Unit 4 · Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments
● Core concept · ○ Supporting concept
4.2 The Scientific Revolution
Francis Bacon ● (core concept) — Advocate of inductive reasoning and empirical observation; an illustrative example of new scientific thinking.
Galileo Galilei ● (core concept) — Astronomer and physicist whose telescopic observations supported heliocentrism and who championed experimental science.
Heliocentrism ● (core concept) — The sun-centered model of the universe proposed by Copernicus, challenging the earth-centered view.
Isaac Newton ● (core concept) — Physicist whose laws of motion and universal gravitation unified earthly and celestial mechanics.
Nicolaus Copernicus ● (core concept) — Astronomer who proposed the heliocentric model of the universe.
René Descartes ● (core concept) — Philosopher who emphasized deductive reasoning; an illustrative example of Scientific Revolution thought.
Scientific method ● (core concept) — The systematic process of observation, hypothesis, and experimentation developed during the Scientific Revolution.
Scientific Revolution ● (core concept) — The 16th- and 17th-century transformation of scientific thought based on observation, mathematics, and experimentation.
4.3 The Enlightenment
Adam Smith ● (core concept) — Enlightenment economist who advocated free markets and limited government interference in the economy.
Deism ● (core concept) — The belief in a creator God who does not intervene in the world; an illustrative example of Enlightenment religious thought.
Empiricism ● (core concept) — A concept of Enlightenment thought holding that knowledge derives from experience and observation, alongside skepticism, reason, and rationalism.
Enlightenment ● (core concept) — The 18th-century intellectual movement applying reason and science to society, politics, and religion.
Enlightenment intellectuals ● (core concept) — Writers and thinkers, including Voltaire and Diderot, who applied the principles of the Scientific Revolution to society and human institutions.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau ● (core concept) — Philosophe who argued that legitimate government expresses the general will of the people.
John Locke ● (core concept) — Enlightenment philosopher whose theories of natural rights and government by consent influenced revolutionary movements.
Natural rights ● (core concept) — Rights inherent to all people, such as life, liberty, and property; a central Enlightenment idea developed by John Locke.
Salons ● (core concept) — Intellectual gatherings, often hosted by women, where Enlightenment ideas circulated; an illustrative example.
Social contract ● (core concept) — The theory that legitimate government rests on an agreement between rulers and the ruled to protect natural rights.
Voltaire ● (core concept) — French philosophe famous for defending free speech and religious toleration and criticizing the Church.
Encyclopedia ○ — Diderot's multi-volume work compiling and spreading Enlightenment ideas across Europe.
General will ○ — Rousseau's concept of the collective will of the people as the source of legitimate political authority.
Mary Wollstonecraft ○ — Enlightenment writer who argued for women's education and rights.
Montesquieu ○ — Philosophe whose theory of separation of powers influenced constitutional government.
Separation of powers ○ — Montesquieu's principle that liberty is protected by dividing government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
4.4 18th-Century Society and Demographics
Population growth ● (core concept) — The dramatic 18th-century rise in Europe's population, driven by better nutrition and declining mortality.
4.5 18th-Century Culture and Arts
Neoclassicism ● (core concept) — An artistic style reviving classical Greek and Roman forms, reflecting Enlightenment admiration of antiquity.
Rococo ○ — An ornate, playful artistic style of the early 18th century; an illustrative example.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ○ — An illustrative example of 18th-century classical music.
4.6 Enlightened and Other Approaches to Power
Enlightened absolutism ● (core concept) — Monarchs who embraced Enlightenment ideas to reform and strengthen centralized rule while retaining absolute power.
Frederick the Great ○ — Prussian king often presented as an enlightened absolutist; the CED lists him only as an illustrative example.
Joseph II ○ — Austrian ruler whose sweeping reforms illustrate enlightened despotism.
Partition of Poland ○ — The division of Poland among Russia, Prussia, and Austria; an illustrative example of power politics.