Chapter 6: Enlightenment and Revolution Flashcards
Geocentric Theory
in the Middle Ages, the earth-centered view of the universe in which scholars believed that the earth was an immovable object located at the center of the universe
Scientific Revolution
a major change in European thought, in which the study of the natural world began to be characterized by careful observation and the questioning of accepted beliefs
Heliocentric Theory
the idea that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun
Galileo Galilei (Italian)
- built his own telescope and used it to study the heavens
- he published “Starry Messenger”, it described his observations
- announced Jupiter had four moons, the sun had dark spots, the Earth’s moon had a rough and uneven surface
- his observations supported Copernicus but not Aristotle
- his observations went against Church teaching, he had to confess they were false, then lived under house arrest
Scientific Method
a logical procedure for gathering information about the natural world, in which experimentation and observation are used to test hypotheses
Isaac Newton (English)
- discovered that all physical objects were affected equally by the same forces
- published the “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”
- law of gravity
Enlightenment
an 18th century European movement in which thinkers attempted to apply the principles of reason and the scientific method to all aspects of society
Social Contract
the agreement by which people define and limit their individual rights, thus creating an organized society or government
John Locke
- people could learn from experience and improve themselves
- people are reasonable beings and had the natural ability govern their own affairs and look after the welfare of society
- did not like absolutism and favored self government
- all people are born free and equal with 3 natural rights
- life, liberty, and freedom
- purpose of gov’t is to protect those rights - if a gov’t fails to do so the people have the right to overthrow it
Philosophe
one of a group of social thinkers in France during the Enlightenment
Voltaire
- fought for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, freedom of speech
- “I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it”
Montesquieu
- he proposed that the separation of powers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control of the gov’t
- power should be a check to power
Rousseau
- civilization corrupted people’s natural goodness
- “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains”
- only good gov’t was one that was freely formed by the people and guided by the general will of society
- in this system, people gave up some of their freedom for the common good
- political philosophy is outlined in The Social Contract 1762
- Social Contract is an agreement among free individuals to create a society and a gov’t
- legitimate gov’t came from the consent of the governed
- all people are equal and title of nobility should be abolished
Mary Wollstonecraft
- women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful
- urged women to enter the male dominated fields of medicine and politics
Salon
a social gathering of intellectuals and artists, like those held in the homes of wealthy women in Paris and other European cities during the Enlightenment
