1. What do the ideas of Johannes Kepler demonstrate about the

origins of modern science?

Model Answer: • Kepler was a brilliant mathematician who applied his skills to

the data left by Tycho Brahe. Using this data, he identified three new and revolutionary laws of planetary motion, which demolished the old system of Aristotle and Ptolemy and proved the detailed relations of a solar system. Kepler, however, also cast horoscopes, followed astrological principles, and wrote at length about the beautiful music produced by the combined motion of the planets, all of which suggests that he took a nonscientific approach to some areas. Kepler’s career and beliefs are representative of the origins of modern science, combining more antiquated or faith-based notions with mathematical, fact-based endeavors.

• Section: Major Breakthroughs of the Scientific Revolution

2. What was John Locke’s argument in Essay Concerning Human

Understanding that provided a basis for sensationalism?

Model Answer:• Locke argued that all human ideas are derived from

experience. The human mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) on which the environment writes an individual’s understandings and beliefs. Thus all human ideas and thoughts are produced as a result of sensory impressions, as outlined in the theory of sensationalism.

• Section: The Enlightenment

3. What was the purpose and effect of the Encyclopedia: The Rational

Dictionary of the Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts?

Model Answer:• The goal was to examine the expanding range of

human knowledge and teach people how to think critically and objectively. Greater knowledge, the editors believed, would produce greater human happiness. Its thousands of articles produced a revolutionary effect. Science and industry were exalted, religion and immortality questioned, and intolerance, legal injustice, and out-of-date social institutions were openly criticized.

• Section: The Enlightenment

4. How did Jean-Jacques Rousseau differ from most of the other

philosophes?

Model Answer:

• Rousseau believed rationalism and civilization to be destructive to the individual. He argued that warm, spontaneous feelings must complement and correct reason and intellect. Furthermore, he argued that the refinements of civilized society spoiled and corrupted the basic goodness of the individual. He abandoned the sophisticated society of Parisian salons.

• Section: The Enlightenment

5. To what extent can Frederick the Great be considered a practitioner of

enlightened absolutism?

Model Answer:

• Frederick used the legal system and the bureaucracy to attempt to improve the lives of his subjects directly. Prussia’s laws were simplified, torture was abolished, and judges decided cases quickly and impartially. Prussian officials became famous for their hard work and honesty. Frederick set the example when he called himself “the first servant of the state.” He drew in part on the principles of cameralism, the German science of public administration that predated the Enlightenment. It held that all elements of society should be placed at the service of the state. In turn, the state should make use of its resources and authority to improve society.

• Section: Enlightened Absolutism

6. Why is Isaac Newton seen as one of the most important figure in the

Scientific Revolution?

Model Answer:

• Although Newton arrived at some of his basic ideas about physics between 1664 and 1666, it was not until 1684 that he prepared his ideas for publication. His book, Principia Mathematica, provided a single explanatory system that could integrate the astronomy of Copernicus with the physics of Galileo. The key feature of the Newtonian synthesis was the law of universal gravitation, which held that the whole universe was unified in one coherent system.

• Section: Major Breakthroughs of the Scientific Revolution

7. Why did Montesquieu write The Spirit of Laws, and what main points

did he make?

Model Answer:• Montesquieu was troubled by the growth of

absolutism under Louis XIV and intrigued by the critical methods used in physical science to solve problems. In The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu applied the critical method of the problem of government. He showed that forms of government were shaped by both history and geography. He argued for a separation of powers, with political power divided and shared by a variety of classes and legal estates. In particular he believed that the parlements in France were the defenders of liberty against royal despotism.

• Section: The Enlightenment

What were Catherine the Great’s intentions when she set out to rule in

an enlightened manner?

Model Answer:

• Catherine had three goals. First, she saw herself continuing the work of Peter the Great in bringing the culture of Western Europe to Russia. Additionally, she made a sincere and ambitious effort to bring domestic reform to Russia. This was interrupted by the Pugachev Rebellion, which put an end to any intentions she had to reform the system. Her third goal was territorial expansion, and in this respect she was extremely successful.

• Section: Enlightened Absolutism