Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment

Flashcards covering key figures, major works, discoveries, and core concepts of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment.

Scientific Revolution

The rise of modern science (1500s to 1600s) when people started using observation and experiments instead of just trusting the Church

Geocentric theory

Earth is the center of the universe (what the Church taught)

Heliocentric theory

The Sun is the center of the universe

Copernicus

Came up with the heliocentric theory (Sun is the center)

Copernicus's book

On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

Kepler

Laws of planetary motion; planets move in ovals (ellipses) around the Sun, not circles

Kepler's book

Astronomia Nova

Ellipse

An oval shape; the path planets take around the Sun

Galileo

Used a telescope to support the heliocentric theory

Galileo's book

The Starry Messenger

Galileo's discoveries

Venus circles the Sun, Jupiter has moons, the Sun has sunspots, the Moon is rough, and heavy and light objects fall at the same speed

What happened to Galileo

The Church put him on trial, made him take back his ideas, and put him under house arrest

Newton

Law of gravity, 3 laws of motion, invented calculus, calculated the speed of sound

Newton's book

Principia Mathematica

Newton's 3 laws of motion

1. An object in motion stays in motion unless a force acts on it; 2. $\text{Force} = \text{mass} \times \text{acceleration}$; 3. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction

Harvey

Discovered blood circulation; the heart pumps blood in a circuit through the body

Harvey's book

On the Motion of the Heart and Blood

Before Harvey

People thought blood was made in the liver and veins moved blood around the body

Descartes

French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who finalized the scientific method

Descartes's quote

"I think, therefore I am"

Meaning of "I think, therefore I am"

You can doubt almost everything, but thinking proves you exist

Scientific method

Observation → question → hypothesis → experiment → accept or reject the hypothesis

Enlightenment

Period in the late 1600s and 1700s that used reason and individualism instead of tradition; grew out of the Scientific Revolution

Hobbes

People are naturally greedy and selfish, so they need a strong government (absolute monarch)

Hobbes's book

Leviathan

Locke

People are good; natural rights of life, liberty, and property; limited government

Locke's book

Two Treatises of Government

Tabula rasa

Blank slate; Locke's idea that people are born with no ideas

Natural rights

Life, liberty, and property (Locke)

Montesquieu

Against absolute monarchy; separation of powers into 3 branches with checks and balances

Montesquieu's book

The Spirit of the Laws

3 branches of government

Legislative, executive, and judicial (Montesquieu)

Rousseau

Social contract; people are good but society corrupts them; consent of the governed; equality for all

Rousseau's book

The Social Contract

Social contract

People agree to give up some freedom in exchange for protection and order

Consent of the governed

The people agree to be ruled (Rousseau)

Voltaire

Outspoken; freedom of speech and separation of church and state

Voltaire's book

Candide

Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence using Enlightenment ideas, especially Locke's

Apple tree (Quiz Picture)

Newton

COEXIST sign (Quiz Picture)

Voltaire

Monster / dragon (Quiz Picture)

Hobbes

Telescope (Quiz Picture)

Galileo

Tree with 3 buildings (Quiz Picture)

Montesquieu

Life, Liberty, Property arrows (Quiz Picture)

Locke

Solar system (Quiz Picture)

Copernicus

Oval orbit diagram (Quiz Picture)

Kepler

Body with blood vessels (Quiz Picture)

Harvey

Social contract chart (Quiz Picture)

Rousseau

We the People (Quiz Picture)

Jefferson