Scientific Revolution Basics
What invention helped spread new ideas quickly during the Scientific Revolution?
What is the printing press?
What Enlightenment thinker believed that all people have natural rights like life, liberty, and property?
Who is John Locke?
What motivates people to question authority?
When they are unhappy with economic, social, or political conditions, or when leaders don’t reflect their values.
What does “divine right of kings” mean?
That kings got their power directly from God.
What was one major effect of the Scientific Revolution on religion?
It led to more secular, or non-religious, explanations for natural events.
Who came up with the heliocentric theory that the Earth orbits the sun?
Who is Nicolaus Copernicus?
Who believed that people are naturally selfish and need a strong ruler to keep order?
Who is Thomas Hobbes?
Why did Enlightenment ideas threaten kings who believed in divine right?
Because Enlightenment thinkers said government should come from the people, not God.
Which French king is known as the best example of absolutism and built the palace at Versailles?
Who is Louis XIV?
What was one major effect of the Enlightenment on society?
People began demanding more rights and equality.
What method did scientists start using to learn about the natural world through observation and experimentation?
What is the scientific method?
Which philosopher believed government powers should be divided into three branches?
Who is Montesquieu?
What does the term “heretic” mean?
Someone who goes against the teachings of the Church.
What document in England limited the power of the monarchy and increased Parliament’s power?
What is the English Bill of Rights?
How did the Enlightenment change people’s view of knowledge?
(They believed in using reason and evidence, not just faith or tradition.)
Why did the Catholic Church object to the ideas of Copernicus and Galileo?
Because their ideas challenged Church teachings and the Bible’s view of the universe.
Who wrote about a “social contract” where people give up some freedoms in exchange for government protection?
Who is Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
What did Enlightenment ideas encourage people to do about unfair governments?
To question them and sometimes start revolutions.
How did Enlightenment ideas about government differ from absolutism?
They favored reason, equality, and rule by the people instead of rule by one king.
How did the Scientific Revolution lead to the Enlightenment?
By showing that reason and observation could explain the natural world, inspiring people to apply the same ideas to society and government.
How did the Scientific Revolution change the way people saw themselves and their place in the universe?
It made people see themselves as part of a natural, explainable world rather than a divinely ordered one.
Which Enlightenment woman argued that women should have equal education and rights as men?
Who is Mary Wollstonecraft?
How did the Enlightenment inspire revolutions in places like France and America?
By promoting ideas of liberty, equality, and democratic government.
How did Adam Smith’s ideas about economics challenge traditional systems?
He promoted capitalism and free markets instead of government control of trade.
How did both the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment shape the modern world?
They encouraged democratic governments, scientific progress, and secular thought.