History of Physical Science
Francis Bacon: The Father of Empiricism
“I come to set forth the true way for the interpretation of nature”.
Michael Brannick and Sean McCloat
Advisors: Joe Cope, James McLean, Gary Towsley
Bacon Takes on the Classics
Bacon’s goal in the Novum Organum was twofold: to point out the
shortcomings of the contemporary method of discovery and propose
an alternative. Bacon’s criticism attacked three kinds of “false
philosophies”: the Sophistical, the Empirical, and the Superstitious.
Influences
Bacon was a firm believer in the view that natural philosophy should create
practical benefits for society. This viewpoint was similar to the ideas of
contemporary occultists, who wanted to use nature for practical ends. Bacon
was especially interested in natural magic, which intended to manipulate
nature in order to reap practical benefits.
Aristotle embodied the Sophistical: “For he had come to his conclusion
before; he did not consult experience, as he should have done, for the
purpose of framing his decisions and axioms, but having first
determined the question according to his will, he then resorts to
experience, and bending her into conformity with his placets”. In
contrast, Bacon praised the Pre-Socratic philosophers over Aristotle
because they conducted their speculations only after making (often
limited) observations of nature.
Bacon likely read the works of Giambattista Della Porta, a widely published
contemporary natural magician whose work was concerned with
understanding natural phenomena through replicable experimentation. Della
Porta’s methods, which were typical of early modern alchemists and other
natural magicians, were very similar to Bacon’s experimental methods.
During the years when Bacon was developing his method, he was also involved
in the English legal system. Bacon was especially interested in the philosophy
of law, and many of his thoughts on natural philosophy can be related to
concepts he formulated on legal philosophy.
Bacon criticized the Empirical philosopher who, although willing to
amass information through observation and experimentation, made
the mistake of “having bestowed much diligent and careful labor on a
few experiments, have thence made bold to educe and construct
systems, wresting all other facts in a strange fashion to conformity
therewith.”
The language that Bacon used to describe his inductive method was almost
wholly drawn from legal philosophy. Most outstanding was Bacon’s application
Novum Organum
of the word “fact” to situations of natural philosophy. Before Bacon, the phrase
Francis Bacon’s proposed alternative to these flawed systems of
“matter of fact” was a legal term used to refer to the judicial process by which
knowledge was a method of induction. The first step of his method an event or situation can be proven true through eyewitness testimonies and
By the Superstitious, Bacon meant the mixing of divine and
was to identify a natural phenomenon to investigate. From there,
supernatural causes with the predictable processes of nature. The
the presentation of evidence in court. Bacon applied this concept to natural
one develops three lists, or tables about that phenomenon. These philosophy, asserting that eyewitness observations of controlled experiments
created a “unwholesome mixture of things human and divine” which
tables are:
led to “a fantastic philosophy [and] also a heretical religion.”
could establish true facts about natural phenomena. In this way, facts of nature
would be defined as natural events or circumstances which could be
These errors of contemporary philosophy were a species of Idols of the Table of Essence and Presence: Every instance in which a natural
corroborated by a first-hand testimony. The practice of natural philosophy, in
Theater: “And in the plays of this philosophical theater you may observe phenomenon occurs.
other words, should follow the methodology utilized by lawyers and judges in
Table of Absence in Proximity: Instances in which the phenomenon a courtroom. Bacon is directly attributed with appropriating the word fact
the same thing which is found in the theater of the poets, that stories
invented for the stage are more compact and elegant, and more as one does not occur. Should be limited to instances similar to those in
from the fields of law (and history) and bringing it into the English scientific
the first table.
would wish them to be, than true stories out of history.”
revolution which occurred after his death.
Table of Degrees: A ranking of the degrees at which the
phenomenon occurs in different circumstances.
“Human knowledge and human
power meet in one; for where
the cause is not known the
effect cannot be produced.”
After the creation of these three tables, one compares them and
eliminates any occurrences which would not be the true form of the
natural phenomenon. Bacon’s goal was to discover the true natural
laws governing phenomena. Once these true forms were
understood, these natural phenomena’s effects could be replicated
at will and be used for practical means.
Baconian Method Applied to Heat
Bacon’s Novum Organum, which
introduced his inductive method
The Advancement of Learning and
The New Atlantis
Presence
Absence
Degrees
Conclusion
Sunlight
Fire
Lightning
Lava
Boiling Water
Live Animals
Moonlight
Starlight
St. Elmo’s fire
Dead animals
Sun at
Sunlight gives
zenith>Sun
off heat, as
below zenith does boiling
water; but
Birds>animals. boiling water
>fish
does not give
off light.
Therefore,
visible light is
not the true
form of heat
Bacon used heat as an example of a natural phenomenon that
could be examined with the inductive method. This example is
taken from Novum Organum.
Legacy of Bacon
Francis Bacon wanted Man’s power to rise through the attainment and
accumulation of knowledge. He saw the future of man being a utopia
of technology and practical invention, all working to improve us as we
improved them.
While the Baconian method is not used today, his mark upon how we
conduct science today is unmistakable. His emphasis on the authority
of experience and observation of nature in order to discover laws –
essentially empiricism – has lasted through the centuries.
Indeed, Bacon’s criticisms and admonitions of his contemporaries are
as timeless as they are timely in modern science – to beware of the
Idols and biases we may project into nature, and to remain objective in
our pursuit of truth.
Works Cited
Bacon, Francis. Novum Organum. Constitution Society. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.constitution.org/bacon/nov_org.htm>.
Preston, Claire. Thomas Browne and the Writing of Early Modern Science. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge UP, 2005. Print.
Shapin, Steven. A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-century England.
Chicago: University of Chicago, 1994. Print.
Shapiro, Barbara J. A Culture of Fact: England, 1550-1720. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2000. Print.
Solomon, Julie Robin. Objectivity in the Making: Francis Bacon and the Politics of Inquiry.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1998. Print.
Zagorin, Perez. Francis Bacon. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1998. Print.