Chapter 16

Question 1

natural philosophy

Answer 1

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 the science today.

Question 2

Copernican hypothesis

Answer 2

the idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe

Question 3

experimental method

Answer 3

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

Question 4

law of inertia

Answer 4

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

Question 5

law of universal gravitation

Answer 5

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

Question 6

empiricism

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Cartesian dualism

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Enlightenment

Answer 8

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

Question 9

rationalism

Answer 9

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

Question 10

philosophes

Answer 10

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

Question 11

reading revolution

Answer 11

the transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was common-place and reading material was broad and diverse

Question 12

salon

Answer 12

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

Question 13

rococo

Answer 13

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

Question 14

public square

Answer 14

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

Question 15

enlightened absolutism

Answer 15

term coined by historians to describe the rule of eighteenth-century monarchs who, without renouncing their own absolute authority, adopted Enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, and tolerance

Question 16

cameralism

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Haskalah

Answer 17

the Jewish Enlightenment of the second half of the eighteenth century, led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn