist, and philosopher of the Enlightenment. He is famous for his treatise On Crimes and Punishments, advocating for criminal justice reform.

David Hume (1711–1776)

A Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, and essayist. He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy, known for his skepticism and empiricism.

John Locke (1632–1704)

An English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. He is known as the "Father of Liberalism" and for his theory of tabula rasa.

religious toleration (17th-18th Centuries)

The principle of allowing people to practice their own religion without persecution from the state or other dominant religious groups. It was a key demand of Enlightenment reformers.

laissez-faire (18th Century)

An economic system where transactions between private parties are free from government intervention. This principle was strongly advocated by Adam Smith and other classical liberals.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)

A Renaissance-era astronomer who proposed the heliocentric model of the universe. His work is considered a major turning point in the history of science, sparking the Copernican Revolution.

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)

An Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer who is considered the "father of observational astronomy." He made significant telescopic discoveries and supported the Copernican view.

alchemy (Antiquity–18th Century)

An ancient practice combining elements of chemistry, physics, and philosophy with the goal of turning base metals into gold or finding a universal elixir. It served as a precursor to modern chemistry.

William Harvey (1578–1657)

An English physician who was the first to accurately describe the circulation of blood in the body. His work, based on observation and experimentation, revolutionized physiology.

Rene Descartes (1596–1650)

A French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who is dubbed the "father of modern philosophy." He is famous for the phrase Cogito, ergo sum and for founding Cartesianism.

Bourgeoisie (Medieval-Present)

The middle class, typically characterized by their ownership of capital and their non-manual labor. This class grew in wealth and influence during the early modern period.

Gentry (Medieval-Present)

A class of wealthy landowners in England who were below the nobility but above the commoners. They were crucial to local governance, often serving as Justices of the Peace, and their rising influence challenged the old aristocratic power structure.

Enlightenment (18th Century)

An intellectual and philosophical movement that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism over tradition. It fundamentally reshaped Western thought and political systems.

Denis Diderot (1713–1784)

A French philosopher, art critic, and writer who was a prominent figure in the Enlightenment. He is best known as the co-founder and chief editor of the Encyclopédie.

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)

A German philosopher considered one of the most central figures in modern philosophy. His work profoundly influenced metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics.

Montesquieu (1689–1755)

A French judge, man of letters, and political philosopher who articulated the theory of separation of powers. This concept was highly influential in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.

Salons (17th-18th Centuries)

Informal gatherings, typically hosted by wealthy and influential women in their homes, where philosophes and other intellectuals discussed new ideas. They were crucial to the spread of Enlightenment thought across Europe.

physiocrats (18th Century)

A group of French Enlightenment economists who believed that the wealth of nations was derived solely from the value of land and agricultural production. They advocated for policies like laissez-faire and minimal government spending.

Patent of toleration (1781)

A decree issued by Joseph II of Austria that granted limited freedom of worship to non-Catholic Christians and Jews within the Habsburg lands. This was a major step towards religious freedom in the Austrian Empire.