History Unit 18

Front 1

Scientific Method

Back 1

themethod of investigation by observation and experimentation of natural phenomenato reach a conclusion regarding the “laws ofnature” and the physical sciences.

Front 2

deductive reasoning

Back 2

arrivingat a “truth” (conclusion) by applying a generalization or general law / proposition to a specific case.

Front 3

inductive reasoning

Back 3

arrivingat a “truth” (conclusion) by observing a number of specific cases, notingtheir consistencies, and making a general statement (conclusion) based uponthose observations.

Front 4

empirical method

Back 4

usingempirical data (that which can be discerned using the senses) to establish scientific “truth.”

Front 5

geocentric model of the universe

Back 5

themodel of the universe (solar system) that placed the Earth at the center and all the “celestial bodies” (sun,moon, stars, planets, etc.) fixed in “crystalline spheres” which revolved around it.

Front 6

heliocentric model of the universe

Back 6

themodel of the universe (solar system) that placed the Sun at the centerand the Earth and all the planets in orbits around it

Front 7

Scientific Revolution

Back 7

thetransition from the Medieval perspective of the world / universe and the natureof humanity, based largely on religiousteachings, to a more modernperspective based upon the discoveries and resulting theories of the group of scientists and “natural philosophers” of the16th – 17th centuries.

Front 8

world-machine concept

Back 8

theconcept developed by Sir Isaac Newton that the universe is one large mechanism governed by natural lawsoperating in absolute time, space and motion.

Front 9

pantheism

Back 9

abelief that “God” exists in all things (organic / inorganic; animate /inanimate); “God” and the universe are one and the same.

Front 10

Cartesian dualism

Back 10

theprinciple developed by Rene Descartes that all things in the universe may be classified in one of two broadercategories: “physical” – that which may be perceived by the senses and therefore observed and measured; or“metaphysical” – that which may not be perceived by the senses, such asthought, emotions, spirituality

Front 11

Rationalism

Back 11

–a school of thought that maintains that human reason and experience are thechief sources of human knowledge.

Front 12

philosophes

Back 12

–the French name given to the thinkers and philosophers of theEnlightenment. They were committed to the causes of reform(change for the better) in society and human progress.

Front 13

Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies

Back 13

thework published by Nicholas Copernicus in the year after his death (1544) which detailed his observations ofthe movement of the planets around the sun, the “heliocentric model” of the universe / solar system.

Front 14

three laws of celestial mechanics

Back 14

theconclusions of German astronomer Johannes Kepler that the orbits ofthe planets around the sun were elliptical rather than circular paths.

Front 15

Principia Mathematica

Back 15

thelandmark work published by Sir Isaac Newton in 1687, which contained his mathematical formulas for the law of gravity, the laws of physics, andthe movement of the planets

Front 16

The Enlightenment

Back 16

alsoknown as the “Age of Reason”; period of European history following the Scientific Revolution in the 16th– 18th centuries when philosophers, social theorists and political thinkers began to apply the principles of “naturallaw” to human behavior and social institutions.

Front 17

Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Back 17

awork written and published by John Locke in 1690, which maintained that the human mind was “blankslate” at birth and thus subject to the lessons of experience and theenvironment in which it developed and learned.

Front 18

tabula rasa

Back 18

a term for the “blankslate” of the human mind at birth

Front 19

Deism

Back 19

abelief or theological position popular among the educated classes of theEnlightenment period that God was the “Master Clock-maker” whocreated the universe and all of the laws of nature, set them in motion and then removed himself from any further active participation init.

Front 20

separation of powers

Back 20

–a political principle popularized by Montesquieu that advocated the division ofthe functions of governing (executive,legislative, judicial) into separate and distinct branches.

Front 21

Spirit of the Laws (1748)

Back 21

thework of French political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, in which he argued for the separation of the powersof government into distinct branches – legislative, executive and judicial.

Front 22

The Wealth of Nations (1776)

Back 22

thelandmark work on free-enterprise capitalism, written by Scottish political economist Adam Smith (oftenreferred to as the “father of free enterprise”) and published in 1776, itadvocated free and open competition in a market economy unrestricted bygovernment policy

Front 23

laissez-faire

Back 23

aFrench phrase meaning roughly “Let them do what they will,” it became thetrademark of a free-market capitalist economy.

Front 24

Encyclopedie

Back 24

acomprehensive collection of thirty-five volumes and thousands of articles,indexed and categorized in an attempt to make thecumulative knowledge of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenmentavailable to the “masses”

Front 25

pursuit of happiness

Back 25

alongwith “liberty” (freedom to do as one wished, as long as it did not infringe upon the rights of others), the“pursuit of happiness” was considered a birthright of every individual human being – to pursue those things

Front 26

Salons

Back 26

thegatherings hosted by the wealthy ladies (“madams,” the female patrons of the philosophes) of France (particularly in Paris) whereconversations and intellectual exchanges / discourses would take place in the parlors and drawing rooms of private homes.

Front 27

feminism

Back 27

thebelief in the social, political and economic equality of women to men; socialand political activism to promote women’s rights.

Front 28

Rococo

Back 28

anartistic style in eighteenth-century Europe that grew out of the Baroque style,yet it was distinctive in that it emphasizedcurvature, lightness and charm, so that its emphasis was on pleasure of the senses and happiness.

Front 29

high culture

Back 29

the literary and artisticculture of the educated and ruling classes

Front 30

popular culture

Back 30

theculture (written and unwritten) of the masses, often passed down through oralhistory and tradition.

Front 31

Nicholas Copernicus

Back 31

Polish astrnomer who proposed a "heliocentric model of the universe," yet delayed the publication of his findings until the year of his death in 1543.

Front 32

Tycho Brahe

Back 32

Danish astronomer and mathematician who was something of an eccentric. He had lost part of his nose in a duel, and fashioned for himself a metal prosthetic nose made of an alloy containing gold

Front 33

Johannes Kepler

Back 33

German astronomer and mathematician who began his career as an assistant to Tycho Brahe. Using their calculations of the orbits of the known planets around the sun (heliocentric model), he concluded that the paths of these orbits was elliptcal, rather than circular as was initially believed.

Front 34

Galileo Galilei

Back 34

Italian astronomer who invented a new telescope for observing stars and planetary motion. He was the first to identify moons around Jupiter and the rings around Saturn, and concluded that the "heavenly bodies" were composed of the same sort of matter as found on Earth. He published his findings in The Starry Messenger

Front 35

Sir Isaac Newton

Back 35

his English scientist is considered the greatest genius of The Scientific Revolution. His greatest work was his Principia Mathematica in which he theorised the formula for gravitational force (E = m2 / d2) and the relationship between the gravitational attraction between two bodies and the square of the product of their masses divided by the square of the distance between them.

Front 36

Sir Francis Bacon

Back 36

English philosopher and politician who is one of the early pioneers of the "empirical method" of inquiry - that which may be discerned through the use of the five senses.

Front 37

Rene Descartes

Back 37

French philosophe who considered that everything in the universe could be divided or categorized into either "Physical" (tangible and observable matter) or "Metaphysical"

Front 38

Voltaire

Back 38

satirical writer and critic of organized religion, he is considered the greatest among the three French "giants" of the Enlightenment. He spent some time living in exile in England, and came to admire the British political system of constitutional government and monarchy.

Front 39

Baron de Montesquieu

Back 39

French philosophe and political theorist whose great work was the Spirit of the Laws (published in 1748), in which he advocated for the "separation of powers" of government into three distinct branches: Legislative; Executive; and Judicial

Front 40

John Locke

Back 40

English philisopher and political theorist. His "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" maintained that the mind, at birth, is a "tabula rasa" ("blank slate") and that all knowledge and understanding comes from our experiences. His landmark political work, entitled Two Treatises of Civil Government

Front 41

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Back 41

French philosophe and political theorist who published his most famous work The Social Contract in 1762, in which he argued against divine-right absolutist monarchy in favor of a government based upon popular political participation which reflected the "General Will" of society.

Front 42

Adam Smith

Back 42

Scottish political theorist who is considered the "Father of Modern Economics / Economic Theory." His landmark work was An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (or simply The Wealth of Nations) in which he descibed the basic tenets of a capitalist economic system.

Front 43

Denis Diderot

Back 43

French philosophe whose greatest accomplishment and "life's work" was the twenty-eight volume compilation of articles on all manner of knowledge of the arts, sciences, and philosophical disciplines.

Front 44

Mary Wollstonecraft

Back 44

this Englishwoman is considered by many historians to be one of the founders of the feminist movement