CH. 16 Flashcards

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1
Q

Natural Philosophy

A

An early modern term for the study of the nature of the universe, its purpose, and how it functioned; it encompassed what we would call “science” today.

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2
Q

The Aristotelian Universe

A

A round Earth is at the center, surrounded by spheres of water, air, and fire. Beyond this small nucleus, the moon, the sun, and the 5 planets were embedded in their own rotating crystal spheres, with the stars sharing the surface of one enormous sphere. Beyond, the heavens were composed of unchanging terms.

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3
Q

Copernican hypothesis

A

The idea that the sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe.

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4
Q

Hevelius and His Wife

A

Portable sextants were used to chart a ship’s position at sea by measuring the altitude of celestial bodies above the horizon. Astronomers used much longer sextants to measure the angular distances between 2 bodies.

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5
Q

Experimental Method

A

The approach, pioneered by Galileo, that the proper way to explore the workings of the universe was through repeatable experiments rather than speculation.

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6
Q

Law of Inertia

A

A law formulated by Galileo that states that motion, not rest, is the natural state of an object, and that an object continues in motion forever unless stopped by some external force.

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7
Q

Law of Universal Gravitation

A

Newton’s law that all objects are attracted to one another and that the force of attraction is proportional to the object’s quantity of matter and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

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8
Q

Empiricism

A

A theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation rather than deductive reason and speculation.

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9
Q

Cartesian Dualism

A

Descartes’s view that all of reality could ultimately be reduced to mind and matter.

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10
Q

Enlightenment

A

The influential intellectual and cultural movement of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress.

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11
Q

Rationalism

A

A secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith, and everything was to be submitted to reason.

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12
Q

Philosophes

A

A group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow humans in the Age of Enlightenment.

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13
Q

Madame du Chatelet

A

The marquise du Chatelet was fascinated by the new world system of Isaac Newton. She helped spread Newton’s ideas in France by translating his Principia and by influencing Voltaire, her companion for 15 years until her death.

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14
Q

Reading Revolution

A

The transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse.

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15
Q

Salon

A

Regular social gathering held by talented and rich Parisians in their homes, where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, and philosophy.

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16
Q

Rococo

A

A popular style in Europe in the 18th century, known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids.

17
Q

Public Sphere

A

An idealized intellectual space that emerged in Europe during the Enlightenment, where the public came together to discuss important issues relating to society economics, and politics.

18
Q

Cotton Industry

A

The romanticized image of slavery in the West Indies cotton industry.

19
Q

Enlightened Absolutism

A

Term coined by historians to describe the rule of 18th century merchants who, without renouncing their own absolute authority, adopted Enlightenment ideas of rationalism, progress, and tolerance.

20
Q

Cameralism

A

View that monarchy was the best form of government, that all elements of society should serve the monarch, and that, in turn, the state should use its resources and authority to increase the public good.

21
Q

Haskalah

A

The Jewish Enlightenment of the second half of the 18th century, led by Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.