| Question |
Answer |
| Cartesian dualism |
Descartes view of the world as consisting of two fundamental entities “matter” and “mind.” |
| Copernican hypothesis |
The idea that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe; this had enormous scientific and religious implications. |
| empiricism |
Theory of inductive reasoning where you should go beyond speculation and begin to compare and analyze the subject. |
| enlightened absolutism |
The adaptation, albeit varied of “enlightened” governing into the rule of absolute monarchs often at the insistence of philosophes. |
| Enlightenment |
A world-view has played a large role in shaping the modern mind. The three central concepts of the Enlightenment were the use of reason, the scientific method, and progress. |
| experimental method |
Galileo’s greatest achievement; rather than speculate about what might or should happen in an experiment, he conducted controlled experiments to find out what actually did happen. |
| general will |
Is sacred and absolute, reflecting the common interests of all the people who have displeased the monarch as the holder of sovereign power, it is not necessarily the will of the majority. |
| law of inertia |
A law formulated by Galileo that stated that rest was not the natural state of object. Rather, an object continues in motion forever unless stopped by some external force. |
| law of universal gravitation |
Every body in the universe attracts every body in the universe in a precise mathematical relationship, whereby the force of attraction is proportional to the quantity of matter of the objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance betwee |
| philosophes |
Intellectuals in France who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their ignorant fellow creatures in the Age of Enlightenment. |
| progress |
The laws of human existence, it was possible for humans to create better societies and better people. |
| rationalism |
Nothing was to be accepted on faith, everything was to be submitted to the rational, critical, scientific way of thinking. |
| salons |
Elegant private drawing rooms where talented and rich Parisian women held regular social gatherings to discuss literature, science and philosophy. |
| separation of powers |
The idea that despotism could be avoided when political power was divided and shared by a variety of classes and legal estates holding unequal rights and privileges. |
| skepticism |
Belief that nothing can ever be known beyond all doubt and that humanity’s best hope was open-minded toleration. |
| tabula rasa |
A blank tablet, incorporated into Locke’s belief that all ideas are derived from experience, and that the human mind at birth is like a blank tablet on which the environment writes the individual’s understanding and beliefs. |
| the public |
All the French (and European) economic and social elites who were seen as the educated or enlightened public. |
| world-view |
A basic outlook on life. |
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