Intellectual Revolutions That Defined Society

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture material covering major intellectual revolutions across Western, Meso-American, Asian, and Middle Eastern civilizations.

Intellectual Revolution

A fundamental shift in how a society understands the natural world, often leading to breakthroughs in science, mathematics, medicine, and technology.

Copernican Revolution

The astronomical revolution initiated by Nicolaus Copernicus proposing a Sun-centered (heliocentric) model where Earth rotates daily and orbits the Sun along with other planets.

On the Revolutions

The $1543$ landmark work by Nicolaus Copernicus that detailed the heliocentric model, published near his death due to fear of church opposition.

Darwinian Revolution

The scientific shift marked by Charles Darwin's proposal that organisms evolve over generations through natural selection, changing humanity's view of life's origins.

On the Origin of Species

The $1859$ publication by Charles Darwin that introduced the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Freudian Revolution

The psychological movement founded by Sigmund Freud proposing psychoanalysis and stating human behavior is shaped by unconscious drives, desires, and conflicts.

Id, Ego, and Superego

The three structural parts of the human mind defined by Sigmund Freud in psychoanalytic theory.

Information Revolution

Also called the Computer Age, an era where technology and data became central to society and the economy, treating information as a valuable resource.

Maya Positional Number System

A base-$20$ (vigesimal) mathematical system created by the Maya featuring a concept of zero and using three symbols: a dot ($1$), a bar ($5$), and a shell ($0$).

Haab'

The $365\text{-day}$ Maya calendar system that interlocked with the Tzolk'in system.

Tzolk'in

The $260\text{-day}$ Maya calendar system that aligned with the Haab' to make up the Calendar Round.

Calendar Round

The Maya calendar cycle formed every $52$ years when the $365\text{-day}$ Haab' and the $260\text{-day}$ Tzolk'in systems aligned.

Chinampas

Artificial islands developed by the Aztec Empire for agricultural farming around Tenochtitlán.

Quipu

A system of knotted cords used by the Inca Empire for record-keeping and administrative tasks.

Four Great Inventions

Key Chinese technological achievements identified by Sir Francis Bacon as driving change in Renaissance Europe: papermaking ($8\text{th}$ century), printing ($8\text{th}\text{–}11\text{th}$ century), gunpowder ($10\text{th}$ century), and the magnetic compass ($11\text{th}$ century).

Su Song

The Chinese inventor who built a water-powered mechanical clock in $1088$.

Aryabhata

A $5\text{th}$ century CE Indian mathematician and astronomer who provided a proper mathematical treatment of zero and developed the decimal place-value system.

Brahmagupta

A $7\text{th}$ century CE Indian mathematician who defined zero as the result of subtracting a number from itself and formulated rules for negative numbers.

House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma)

A major academy in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age ($9\text{th}\text{–}13\text{th}$ centuries CE) where scholars translated Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit texts into Arabic.

Al-Khwarizmi

An Islamic Golden Age mathematician who invented algebra and whose name is the root of the word algorithm.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

An Islamic Golden Age physician who authored the Canon of Medicine, which served as the standard medical text in European universities for seven centuries.

Ibn al-Haytham

An Islamic Golden Age scholar who pioneered the experimental scientific method and wrote the Book of Optics, laying the foundation for modern theories on light.