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| An early modern term for the study of the nature of the universe, its purpose, and how it functioned; it encompassed what we would call “science” today |
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| The idea that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe. |
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| The approach, pioneered by Galileo, that the proper way to explore the workings of the universe was through repeatable experiments rather than speculation. |
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| A law formulated by Galileo that states that motion, not rest, is the natural state of an object, that an object continues in motion forever unless stopped by some external force. |
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| Law of Universal Gravitation |
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| Newton’s law that all objects are attracted to one another and that the force of attraction is proportional to the object’s quantity of matter and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. |
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| theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observations and experimentation rather than reason and speculation. |
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| Descartes’ view that all of reality could be ultimately be reduced to mind and mater. |
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| The influential intellectual and cultural movement of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that introduced a new worldview based on the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress. |
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| A secular, critical way of thinking in which nothing was to be accepted on faith, and everything was to be submitted to reason. |
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| A group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow creatures in the Age of Enlightenment. |
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| The transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse. |
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| social gatherings held by talented and rich Parisian women in their homes, where philosophes and their followers met to discuss literature, science, and philosophy. |
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| A popular style in Europe in the 18th century, known for its soft pastels, ornate interiors, sentimental portraits, and starry-eyed lovers protected by hovering cupids. |
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| An idealized intellectual space that emerged in Europe during the Enlightenment, where the public came together to discuss important issues relating to society, economics, and politics. |
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| Term coined by historians to describe the rule of 18th c. monarchs who, without renouncing their own absolute authority, adopted Enlightenment ideals of rationalism, progress, and tolerance. |
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| View that monarch 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. |
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| The Jewish Enlightenment of the second half of the 18th c., led by the Prussian philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. |
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