| A | B |
| Secularization | movement away from religious focus |
| Scientific Revolution | intellectual movement from 1543-1750 that broke from superstition and ancient Greek philosophy, characterized by new findings in astronomy, physics and medicine |
| Aristotle | ancient Greek philosopher who's ideas were overturned by Scientific Revolution |
| Scientific Method | new means of discovery employing hypothesis, observation, and conclusion to answer questions |
| Copernicus | Polish monk who pioneered heliocentric theory |
| heliocentric | sun-centered universe |
| geocentric | earth-centered universe |
| Brahe | Danish astronomer who compiled vast amounts of astronomical data from observations on his island observatory |
| Galileo | Italian scientist who used telescope to observe heavens, studied gravity, was sentenced to house arrest by Inquistion for his publications |
| Bacon | English philosopher of science who promoted the use of the Scientific Method, wrote Advancement of Learning |
| Vesalius | Belgian physician who advanced anatomy and medical knowledge during Scientific Revolution |
| Harvey | English physician who advanced knowledge of the circulatory system |
| Descartes | French mathematician and philosopher who advocated observation and deductive reasoning to answer questions |
| Diderot | French philosopher, writer, and editor best known as the chief editor of the Encyclopédie, one of the most ambitious intellectual projects of the 18th century. |
| Voltaire | Enlightenment writer and satirist who championed freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and criticized the Catholic Church and absolute monarchy. |
| Locke | English philosopher who argued that people possess natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist by the consent of the governed. |
| Montesquieu | Enlightenment thinker whose Spirit of the Laws (1748) argued for the separation of powers among branches of government to prevent tyranny. |
| Rousseau | Philosopher who emphasized the general will and popular sovereignty in The Social Contract, influencing democratic and revolutionary thought. |
| Beccaria | Italian philosopher who opposed torture and capital punishment, advocating for rational and humane criminal justice in On Crimes and Punishments (1764). |
| Adam Smith | Scottish economist whose Wealth of Nations (1776) argued for free markets and laissez-faire capitalism guided by the “invisible hand.” |
| Physiocrats | Enlightenment economists who believed that agriculture was the source of all wealth and promoted free trade and limited government interference. |
| salons | Social gatherings, often hosted by elite women in 18th-century France, where Enlightenment thinkers exchanged ideas about philosophy, politics, and society. |
| Mary Wollstonecraft | Early feminist thinker who argued in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) that women deserve equal education and rational treatment. |
| Olympe de Gouges | French revolutionary feminist who demanded gender equality in her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen (1791). |
| Joseph II (Habsburg) | Enlightened absolutist who implemented religious toleration, abolished serfdom, and sought to modernize his Austrian empire through reform. |
| Frederick II (Hohenzollern) | Enlightened monarch of Prussia who promoted religious tolerance, legal reform, and education while maintaining strong military control. |
| Catherine II (Romanov) | Enlightened despot who corresponded with philosophes, attempted legal reforms, and expanded Russia’s territory and power. |