World History 20 flashcards ~10 min

The Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment

About this deck

The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment fundamentally changed how people in Europe understood the natural world and political authority, and this deck of 20 flashcards covers the key figures and ideas from both eras. You'll start with the Scientific Revolution, covering Copernicus's heliocentric model, Galileo's support for it and conflict with the Church, and Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation, along with the scientific method itself. The deck then moves into the Enlightenment, covering the political philosophy of Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu — including natural rights, the social contract, and separation of powers — plus Voltaire's advocacy for free speech and religious tolerance. It finishes with how Enlightenment ideas directly influenced the American and French Revolutions. Suited to AP World History and A-Level History, this deck connects each thinker to the specific idea they're famous for, which is exactly how exam questions on this period tend to be structured.

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The theory that the Sun, not the Earth, is at the center of the solar system.

Nicolaus Copernicus.

Galileo Galilei.

He was tried by the Catholic Church and forced to recant, spending his final years under house arrest.

Inertia, F=ma, and action-reaction pairs.

That every mass attracts every other mass, unifying explanations for both falling objects and planetary motion.

A systematic process of observation, hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion used to investigate natural phenomena.

An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individual rights, and scientific thinking over tradition and religious authority.

Life, liberty, and property — rights Locke argued all humans possess inherently.

The theory that governments derive authority from an agreement with the people they govern.

Baron de Montesquieu.

That legitimate political authority comes from the collective will of the people (the "general will").

Freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and separation of church and state.

A belief in a creator god who does not intervene directly in the universe, popular among Enlightenment thinkers.

Concepts like natural rights and government by consent directly shaped the Declaration of Independence.

Ideas about equality and popular sovereignty fueled revolutionary demands against absolute monarchy.

A comprehensive Enlightenment-era reference work compiling scientific and philosophical knowledge, edited by Diderot.

The theory that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience and observation.

John Locke.

A shift from relying on religious and classical authority to relying on observation, experimentation, and reason.