AP Euro Unit 4 Vocab

Nicolaus Copernicus

Proposed the heliocentric theory that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe

Johannes Kepler

Used mathematics to show that planets move in elliptical orbits, improving on Copernicus’s model

Galileo Galilei

Used the telescope to observe celestial bodies; supported heliocentrism and challenged Church authority

Isaac Newton

Formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation; unified ideas of physics and astronomy

Francis Bacon

Promoted the scientific method based on observation and experimentation (empiricism)

René Descartes

Emphasized reason and logic; known for “I think, therefore I am”

John Locke

Believed people are born with natural rights to life, liberty, and property; government must protect them

Thomas Hobbes

Argued that people need strong, absolute rulers to maintain order (Leviathan)

Voltaire

Criticized intolerance and the Church; supported freedom of speech and religion

Montesquieu

Advocated separation of powers in government to prevent tyranny

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Wrote The Social Contract; government should reflect the “general will” of the people

Denis Diderot

Editor of the Encyclopédie; spread Enlightenment ideas across Europe

Adam Smith

Argued for free markets and limited government interference in The Wealth of Nations

Mary Wollstonecraft

Early feminist who argued for women’s equality in education and politics

Cesare Beccaria

Called for reform of criminal justice; opposed torture and capital punishment

Immanuel Kant

Defined Enlightenment as “man’s emergence from self-imposed ignorance”; valued reason and morality

Frederick the Great

Prussian monarch who implemented Enlightenment reforms such as religious tolerance and legal reform

Catherine the Great

Russian ruler who promoted education and Enlightenment ideals while maintaining autocracy

Joseph II

Austrian ruler who abolished serfdom and advanced religious tolerance

Maria Theresa

Reorganized Austrian government and promoted limited reforms but remained a devout Catholic

Salon

Social gatherings, often hosted by women, where Enlightenment thinkers discussed ideas

Deism

Belief in a rational God who created the universe but does not interfere with it

Natural Rights

Fundamental rights (life, liberty, property) that belongs to all people by nature

Social Contract

The idea that governments gain authority from the consent of the governed

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and progress to improve society and government