Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution Key Concepts for Students

Scientific Revolution

refers to a significant period of change in scientific thought that occurred during the 16th and 17th centuries, marking the emergence of modern science.

Scientific Method

a procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.

Francis Bacon

an English philosopher and statesman whose major contribution to the Scientific Revolution was the promotion of the empirical method of scientific inquiry.

Inductive Reasoning

a method of logical thinking that involves drawing general conclusions from specific observations or experiences.

Deductive Reasoning

a logical process where conclusions are drawn from a set of premises or facts, progressing from general ideas to specific conclusions.

Rene Descartes

(1596-1650) was a French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher, often referred to as the 'Father of Modern Philosophy.'

Isaac Newton

an English physicist and mathematician who was the culminating figure of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century.

Natural Law

a philosophical and legal theory that asserts that certain rights and moral values are inherent in human nature and can be understood through simple reasoning.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Polish astronomer and mathematician known as the father of modern astronomy.

Heliocentric

having or representing the sun as the center, as in the accepted astronomical model of the solar system.

Johannes Kepler

(1571-1630) was a German mathematician and astronomer best known for his three laws of planetary motion.

Galileo Galilei

(1564-1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer, often referred to as the 'father of modern observational astronomy' and the 'father of modern physics.'

Telescope

a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation.

Galen

(129-199AD), Greek physician. While attempting to systematize medicine, he made important discoveries in anatomy and physiology.

Andreas Vesalius

(1514-1564) was a Renaissance physician and anatomist, often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy.

William Harvey

An English physician who was the first to recognize the full circulation of the blood in the human body and to provide experiments and arguments to support this idea.

Alchemy

The medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir.

Enlightenment

A European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton, and its prominent exponents include Kant, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.

Rationalism

View that 'regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge' or 'the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge', often in contrast to other possible sources of knowledge such as faith, tradition, or sensory experience.

Empiricism

The theory that all knowledge comes through what the senses can experience. Stimulated by the rise of experimental science, it developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, expounded in particular by John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.

Thomas Hobbes

(1588-1679) was an English philosopher best known for his work in political philosophy, particularly in his book Leviathan (1651), where he formulated the social contract theory. He advocated for a strong central authority to avoid chaos and conflict in society.

John Locke

(1632-1704) was an English philosopher and political theorist who is often regarded as the founder of British empiricism and a key figure in the development of political liberalism.

Natural Rights

Refer to the moral principles given to all humans, simply for the sake of being human. They are universal moral principles among all societies that cannot be taken away by government laws.

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712-1778) was a Swiss philosopher, writer, and political theorist whose ideas significantly influenced the French Revolution and the Romantic movement.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An English writer and philosopher and is best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Her most famous work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), argues for women's access to education and equality in society.

Voltaire

(1694-1778), was a prominent French writer, historian, and philosopher of the Enlightenment. He is best known for his advocacy of civil liberties, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state.

Denis Diderot

French man of letters and philosopher who, from 1745 to 1772, served as chief editor of the Encyclopedie, one of the principal works of the Age of Enlightenment.

Montesquieu

A French political philosopher and historian known for his influential work, 'The Spirit of Laws.' He is recognized for his theory of the separation of powers, which greatly impacted modern political thought and the development of democratic governance.

Cesare Beccaria

An Italian criminologist and economist whose Dei delitti e delle pene (1764; Eng. Translated: Crimes and Punishment, 1880) was a celebrated volume on the reform of criminal justice.

Coffeehouse

Vibrant centers for intellectual exchange and political debate during the Enlightenment in France, shaping the political, social, and intellectual climate of the time.

Salon

Gatherings often hosted by noblewomen that allowed for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of Enlightenment thought, influencing the French Revolution and the Declaration of Independence.

Academy

An institution that provides specialized education and scholarly research in a particular field of study.

Deism

Belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe, chiefly associated with the 17th and 18th centuries.

Atheism

Disbelief in the existence of God or gods.

Baron d'Holbach

A prominent French philosopher and encyclopedist known for his atheism and materialism, contributing to the Encyclopédie and critiquing religion.

David Hume

A Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist known for his contributions to empiricism and skepticism, arguing that all knowledge is derived from experience.

Skepticism

The attitude of doubting knowledge claims set forth in various areas.

Methodist

A Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine, and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley.

Pietism

A 17th-century movement for the revival of purity in the Lutheran Church.

Mercantilism

An economic system and nationalist economic policy aimed at maximizing a country's exports while minimizing imports, prevalent from the 16th to 18th century.

Anne Robert Jacques

A French economist and statesman known for his advocacy of economic liberalism and the physiocratic school of thought, recognized for the law of diminishing marginal returns in agriculture.

laissez-faire

Abstention by governments from interfering in the workings of the free market: 'hands off' policy.

Adam Smith

A Scottish philosopher and economist, widely regarded as the father of modern economics or Capitalism, best known for his work, 'The Wealth of Nations,' published in 1776.

Invisible Hand

A metaphor introduced by Adam Smith that describes how self-interested individuals in a free-market economy can unintentionally contribute to the overall good of society.

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, with prices, production, and distribution determined mainly by competition in a free market.