The Enlightenment Unit Vocabulary

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Scientific Revolution

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a period of dramatic change in thought and belief that fundamentally altered Europeans' understanding of the natural world, replacing traditional, faith-based explanations with a new emphasis on empirical evidence, systematic experimentation, and reason

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Scientific Method

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A systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence that was crucial to the evolution of science in the modern world.

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Inductive Reasoning

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The doctrine that scientists should proceed from the particular to the general by making systematic observations and carefully organized experiments to test hypotheses or theories, a process that will lead to correct general principles.

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Philosophe

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French for ¨philosopher¨; applied to all intellectuals during the Enlightenment.

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Separation of Powers

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A form of government in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches limit and control each other through a system of checks and balances.

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Laissez- Faire

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The concept that the state should not impose government regulations but should leave the economy alone.

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Social Contract

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The concept proposed by Rousseau that an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will, and all individuals should be forced to abide by the general will since it represents what is best for the entire community.