The Scientific Revolution
Before the Scientific Revolution, which two traditional entities were viewed as the primary authorities on the universe?
The Church and Monarchy (along with ancient classical figures).
Which Enlightenment thinker stated that natural rights are life, liberty, and property?
John Locke
What did Jean-Jacques Rousseau define as the social contract?
Giving up some freedoms for peace, safety, and order.
Revolt! Overthrow the government and replace it.
What term describes the belief that a king's right to rule comes directly from God?
Divine Right.
Nicolaus Copernicus delayed publishing his theory on the solar system primarily due to what reason?
His theory contradicted Church teachings.
Which philosopher believed people were naturally selfish, should be ruled by a monarch, and wrote Leviathan?
Thomas Hobbes
According to John Locke's political theory, what is the primary role of government?
To protect the rights of the people.
The passage in the Declaration of Independence regarding "inalienable rights" like "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was directly influenced by whom?
John Locke
What is the term for the informal agreement where people give up some individual freedoms to a government in exchange for peace, safety, and social order?
Social Contract.
How did the discoveries of Copernicus and other astronomers affect how people viewed the universe?
Their observations proved that the universe was heliocentric.
Baron de Montesquieu emphasized the importance of which structural idea in government?
(+100pts if you can name the document we analyzed)
A separation of powers (and checks and balances).
What concept describes the idea that all government power ultimately derives from the consent of the people being governed?
Popular sovereignty.
What was Cesare Beccaria's stance on capital punishment and using torture on humans?
He was against it, believing the punishment should fit the crime and brutal abuse had no place in society.
Name the theory that claims the universe revolves around the Earth. Alternatively, what is the proven theory called?
Geocentric - Earth
Heliocentric - Sun (Proven)
The ideas of Francis Bacon and René Descartes led to the modern scientific method because they both believed truth required what?
Investigation
Which Enlightenment thinker argued that society was wasting its assets by keeping women in the role of "convenient domestic slaves"?
Mary Wollstonecraft
Which Enlightenment thinker supported free trade and laissez-faire policies?
Adam Smith.
How did the Enlightenment challenge the political power of absolute monarchs?
By introducing the concept of natural rights and the consent of the governed.
What was the study of crime and appropriate punishment called, as pioneered by Cesare Beccaria?
Criminology.
What key idea regarding nature and universe motion did Isaac Newton discover during the Scientific Revolution?
Nature follows uniform laws, and all motion in the universe can be measured and described mathematically.
Which thinker argued for the separation of church and state and was a prominent critic of the Catholic Church?
Voltaire
Based on his quote "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains," what type of government did Rousseau favor?
A popularly elected government. (Democracy)
In France, philosophers met in salons, or large rooms where the people debated and discussed government and human rights. Often an audience of women would also be present to listen to the speeches, and some joined in with their opinions (even though they weren’t considered men’s equals).
How did this open the door for gender equality?
Salons gave women a rare public platform to share their ideas and debate critical issues alongside men, showing society that women were intellectual equals capable of rational thought.
What term refers to the economic philosophy that favors free trade without government intervention or monopolies?
Laissez-faire.