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A new way of thinking about the natural world that was based upon careful observation and a willingness to question accepted beliefs. Beginning in the mid-1500s, when a few scholars published works that challenged the ideas of the ancient thinkers and the church and replaced old assumptions with new theories. This change in Europe was mainly influenced by the Renaissance and Reformation.

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The earth-centered view of the universe which came from Aristotle, a Greek philosopher. This idea was first developed during the Middle Ages, when most scholars believed that the earth was an immovable object located at the center of the universe and the moon, the sun, and the planets all moved in perfectly circular paths around it. Common sense and Christianity supported this idea but it did not accurately explain the movements of the sun, moon, and planets.This theory was expanded in the 2nd century A.D. by Greek astronomer Ptolemly.

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The sun-centered theory that reasoned, the stars, the earth, and the other planets revolved around the sun. This theory was developed by a Polish cleric and astronomer named Nicolaus Copernicus. This concept was derived from an old Greek idea that the sun stood at the center of the universe. However, this theory still did not completely explain why the planets orbited the way they did and most scholars and clergy rejected this theory because it contradicted their religious views.

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An Italian scientist who built on the new theories about astronomy and built his own telescope which he used to study the heavens. Galileo published a small book called Starry Messenger, which described his astonishing observations like the fact that Jupiter had four moons and that the sun had dark spots. He also published a book called Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems which presented both Ptolemy's and Copernicus' ideas. However, Galileo’s findings frightened both Catholic and Protestant leaders because they went against church teaching and authority. Due to this, he was forced to stand trial before the Inquisition and agree that the ideas of Copernicus were false. He then lived in house arrest until his death.

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A great English scientist who helped bring together the accomplishments of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo under a single theory of motion. Newton’s great discovery was that all physical objects were affected equally by the same forces so the same force ruled motion of the planets and all matter on earth and in space. This key idea was the law of universal gravitation. According to this law, every object in the universe attracts every other object and the degree of attraction depends on the mass of the objects and the distance between them. He also wrote the book The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy which displayed the universe as a giant clock in which all the parts worked together perfectly in ways that could be expressed mathematically.

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A Polish cleric and astronomer who began the Scientific Revolution with his heliocentric theory. In the early 1500s, Copernicus became interested in an old Greek idea that the sun stood at the center of the universe, not the earth. After studying planetary movements for more than 25 years, Copernicus reasoned that indeed, the stars, the earth, and the other planets revolved around the sun. This concept was named the heliocentric theory and although it was a logical explanation, it still did not completely explain why the planets orbited the way they did. Due to the fact most scholars and clergy would reject his theory because it contradicted their religious views and he could face ridicule or persecution, he did not publish his findings until 1543. This was the last year of his life and he received a copy of his book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, on his deathbed.

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A Greek astronomer that expanded Aristotle's geocentric theory in the 2nd century A.D. Both his and Copernicus' ideas were presented in Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.

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A brillant mathematician who was Brahe’s assistant and helped continue his work after his death. After studying Brahe’s data, Kepler concluded that certain mathematical laws govern planetary motion. One of these laws showed that the planets revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits instead of circles, as was previously thought.  Kepler’s laws showed that Copernicus’s basic ideas were true and demonstrated mathematically that the planets revolve around the sun.

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A new approach to science that developed from the revolution in scientific thinking that Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo began. It is a logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas which begins with a problem or question arising from an observation. Scientists next form a hypothesis, or unproved assumption which is tested in an experiment or on the basis of data. Lastly, scientists analyze and interpret their data to reach a new conclusion which either confirms or disproves the hypothesis.

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A law created by Issac Newton that explains how the same physical laws governed motion both on earth and in the heavens. This law, the law of universal gravitation states that every object in the universe attracts every other object and the degree of attraction depends on the mass of the objects and the distance between them.

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A new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. The Enlightenment reached its height in the mid-1700s and brought great change to many aspects of Western civilization. The Enlightenment mainly began from key ideas put forth by two English political thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. The Enlightenment was also influenced by the Scientific Revolution and the new ways of thinking it prompted.

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An English political thinker of the 1600s who influenced the start of the Enlightenment. Thomas believed all humans were naturally selfish and wicked and without governments to keep order, there would be war and life would be short and unpleasant. He expressed these views in a work called Leviathan. Thomas argued that to escape such a bleak life, people had to hand over their rights to a strong ruler and in exchange, they gained law and order. This agreement by which people created a government was called the social contract. Thomas believed the ideal government was an absolute monarchy, which could impose order and demand obedience.

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An English philosopher who believed people could learn from experi- ence and improve themselves. He also explained that as reasonable beings, humans have the natural ability to govern their own affairs and to look after the welfare of society. John criticized absolute monarchy and favored the idea of self-government. He believed all people are born free and equal, with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. He viewed the purpose of government to be to protect these rights. John Locke's view on government has had a big impact on government including the foundation of modern democracy.

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One of the most influential philosophies who published more than 70 books of political essays, philosophy, and drama. Voltaire often used satire against his opponents and made frequent targets of the clergy, the aristocracy, and the government. Voltaire never stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech and used his quill pen as if it were a deadly weapon in a thinker’s war against humanity’s worst enemies.

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An influential French writer who devoted himself to the study of political liberty. He  believed that Britain was the best-governed and most politically balanced country of his own day. The British government system consisted of a division of power among different branches which he called the separation of powers. Montesquieu oversimplified the British system and it did not actually separate powers this way but this idea became a part of his most famous book, On the Spirit of Laws. In his book, he described the idea that later became known as checks and balances.

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A great philosophe who as passionately committed to individual freedom. Rousseau disagreed with many Enlightenment thinkers on multiple subjects. Most philosophes believed that reason, science, and art would improve life for all people when, Rousseau, however, argued that civilization corrupted people’s natural goodness. Rousseau believed that the only good government was one that was freely formed by the people and guided by the “general will” of society which he explained in his book called The Social Contract.

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One of the women of the Enlightenment who published an essay called A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792 . In the essay, she disagreed with Rousseau that women’s education should be secondary to men’s and argued that women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful. She urged women to enter the male-dominated fields of medicine and politics.

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The social critics the Enlightenment in France who were called philosophes, the French word for philosophers. They believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life. The five concepts that formed the core of their beliefs were reason, nature, happiness, progress, and liberty.

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Hobbes' View: An agreement by which people created a government. This agreement included people handing over their rights to a strong ruler in exchange for law and order.
Rousseau’s View: An agreement among free individuals to create a society and a government. Under this social contract, people agree to give up some of their freedom in favor of the common good. He explained this political philosophy in his book called The Social Contract.