deism
religious philosophy based on reason & natural law
rationalism
reliance on reason as the best guide for belief & action
ellipses
oval paths in which planets move around the Sun
enlightened absolutism
system by which rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while maintaining their royal powers
natural law
universal moral law that Enlightenment thinkers believed could be understood through reasons
salon
social gathering in which ideas of the Enlightenment were discussed
heliocentric
relating to a reference system based at the center of the Sun
philosophe
intellectual thinker in the Age of Enlightenment
federal system
power shared between the national government & the state governments
mulatto
offspring of Africans & Europeans
social contract
entire society agrees to be governed by its general will
separation of powers
executive legislative & judicial branches of the the govt. limit & control each other in a system of checks & balances
geocentric
places Earth at the center of the universe
scientific method
means of attaining knowledge by repeating observation & experimentation