After studying planetary movements for many years, this astronomer reasoned that the stars and planets revolved around the sun. Fearing ridicule or persecution, he didn’t publish his findings until 1543, the year of his death.
Who is Nicolaus Copernicus?
This philosophe’s masterful use of satire got him into frequent trouble with the clergy, the aristocracy, and the government of France. Despite serving two prison terms and being exiled, he never stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech.
Who is Voltaire?
This individual ruled Russia as an enlightened despot, yet brutally crushed a massive uprising of serfs.
Who is Catherine the Great?
This cleaner and less frilly architectural and artistic style was inspired by Enlightenment ideals of Greece and Rome. The National Mall in Washington D.C. is a perfect example of this style.
What is neoclassical?
Wealthy women served as hostesses for these social get-togethers in Paris (and Berlin) that allowed for the exchange and development of Enlightenment ideas.
What are salons?
This is the (initially controversial) theory that the earth and the planets revolve around the sun.
What is heliocentric theory?
This philosophe strongly disagreed with other philosophes on a number of matters. For instance, although most philosophes believed that reason, science, and art improve the lives of all people, he argued that civilization corrupts people’s natural goodness.
Who is Jean Jacques Rousseau?
He ruled Austria as an enlightened despot. Among his many reforms, he was the only enlightened despot to actually abolish serfdom.
Who is Joseph II?
Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven were all famous for doing this.
What is composing classical music?
He edited and published the Encyclopedia, a first in documenting non-academic fields of knowledge in addition to academic ones.
Who is Denis Diderot?
Among his many scientific discoveries are the law of the pendulum and the fact that falling objects accelerate at fixed and predictable rates. Despite his genius, he lived the last years of his life under house arrest because his scientific findings did not go along with the Church authorities’ interpretation of the Bible.
Who is Galileo Galilei?
This aristocratic philosophe was devoted to the study of political liberty. In his famous book On the Spirit of the Laws, he proposed that separation of powers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control of a government.
Who is Montesquieu?
He ruled Prussia as an enlightened despot.
Who is Frederick the Great?
This city became a capital for classical music.
What is Vienna, Austria?
This mathematician developed analytical geometry, which links algebra and geometry. Of his own existence, he was sure; everything else was doubtful until proved by reason. In his writings, he urged scientists to rely on mathematics and logic to reach fundamental truths about the natural world.
Who is René Descartes?
This great mathematician and physicist brought together some of the theories and discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo under a single theory of motion known as the law of universal gravitation.
Who is Isaac Newton?
In A Vindication of the Rights of Women, this political thinker presented an argument for the education of women. She also declared that women should have the same political rights as men.
Who is Mary Wollstonecraft?
This political thinker believed that all humans are naturally selfish and wicked. He argued, therefore, that strong governments are necessary to control human behavior. To avoid chaos, he said, people enter into a social contract. They give up their rights in exchange for law and order.
Who is Thomas Hobbes?
Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding were both important for developing this genre.
What is the modern English novel.
This brilliant mathematician used the data of Tycho Brahe to prove the accuracy of Copernicus’s basic ideas about the motion of the planets.
Who is Johannes Kepler?
This pioneer of the use of the scientific method in chemistry is considered the founder of modern chemistry. He is best known for the discovery of a law that helps to explain characteristics of gases.
Who is Robert Boyle?
This philosopher’s ideas greatly influenced criminal law reformers in Europe and North America. He argued against the use of torture and other common abuses of justice, including the death penalty.
Who is Cesare Bonesana Beccaria?
This political thinker felt that people are reasonable beings. He supported self-government and argued that the purpose of government is to protect the natural rights of people. If government fails to protect these natural rights, he said, citizens have the right to overthrow it.
Who is John Locke?
This overly decorative style of art and architecture was extremely popular before the Enlightenment.
What is baroque?
This English politician and writer had a passionate interest in science. In his writings, he criticized the techniques of the ancient and medieval scholars. He argued forcefully for the adoption of new scientific techniques such as the experimental method.
Who is Francis Bacon?