Intellectual Discoveries That Defined Society

Vocabulary flashcards covering intellectual revolutions, psychoanalytic components, information developments, and major world civilizations.

Intellectual Revolution

A pre-Socratic, non-theological first philosophy defined by three features: the world is a natural whole, there is natural order, and humans can discover those laws.

Nicholas Copernicus

A mathematician and astronomer (1473 - 1543) who introduced the Copernican Revolution, challenging classical principles of astronomy and geocentrism.

Geocentrism

The classical astronomical model, supported by Aristotle, which posits that the Earth is at the center of the solar system.

Heliocentrism

The astronomical model introduced during the Copernican Revolution that places the Sun at the center of the solar system.

Theory of Evolution

The scientific concept central to the Darwinian Revolution involving naturalistic descent with modification and natural selection.

Survival of the Fittest

A principle in the Darwinian Revolution stating that variations better suited for the environment help species survive.

Sigmund Freud

The father of psychoanalysis and one of the 20th century's most influential thinkers who proposed the structural theory of personality.

Id

The primitive component of personality present at birth that operates on psychic energy to satisfy basic urges, needs, and desires.

Superego

The component of personality containing internalized ideals acquired from parents and society that suppresses id urges and enforces moral behavior.

Ego

The component of personality operating on the reality principle that mediates demands among the id, superego, and reality.

Information Revolution

A historical movement that accompanied human history, beginning as early as 3000 BC with Sumerian pictographs and evolving through modern computing.

Gutenberg Press

A printing invention that played a pivotal role in advancing the Information Revolution.

Analytical Engine

An early mechanical general-purpose computer design created during the Information Revolution.

Alan Turing

A mathematician and computer scientist who made foundational contributions to the Information Revolution.

Three Sisters

An agricultural crop combination of corn, beans, and squash cultivated by Mesoamerican civilizations.

Slash and Burn Technique

A Mesoamerican cultivation method used to clear land and overcome poor soil conditions and lack of usable terrain.

Terracing

An agricultural cultivation technique involving stepped levels on slopes used by Mesoamerican civilizations to adapt to hilly terrain.

Mohenjo-Daro

A major city of the Indus River Valley civilization in ancient India known for shops and bronze and copper weapons.

Cradle of Civilizations

A designation for Middle East civilizations, which were the first to practice intensive year-round agriculture, currency-mediated trade, and create city-states.

Cuneiform

An early writing system developed in the Middle East, considered one of the most critical inventions between the advent of agriculture and the steam engine age.