The Renaissance & Machiavelli
This intellectual movement was characterized by independent thought and a renewed interest in classical Greek and Roman culture.
What is Humanism?
Martin Luther was primarily dissatisfied with the Roman Catholic Church because he fiercely disagreed with this specific corrupt financial practice.
What is the sale of indulgences?
New scientific knowledge during this era was most often based on these two practical methods rather than church tradition or ancient superstition.
What are observation and experimentation?
This central, foundational belief of the Enlightenment asserted that the widespread use of this human trait would inevitably lead to human progress.
What is reason or logic?
One major similarity between the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment is that both movements actively questioned these.
What are traditional values and past practices?
In his famous political treatise The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli primary advises rulers to do this, regardless of the moral cost.
What is establish and maintain power through any means necessary?
This German inventor's development of the movable-type printing press allowed Luther's ideas to spread rapidly across Europe.
Who was Johannes Gutenberg?
This Polish astronomer shocked the world by proposing the heliocentric theory, which argued that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Who was Nicolaus Copernicus?
This English philosopher famously declared that government has no other end or purpose but the preservation of private property.
Who was John Locke?
Unlike the humanists who embraced secular and human potential, medieval European scholars believed that all intellectual pursuits should be used to serve this powerful institution.
What is the Roman Catholic Church?
This Italian city-state is widely considered to be the vibrant birthplace of the Renaissance, largely thanks to the wealth of the Medici family.
What is Florence?
This English monarch broke away from the Pope and established the Church of England primarily because he wanted an annulment from his first wife (and then had 5 more).
Who was King Henry VIII?
This Italian scientist was put on trial by the Catholic Inquisition and forced to recant his support for the heliocentric theory after looking through his improved telescope.
Who was Galileo Galilei?
This French philosopher is celebrated for his fierce defense of free speech, famously paraphrased as: "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it".
Who was Voltaire?
Both the Reformation and the Enlightenment drastically weakened the absolute political authority of these European leaders.
Who are monarchs (kings/queens) and royal families?
Machiavelli famously argued that for a ruler, it is much safer to be this emotional state than to be loved.
What is feared?
Martin Luther famously kicked off the Protestant Reformation by nailing this document to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church.
What are the 95 Theses?
This English mathematician formulated the universal laws of motion and gravity, completely reshaping the human understanding of the physical universe.
Who was Sir Isaac Newton?
This Swiss philosopher captured the tension of political oppression with his famous quote: "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles".
Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
Enlightenment thinkers generally rejected the traditional political concept of "Divine Right," which claimed that a monarch's authority to rule came directly from this source.
Who is God?
This artistic technique, perfected during the Renaissance, uses a vanishing point to create a realistic illusion of three-dimensional depth on a flat surface.
What is linear perspective?
This French theologian became a major leader of the Reformation, famous for preaching the doctrine of predestination: the idea that God has already determined who will be saved.
Who was John Calvin?
This structured, step-by-step logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas developed directly out of the work of Francis Bacon and René Descartes.
What is the scientific method?
To prevent any single branch of government from becoming a tyranny, Baron de Montesquieu advocated for this core political concept.
What is the separation of powers?
This specific concept, championed by John Locke and later woven into revolutionary documents, states that if a government fails to protect its citizens' natural rights, the people have a right to overthrow it.
What is the social contract?