Early Modern Times Flashcards
What was the Italian Renaissance?
(c. 14-17th centuries) A period during which western Europe had a great revival in art, literature, and learning. It was a change from the restricted life of the Middle Ages and Church authority. A new open society developed that stressed questioning and individualism. The emphasis shifted to the secular world, rather than the spiritual one associated with the next life. There was a rediscovery and interest in Greek and Roman cultures. This period was the transition from the medieval to the modern world.
Where did the Italian Renaissance begin?
In Florence, where there was relative political stability, economic expansion, wide contact with other cultures, and a flourishing urban civilization. The growth of towns and of wealth produced patrons for the arts, and contact with the Muslims through trade brought access to Greek and Roman scholarship.
Who was Petrarch?
An Italian scholar and poet and one of the earliest Renaissance humanists, often called the “Father of Humanism.” His sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe.
What was humanism?
An intellectual movement in Europe in the late Middle ages and the Early Modern period. It was a rediscovery and interest in Greek and Roman thought emphasizing worldly interests and individualism.
Who were the Medici?
A wealthy banking and merchant family of Florence, Italy, who supported the arts, literature, and learning, and thus made their city famous. The status of the city of Florence today is largely the result of their influence.
Who was Michelangelo?
(1475-1564) The Italian Renaissance painter architect and sculptor who panted the Sistine Chapel ceiling and was the sculptor of David and Pieta.
Who was Leonardo da Vinci?
The Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, and inventor known for his paintings The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. A gifted person with multiple talents, he was the original “Renaissance Man.”
Who was Niccolo Machiavelli?
(1469-1527) An Italian author of political science theory and author of The Prince (1513). In it, he described how a prince could gain and maintain power by being an amoral and calculating tyrant but with the accomplishment of establishing a unified Italian state. His name is synonymous with amoral cunning, “might makes right,” and “the ends justify the means.”
Who was Johannes Gutenberg?
(c. 1398-1468) A German printer and publisher who introduced modern book printing. His invention of mechanical movable type started the printing revolution and is widely regarded as the most important event of the modern period. It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution and laid the basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.
What was the Gutenberg Bible?
Printed by Johannes Gutenberg it was the first book printed with movable type. There remain 21 known copies in the world today one of them on display at the New York Public Library.
Who was William Shakespeare?
(1564-1616) An English Renaissance dramatist and poet considered by many to be the greatest writer of all time. Among his works are Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth.
Who was Michel de Montaigne?
(1533-93) One of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, he is known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre and became famous for his ability to merge serious intellectual speculation was casual anecdotes and autobiographical references. His massive volume Essais contains some of the most wildly influential essays ever written.
Who was Miguel de Cervantes?
(1547-1616) A Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright, his magnum opus Don Quixote, a satire of medieval life, is often considered the first modern novel. A classic of Western literature, it is regarded among the best works of fiction ever written.
Who was Desiderius Erasmus?
(1466-1536) A Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and theologian. A classical scholar, he prepared new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament and was committed to reform the Church from within.
What was heliocentrism?
(originated c. 400-100 B.C.) The belief that the Earth and planets revolve around a stationary Sun at the center of the solar system.
Who was Nicolaus Copernicus?
(1473-1543) A Renaissance astronomer and the first person to oppose the theory of heliocentrism. His book On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres is often regarded as a starting point of modern astronomy and the beginning of the Scientific Revolution.
Who was Galileo Galilei?
(1564-1642) An Italian physicist mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope, improvement of kinematics, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, and support for copernicanism. He has been called “the father of modern science.”
Who was Isaac Newton?
(1643-1727) An English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and theologian, he is considered to be one of the most influential people in human history. His Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy is one of the most important scientific books ever written. In this work, he described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion. He dispelled any remaining doubts about heliocentrism and thus advanced the Scientific Revolution.
Who was William Harvey?
(1578-1657) An English physician who was the first to describe completely and in detail the body’s circulatory system and its relation to the heart.
What is rationalism?
A branch of philosophy that proposes that in principle, all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, can be gained through the use of reason alone. It argues that one must predict and explain behavior based on logic, not observation, which may be subjective.
Who was Rene Descartes?
A rationalist who proposed that since conscious sense experience can cause illusion, then sensory experience itself must be subject to doubt. Thus a rational pursuit of truth should doubt every belief about reality. He argued that reason alone determined knowledge, and that this could be done independently of the senses. He elaborated these beliefs as such works as Discourse on Method and Principles of Philosophy.
What is empiricism?
A theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes via the senses’ experience. In the philosophy of science, it emphasizes gathering evidence, especially through experimentation. It is a fundamental part of the scientific method for all hypotheses and theories must be tested against observations, rather than resting solely on reasoning, Intuition, or revalation.
Who was Immanuel Kant?
(1724-1804) A Prussian geographer and philosopher who wrote the Critique of Pure Reason, where he attempted to create a balance between rationalism and empiricism. His thought was very influential in Germany during his lifetime, moving philosophy beyond the debate between the rationalists and empiricists, which eventually brought about various forms of German idealism. He remains a major influence on analytic philosophy today.
What is totalitarianism?
A political system where the state, usually under under the power of a single political person, action, or class, recognizes no limit to its authority. For example, the politics of dictators Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
