Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, 1st Baron Verulamium, 1st Viscount Saint Albans and Chancellor of England (Strand, London, January 22, 1561-Highgate, Middlesex, April 9, 1626) was a famous English philosopher, politician, lawyer and writer, father of philosophical and scientific empiricism.

In his Novum organum (1620) he specified the rules of the experimental scientific method, and developed in his De dignitate et augmentis scientiarum (On the dignity and progress of the Sciences) (1620) an empirical theory of knowledge, making him one of the pioneers of modern scientific thought. He also introduced the essay genre to England.

Biography

Francis Bacon, eighteen.

He was the youngest son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, appointed keeper of the Great Seal by Queen Elizabeth I. His mother, Anne Cooke Bacon, second wife of Sir Nicholas, was a niece of Sir Anthony Cooke, spoke five languages, and was considered a one of the most enlightened women of her time. He was educated by his mother in the principles of Calvinistic Puritanism.

Though not established for sure, there are reasons^[what?] to believe that Bacon was educated by tutors at home during his early years, and his His health during this period, as after it, was rather fragile. In 1573, at the age of thirteen, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied until 1576 in the company of from his older brother, Anthony. At the age of 16 he was recognized by some public figures, such as the playwright and poet Ben Jonson (1572-1637) who wrote an ode to him on his birthday: Hail! Happy genius of this ancient entourage. / How all things arise from your smile! / !The fire! The wine! The men! And in the middle / you stand as if you harbored some mystery. (...)

At Cambridge his research in various sciences led him to the conclusion that the methods used and the results obtained did not correspond and were erroneous. His reverence for Aristotle, of whom he nevertheless did not seem to have much knowledge, contrasted with his detachment from Aristotelian philosophy. In his opinion, philosophy needed a true mission and new methods to achieve it. With this first germ of the idea that would consecrate him, Bacon left the university^{[citation required]}. On June 27, 1576 both brothers entered De societate magistrorum at Gray's Inn and a few months later they were assigned to France as attachés to the ambassador Sir Amias Paulet. The political and social situation in France during the reign of Henry III provided the young Francis with invaluable political experience, as he became involved in some complex and delicate diplomatic efforts^{[citation needed]}. Although he lived in Poitiers, he also visited Paris and the main French cities and collected reports on the resources and the political situation of different European countries, reports that have been published among his works under the title Notes on the State of Christendom (Notes on the State of Christianity), although, as noted by historian James Spedding, it appears to be the work of an assistant to his brother Anthony^{[citation required]}.

Robert Devereux, Count of Essex II

The sudden death of his father in 1579 forced him to return to London and finish his law studies, due to the meager estate he inherited from him. At the age of 22, in 1583, he wrote the letter Temporis partus masculus sive instauratio magna imperii humani in universum (The male birth of time or the great establishment of the empire of man in the universe). A year later, he is elected to the House of Commons, thus beginning his political career. Armed with knowledge and experience, in 1591 Bacon frequented the circle of the Earl of Essex, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, to advance his political career. In 1592, he wrote the Discourse in praise of knowledge. In 1594, the position to which he aspired was taken by Edward Coke, despite the support provided by the Earl of Essex. Inspired by Montaigne's thought, in 1597, he published the Essays on Morals and Politics, where his pragmatic approach to various issues is shown.

The following year was a very hard period for the thinker. In 1598, the Earl of Essex's expedition to Ireland fails, causing Bacon to distance himself from his patron. In addition, he was arrested that same year for non-payment of numerous debts. When the Earl of Essex's planned insurrection failed, In 1601, Bacon writes a memorial where he relates the betrayals that were committed by his former protector, who would later end up executed by royal order.

New Atlantis (version of 1659)

Luck smiled on Bacon when in 1603 James I, the lover of learning, succeeded Elizabeth I. He immediately offered his services to the new monarch, who later knighted him, along with three hundred other notables of the realm. tying up loose ends, probably, in 1604, he published an apology in which he defended himself against accusations of treason made for his actions in the trial of the Earl of Essex. A year later, he dedicated the publication of the to James I. Treatise on the dignity and progress of the sciences.

Married the year before to Alice Barnham, in 1607, he published Thoughts and Opinions on the Interpretation of Nature, as well as being appointed Royal Counsel. In 1609 he published De sapientia veterum (Of the wisdom of the ancients), an interpretation of the myths of antiquity, which is received with great acclaim by the public. The following year (1610) he wrote The New Atlantis, one of his best-known works, which describes a utopian society founded on science and technology placed at the service of the progress of humanity. Overcoming the Opposed by his enemies at court, in 1613 Bacon finally achieved the long-awaited position of attorney general of the kingdom. In 1616 he was appointed a member of the Privy Council, in 1617, Minister of Justice.^{[citation required ]} At the age of 57 (1618), having been appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, Bacon accedes to the high office of High Chancellor and is created Baron of Verulam. As a lawman he was judge who sentenced Walter Raleigh to death (1618)^{[citation needed]}.

Novum Organum, 1650 edition

In 1620, his fundamental work was published, entitled Instauratio magna (The Great Establishment) which, after a preface and a general exposition of the work, contains his acclaimed Novum organum. Shortly after being named Viscount of Saint Albans, in 1621, he is accused of venality by Parliament. This causes him to lose his charges, he is imprisoned for the second time and after a few days pardoned by the king. However, it was such a hard blow that he had to definitively abandon the pursuit of his political career.

Nevertheless, it seems that his interest in scientific thought persists, since in 1622, he published a Natural and Experimental History, as an integral part of the Instauratio magna, and likewise a History of Henry VII. the dignity and progress of the sciences. The last thing he published was in 1625: it is a new edition of the Essays of 1597, which had been republished in 1612, where he exposes a classification of the sciences based on the distinction between the faculties of memory, fantasy and reason.

On April 9, 1626, he died in London due to pneumonia that he contracted when, trying to check if the cold was preserving food, he buried a chicken in the snow. The following year, a miscellany of notes on natural philosophy was published posthumously, with the title of Sylva sylvarum, to which is added the New Atlantis.

Alice Barnham, wife of Francis Bacon

Works

Border Sylva sylvarumFrancis Bacon's posthumous work.

First of all, it was proposed to reorganize the method of scientific study. He perceived that deductive reasoning then stood out at the expense of inductive reasoning and believed that, eliminating all preconceived notions of the world, man and his environment could and should be studied through detailed and controlled observations, making cautious generalizations. For this, the study that the man of science makes of individuals must be carried out through observations that must be validated. Scientists must be above all skeptical and not accept explanations that cannot be proven by observation and sensitive experience (empiricism).

Bacon's writings fall into three categories: philosophical, literary, and political. His most prominent philosophical works are The Advancement of Knowledge (1605), and Novum Organum or Indications Relating to the Interpretation of Nature (1620).

Bacon's philosophy influenced the ideas, which modernity would make more and more general, that people are both servants and interpreters of nature, truth does not spring directly from authority, and knowledge derives above all from of the experience. He is recognized for having contributed to Logic the inductive experimental method, since previously induction was practiced through simple enumeration, that is, drawing general conclusions from particular data. Bacon's method consisted of inferring from the use of analogy, from the characteristics or properties of the largest group to which the specific data belongs, leaving the correction of obvious errors for a later experience. This method represented a fundamental advance in the scientific method as it was very significant in improving scientific hypotheses.

His Novum organum was very influential in the acceptance in science of precise observation and experimentation. In this work he maintained that all prejudices and preconceived attitudes, which he called in Greek "eidola" ("idols"), had to be abandoned, whether they were the common property of the species due to common modes of thought («idols of the tribe») or of the individual («idols of the cave»), or were due to an excessive dependence on language («idols of the forum») or tradition («idols of the theater»). The principles set forth in Novum organum were of great importance in the subsequent development of empiricism.

As a writer, he is also due to the creation of the essay genre in English, with his Essays on Morals and Politics, (1597) which follow in the wake of those of Montaigne, in which he shows a apparently little ornamented style and a great aphoristic capacity.

In The New Atlantis he offers the first technological utopia, where the rulers will be the scientists of the "House of Solomon", a kind of great university where knowledge would be concentrated. He foresaw in his time great scientific advances such as flying machines, submarines and telecommunications.

Historical disputes

Statue of Francis Bacon in the Trinity College Cambridge.

Bacon and Shakespeare

The Baconian theory of the authorship of Shakespeare's plays, first proposed in the mid-19th century, argues that Francis Bacon wrote the plays that are conventionally attributed to William Shakespeare, contrary to the accepted view that it was William Shakespeare of Stratford who wrote the poems and plays that bear his name.

The main Baconian evidence is based on the presentation of a motive for the concealment, the circumstances surrounding the first staging of The Comedy of Errors, Bacon's proximity to the letter of William Strachey on which many scholars believe The Tempest was based, interpretation of allusions in the works to Bacon's legal knowledge, the many alleged parallels to Bacon's published works, and notations in the Promus (his personal notebook), Bacon's interest in civil histories, and sustainably autobiographical allusions in the plays. Because Bacon had first-hand knowledge of government encryption methods, many Baconians believe that he wrote hints of his authorship into Shakespeare's work in coded form.

Most major scholars reject all of these arguments in favor of Bacon, criticizing the poetry attributed to Bacon as too different from Shakespeare's to have been written by the same person.

Occult Theories

Francis Bacon often met with other men at the Gray's Inn to discuss politics and philosophy, and to rehearse acts for plays he was writing. Bacon's relationship with the Rosicrucians and Freemasonry has been widely discussed in numerous books by different authors and scholars. However, others, including Daphne du Maurier (in her biography of Bacon), have argued that there is no substantial evidence supporting the Rosicrucians and Freemasonry. support the theory of his relationship with the Rosicrucians. Frances Yates does not indicate that Bacon was a Rosicrucian, but does present evidence that he was associated with some of the most secretive intellectual movements of his day. Yates argues that Bacon's initiative on the promotion of teaching was closely linked with the German Rosicrucian movement, while in the work The New Atlantis Bacon presents a land that is ruled by the Rosicrucians. He probably considered his movement for the promotion of learning to be aligned with Rosicrucian ideals.

Francis Bacon's influence is evident on a diverse set of religious and spiritual authors, and on groups who have used his writings in their own belief systems.

A critique of Aristotelianism

Within the Baconian doctrine there are two great and important issues that are developed during its study. The first of these is an exhaustive study of the problems of the scientific method; the second refers to the technique applied to human life. Bacon undertakes a decisive fight focused on Aristotle, because he had, according to him, made the progress of applied science impossible. Both Antiquity and the Middle Ages did not conceive of the possibility of improving the conditions of human life through the discoveries of science; For this reason, Bacon directed his attention to this problem, proclaiming a rupture focused specifically on Aristotle's doctrine, since this thinker, according to Bacon, is the author of the greatest errors that fueled the Renaissance era, which had him as a model. He also criticized his ineffective method; his practical uselessness, because this, as well as his philosophy, had only a discursive utility, arranged only for debates and discussions, but not for the benefit of producing works that served human life.

The logic in use is more appropriate to preserve and perpetuate the errors that are given in the vulgar notions than to discover the truth: so it is more harmful than useful.

Bacon (1984, Book I, Aphorism 12)

Bacon refers to Aristotelian logic, as the one that leaves scientific research baseless, because its syllogistic revolves around a group of knowledge, with the aim of only reaffirming it, which he calls anticipations of nature; His methodological proposal is designated interpretations of nature, these consisted of having a systematic approach to experience and thus, gradually ascending to general premises, to later return to the sensible state and find the practical nature of knowledge, but to carry out what above, true induction must be applied which goes against induction by simple enumeration; The latter is rejected in his conclusions, upon encountering a case where the same (conclusions) cannot be applied. That is why the true induction is the most viable, insofar as it takes the negative cases and after a large number of them, concludes the affirmative ones.

By controversing philosophy and especially the method of the Stagirite, at the same time he makes notorious the preponderant idea of his thought; to increase dominance over nature, in order to improve the life of man. Bacon makes an analogy between the new scientist and the bee, since the former must be like the latter in that they collect the material from the flowers to later transform it into honey. His proposal of a new logic is experimental, in order to be able to dominate nature, through acting.

Proposal of a logic other than Aristotelian. His Novum organum

The Novum organum (or Indications relative to the interpretation of nature, published in 1620) conceives of science as a technique that can give human beings control over nature. It deals with the logic of the technical-scientific procedure that is deliberately opposed to the Aristotelian logic (whose treatise was precisely titled Órganon), since, according to Bacon, it was only good for verbal dispute.

Thus, human intelligence must appropriate effective instruments to dominate nature, something neglected by Aristotle. This instrument is the experiments, which interpret and shape the data of sensitive experience: the so-called empiricism. The human understanding is too weak and is limited everywhere by all kinds of obstacles that must be cleared to obtain clear conclusions, for which it is necessary to get rid of these prejudices, which he calls in Latin «idola », «idols» or «ghosts»; Bacon classifies them as follows:

• Idols of the tribe (Idol tribes), which are those prejudices common to society and to the human race.
• Idols of the cave (Idola specus), those who come from the education and habits acquired by each person.
• Forum idolsor of the public square (Idola fori), those born of the use of ambiguous, erroneous or imprecise language.
• Theatrical idols (Idola theatri), those that come from false philosophy, which is nothing but a fable set on stage.

The theory of prejudices constitutes the critical and destructive part of the treatise. The constructive part studies the way in which the experience should be organized. It is a discourse on the scientific method. The main beam of this method is logical induction. To organize and interpret the experimental data (and to do experiments) Bacon proposed his "theory of the three tables" (or three records):

• In the first («Table of presence») the cases in which this phenomenon or nature occurs (e.g., the rays of the Sun produce heat).
• In the second («Table of absence») the cases in which this phenomenon or nature is not given (e.g., the rays of the Moon do not produce heat).
• In the third («Grade table») the cases in which the observed nature appears in different degrees of intensity (cases in which it varies).

Tables of these facts will be made before drawing any empirical conclusions.