West European Studies

Neoclassicism It is a term which defines the genre of work in the fields of science, literature, theatre, painting and other arts, all of which fall under the period between the 18th and 19th century.

Francis Bacons inductive method  Francis Bacons inductive method which is explained in his work called Novum Organum,  relies on collecting individual occurrences in nature which are particularly informative and then collating them to derive substantial knowledge.

John Wesley and Methodism  Reverend John Wesley was the founder of the philosophy called Methodism.  This philosophy stresses on the free will and personal salvation of an individual apart from understanding the Trinity concept and the divinity of Jesus.

Aristotle  Aristotle, is the famous Greek philosopher, logician, scientist, poet, writer and one of the most influential people who shaped the Western philosophy. Born in 364 BC, student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the great, he had views on many subjects ranging from science to philosophy. Aristotles work in the various fields like science, mathematics, ethics, poetry, theatre etc, has contributed a lot to how we understand this world as of today.

Galileo Galilei  Galileo is the Italian philosopher, inventor, physicist, astronomer and mathematician born in the early 16th century.  Some of his inventions include the telescope, thermometer and the revolutionary water pump.  He discovered the rings of Saturn, was the first to view the four moons of Jupiter, and he published papers on his radical theory of heliocentric model of the solar system. He was found guilty of heresy and was subsequently jailed for publishing his heliocentric theory.

Rene Descartes- Born in the early 16th century in a small town in the south of France, Rene Descartes was one of the most influential thinkers in the human history. He is also called as the Father of Modern Philosophy.  Some of his philosophical works are Discourse on Method, Principles of Philosophy, and Meditations on First Philosophy.

Isaac Newton  Isaac Newton was the greatest English scientist of his period. He was primarily a physicist and mathematician. His accomplishments in the field of physics, mathematics and optics have laid the foundation for the scientific progress of the todays world. His prominent works are the definition of the laws of motion, universal gravitation, invention of integral calculus and so on, which are explained in two books, namely Opticks and Principia.

Geocentric universe- Geocentric model of the universe which depicted the earth as the centre of the universe and the sun, moon, stars and the other planets revolved around it , was upheld and believed by the ancient Greek philosophers.  They believed that the earth was at rest and not moving. This theory was superseded by the heliocentric model of solar system in the late 16th century.

Pierre Bayle- Pierre Bayle was a French Philosopher and writer. His prominent works include the Dictionnaire historique et critique. He advocated, in his works, the belief that one cannot integrate faith with reason.

Antoine Watteau  Jean-Antoine Watteau was a French painter who introduced a charming and graceful style in painting called the Rococo. Most of his works are influenced by the Italian comedy and ballet. Some of his renowned works are LAccord Parfait,A Pilgrimage to Cythera etc.
Alchemy and hermetic magic  Alchemy is an ancient practice of converting base metals into gold and extracting the elixir of life which is believed to make one immortal. Alchemy is part of the hermetic magic which is a study of occult sciences.

Edward Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - The History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire was written by Edward Gibbon. He offers an explanation of how the Roman Empire fell, which was a difficult task, considering unavailability of proper sources.  He manages to put forward his theory by taking his ideas form a few relevant records which were available with the Roman moralists.
Three laws of planetary motion  Johannes Kepler defined the three laws of planetary motion. The first law states that The orbits of the planets are ellipses, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse, the second law states that The line joining the planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times as the planet travels around the ellipse and the third law states that The ratio of the squares of the revolutionary periods for two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their semi major axes.

Paracelsus  Born in the late 15th century, Paracelsus was a Renaissance physicist, chemist, alchemist and botanist. He was the first to give the element zinc, its name.

Maria Winkelmann  Maria Winkelmann, was a German astronomer who discovered a new comet in the 18th century, which was named after her husband who, in fact, took credit for her work.

Blaise Pascal  Blaise Pascal, an influential French mathematician and philosopher who is well known for his invention of the first mechanical calculator, the pascaline, and has a programming language (PASCAL) named after him.

Querelles des femmes  Querelles des femmes is a French phrase which means the woman question. It was a debate over the womans rights and her role in the society.
Margaret Cavendish-   Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle and wife of William Cavendish, was a poet, philosopher and writer. She was an audacious writer and her works include an autobiography, plays, poetry, essays etc.

Immanuel Kant  Immanuel Kant the most influential philosopher in Germany in the 18th century. He has made important contributions in his book called Critique of pure reason. He emphasized on using reason along with experience to gain knowledge.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  Mozart, the musical genius of all times, was a child prodigy.  Mozart learnt to play and compose music with the keyboard by the age of 5. He has composed a vast collection of symphonies, stage and opera works, violin concerts, piano concerts and so on.  His music was extraordinary and complex. It intrigued the people of his times as he was way ahead of his times as a composer.

Nicolaus Copernicus  Nicolaus Copernicus, a mathematician and astronomer, was the first to formulate the heliocentric theory against the traditionally believed theory of earth being the centre of the universe and all other heavenly bodies revolving around it. His theory influenced several other astronomers and scientists in and after his time and also began the Scientific Revolution.

Jean-Jacques Rousseaus The Social Contract and the general will  Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher who introduced the political philosophy called the Social Contract. In his books on Social Contract he emphasized on direct rule developed by all individuals, instead of managing a government with a collection representatives.

Denis Diderots Encyclopedia  The French philosopher and writer, Denis Diderot was a major contributor to the Encyclopedia. The Denis Diderots Encyclopedia was the first to include the collection of facts and observations made by various contributors in the field of science and arts. It was also the first to include information on mechanical arts.

Rococo  Rococo is an art style which was introduced by Jean-Antoine Watteau, a French painter. It had the charm and grace which is associated with the aristocratic society of the 18th century. Rococo is also exhibited as an interior design style, found in ornate furniture, small sculptures, mirrors etc which pertains, again, to the 18th century period.

Plurality of Worlds Plurality of Worlds is the thesis which defines that the world which we live in is nothing but one of a plurality of worlds, and we who inhabit the world are few amongst all the inhabitants of the world.