Toward a New World View (1540-1789)

Question 1

cultural and intellectual flourishing between 1000-1500 (Arabs and Persians)

Answer 1

Muslim scholars were the most appreciated, Arabic was the scholarly language and areas such as Baghdad, Cordoba were big innovative centers. first universities were established in Constantinople, Fez, Cairo. Arab and Persian mathematicians invented algebra, the concept of an algorithm and decimal point notation.

Question 2

Chinese period of flourishing (peak in the mid-fourteenth century)

Answer 2

Chinese are responsible for inventing paper-making, gunpowder, and the use of compass.

Question 3

Mesoamerican civilizations and innovations

Answer 3

Mayans and Aztecs were the ones who thought out complex calendar systems which were based on astronomical observations and they also developed mathematical writing.

Question 4

Renewal of learning in Europe

Answer 4

establishment of strong monarchies and growth of trade helped this development along. European contact with the Islamic and Asian worlds helped them to relearn the ancient Greek intellectual heritage and learn about Chinese innovations. the fact that Europe remained politically fragmented made it possible for the area to experience innovations rather than sticking to traditions (individuals were left free to question the dominant patterns of thinking).

Question 5

Renaissance as the foundation for Scientific Revolution

Answer 5

humanists were well-respected, gaining knowledge was valued as a necessity for the practical purposes of life. many classical texts were rediscovered (Ptomely’s “Geogrpahy”, which used a round earth model and divided it into 360 degrees using longitude and latitude, Theoprastus’s work on botany). When Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453 many Christians fled to Italy with less-known texts and introduced them to the Europeans. Western European universities established professorships in Math, astronomy, natural philosophy.

Question 6

European overseas expansion as a catalyst for the new thought

Answer 6

in this period navigation and long voyages stimulated research and invention. many new instruments were developed such as the telescope, barometer, thermometer, pendulum clock, microscope, air pump. this also led to new knowledge thanks to enabling better observations. printing press in this period was also crucial.

Question 7

Scientific Revolution

Answer 7

c. 1540-1700

Question 8

Enlightenment

Answer 8

c. 1690-1789

Question 9

Growth of Book publishing

Answer 9

c. 1700-1800

Question 10

War of the Austrian Succession

Answer 10

1740-1748

Question 11

Reign of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria

Answer 11

1740-1780. in 1756 she formed an alliance with french ad Russian rulers to regain Silesia. while she set out to reform it was done due to traditional power politics rather than enlightenment ideas. initiated church reform, administrative reforms, agricultural reform.

Question 12

Reign of Frederick the Great of Prussia

Answer 12

1740-1786. Frederick built on his father Frederick William I’s work. he embraced culture and literature and as he grew older more so militarism as well. Silesia went to Prussia. after the seven years’ war he became increasingly more tolerant in religious matters and philosophical ones as well as education. legal system and bureaucracy saw a simplification and reform under him. he believed in cameralism.

Question 13

Salons led by Parisian elites

Answer 13

c. 1740-1789

Question 14

Seven Years’ War

Answer 14

1756-1763. aim was to conquer Prussia and divide its territory between the allies. when Peter III came to the Russian throne he called off the attack on Prussia (1762).

Question 15

Reign of Catherine the Great of Russia

Answer 15

1762-1796. originally a german princess who converted to orthodoxy and took over from his husband as tsarina. she worked hard to bring the western culture to russia. she set out to domestically reform but after several peasant uprisings she went another path. her last big goal was territorial expansion which she was successful in.

Question 16

Reign of Joseph II of Austria

Answer 16

1780-1790. Maria Theresa’s radical son and he got a title of ‘revolutionary emperor’. abolished serfdom but it was soon again restored after his death.

Question 17

Establishment of the Pale settlement

Answer 17

1791. it was established by Catherine as she refused to give Jews any leniency and rights.

Question 18

Natural philosophy

Answer 18

An early modern term for the study of the nature of the universe, its purpose, and how it functioned; it encompasses what we would call science today. primarily based on the ideas of Aristotle.

Question 19

Thomas Aquinas

Answer 19

medieval theologian who (among many others of such profession) brought Aristotelian philosophy into harmony with Christian doctrines.

Question 20

Aristotelian thought in physics and the ideas regarding the motions of Earth

Answer 20

distinguishable difference between the celestial spheres and earth (sublunar world). the spheres had a fifth essence while earth was made up of four imperfect elements such as air, fire, water, earth. a uniform force moved the objects at a constant speed.

Question 21

Ptolemyan theory for planetary movement

Answer 21

his explanation was born to perfect the one of Aristotle as it was proved flawed by observation. his idea was that planets moved in small epicycles and each of the planets moved around a larger circle. this theory was more complex and required more calculations but it poved very accurate.

Question 22

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)

Answer 22

A Polish cleric. published “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Sphere” (1543); theorized that the sun was the center of the galaxy. his theory had many implications: starts were put to rest, the idea of the spheres was useless, universe was seemingly huge, and earth was dubbed as just another planet. his use of math was very contradictory to the normal hierarchy of disciplines.

Question 23

Paracelsus (1493-1541)

Answer 23

Swiss physician and alchemist who pioneered the use of chemicals and drugs to address illness.

Question 24

Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)

Answer 24

Flemish physician who published “On the Structure of the Human Body” (1543). he studied anatomy by dissecting human bodies.

Question 25

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)

Answer 25

Danish astronomer who built observatory and compiled data for the “Rudolphine Tables” which was a new table of planetary data. he was so revered as an astronomer that the Danish king provided him with funds to build the most sophisticated observatory of his time.

Question 26

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Answer 26

English politician and writer who advocated the experimental method, formalizing theory of inductive reasoning known as empiricism.

Question 27

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Answer 27

A Florentine who used telescope observation to provide evidence for Copernican hypothesis (discovered Jupiter’s first four moons); experimented to formulate laws of physics such as inertia (rest was not the natural state of objects). to compile his laws he did many famous experiments, one of them the acceleration experiment.

Question 28

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

Answer 28

Brahe’s assistant who used his data to mathematically prove the Copernican hypothesis; his new laws of planetary motion united for the first time natural philosophy and mathematics; completed the Rudolphine Tables in 1627. his three laws were

1. orbits of the planets around the sun are elliptical rather than circular
2. planets did not move at uniform speed on their orbits
3. the time the planet takes to revolve around the sun is related to its distance from the sun

Question 29

William Harvey (1578-1657)

Answer 29

English royal physician who discovered the circulation of blood in 1628. he made the distinction between arteries and veins. first to explain the workings of the heart and its chambers.

Question 30

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Answer 30

French philosopher who used deductive reasoning to formulate the theory of Cartesian dualism (all of reality could be reduced to mind and matter). his ‘career’ begun when he realized that there is a correspondence between geometry and algebra.

Question 31

Robert Boyle (1627-1691)

Answer 31

English chemist who created Boyle’s law (1662) governing the pressure of gases. he helped to create the Royal Society in 1660. first to create a vacuum. his work led to the development of modern chemistry.

Question 32

Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Answer 32

English scientist who published “Principia Mathematica” in 1687. this work was so complex that it took centuries for the future scientists to figure out all the details; set forth the law of universal gravitation, synthesizing previous findings of motion and matter

Question 33

initial research and innovations in natural history

Answer 33

as the Spanish were the first to gain an overseas empire their crown sponsored many expeditions but not much is well-known due to the secrecy that the crown imposed on the discoveries. botany and plants were of particular interest as they proved useful for medicine, spices and dyes (Francisco Hernandez).

Question 34

Carl Linnaues (1707-1778)

Answer 34

Swedish who sent his students on exploratory voyages and developed a formal system of naming and classifying living organisms.

Question 35

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)

Answer 35

Dutch Jewish philosopher who was an early enlightenment thinker excommunicated from the Jewish religion for his concept of a deterministic universe. he aimed to apply natural philosophy in thinking about the human society. he also arrived at an idea of espouse monism.

Question 36

John Locke (1632-1704)

Answer 36

English physician and member of the Royal Society who published the “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” in 1690 where he set forth a new theory on how humans learn and form ideas. He also published a book “Two Treatises of Government” in 1690 which revolved around political theory.

Question 37

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716)

Answer 37

German philosopher and mathematician known for his optimistic view of the universe. adopted the idea of an infinite number of substances that all matter is composed of.

Question 38

Pierre Bayle (1647-1706)

Answer 38

Huguenot refugee who published “Historical and Critical Dictionary” in 1697 where he critically examined the religious beliefs and persecutions of the past.

Question 39

Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Answer 39

French philosophe who published “The Persian Letters” in 1721 which was a social satire, and “The Spirit of Laws” in 1748, where he distinguished between monarchies, republics and despotism.

Question 40

Voltaire (1694-1778)

Answer 40

most famous French philosophe who was a renowned author of more than 70 works. a reformer not a revolutionary with regards to politics. he was more radical in his philosophical and religious ideas. he favoured deism.

Question 41

David Hume (1711-1776)

Answer 41

Scottish thinker who was a central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment who put emphasis on civic morality and religious skepticism; published “Of Natural Characters” in 1748.

Question 42

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

Answer 42

Swiss thinker who published a political theory “The Social Contract” in 1762 which rested on two concepts: general will and popular sovereignty; contradictory figure as he is seen as a great enlightenment thinker but also as a reactionary against this movement. his ideals greatly influenced the early romantic movement.

Question 43

Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1717-1783)

Answer 43

French philosophes who were responsible for compiling the “Encyclopedia: The Rational Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts” between 1751-1772.

Question 44

Adam Smith (1723-1790)

Answer 44

Scottish thinker who created “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” in 1759 and “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” in 1776 in which he attacked the mercantilist governments and their regulation on the commerce.

Question 45

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Answer 45

German philosopher and thinker who wrote “What Is Enlightenment?” in 1784 and “On the Different Races of Man” in 1775.

Question 46

Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786)

Answer 46

Major philosopher of the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment.

Question 47

Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)

Answer 47

Halian thinker who wrote “On Crimes and Punishments” in 1764 where he pleaded for the reform of the penal system and advocated prevention over punishment.

Question 48

Enlightenment

Answer 48

the influential intellectual and cultural movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress.

Question 49

rationalism

Answer 49

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

Question 50

sensationalism

Answer 50

the idea that all human ideas and thoughts are produced as a result of sensory impression.

Question 51

why France as the hub of enlightenment?

Answer 51

1. french was the international language of the educated classes; france was the wealthiest and most populous country of europe at the time.
2. Louis XV was unpopular along with his mistresses and this discontent was a foundations for reform calls among the elite.
3. french philosophes made it their goal to reach a wider circles of elites.

Question 52

Gabrielle-Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, marquise du Chatelet (1706-1749)

Answer 52

a noblewoman who offered Voltaire a place to stay. she published scientific articles and translations and studied physics and mathematics.

Question 53

Abbe Raynal

Answer 53

wrote the “History of the two Indies” in 1770 where he challenged the racist ideas of enlightenment. he attacked slavery and abuses of European colonization.

Question 54

women in enlightenment

Answer 54

some key figures: May Astell wrote “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” in 1694; Madame du Deffand, madame de Pompadour, Mary Wollstonecraft
the main role was in informal dimensions of the enlightenment (conversation, letter writing, travel, patronage). they also influenced artistic taste.

Question 55

salons

Answer 55

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

Question 56

rococo style

Answer 56

1720-1780. popular in the 18th century europe; known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and strayy-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids.

Question 57

enlightened absolutism

Answer 57

describes the rule of the 18th century monarchs who, without renouncing their own absolute authority, adopted enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, and tolerance.

Question 58

cameralism

Answer 58

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.