Francis Bacon

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Somer Francis Bacon

18-year old Francis Bacon

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Statue of Francis Bacon (cropped)

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Francis Bacon (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, essayist, and author. He served both as Attorney General and as Lord Chancellor of England. After his death, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific method during the scientific revolution.

Bacon has been called the father of empiricism. His works argued for the possibility of scientific knowledge based only upon inductive reasoning and careful observation of events in nature. Most importantly, he insisted that science should aim for the first time at practical inventions for the improvement of all human life.

Early Life

Born at York House in London, Bacon was the youngest of Sir Nicholas Bacon's (Lord Keeper of the Great Seal) sons. His mother, Lady Anne Cooke Bacon, was his father's second wife and daughter to Sir Anthony Cooke, a humanist who was Edward VI's tutor. Bacon was educated at home in his early years owing to poor health, which plagued him throughout his life. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, on 5 April 1573 at the age of 12, living for three years there with his older brother Anthony under the personal tutelage of Dr. John Whitgift, future Archbishop of Canterbury. Bacon studied mostly Latin and the medieval curriculum common at the time.

Career

After completing his studies at Cambridge, Bacon studied law at Gray's Inn and became a member of Parliament in 1584 for Melcombe in Dorset, and subsequently for other constituencies. His political career ended in disgrace in 1621. After falling into debt, a parliamentary committee on the administration of the law charged him with 23 separate counts of corruption. He was eventually impeached by the House of Lords and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Though he was released by the king, he was forced to retire from public life.

Philosophical Work

Bacon's philosophical work marks a very significant break from the old Aristotelian conception of science. In his landmark work, Novum Organum, he proposed a new scientific method based on inductive reasoning as opposed to the traditional Aristotelian method based on deduction. His approach required the collection of data, careful observation, and rigorous experimentation to form theories, a method that would later be refined into the modern scientific method.

Bacon was also a pioneer of the idea that science and technology could improve human life. In his utopian work, New Atlantis, he envisioned a society where people enjoyed a perfect understanding and mastery over nature, leading to a better life for all through scientific progress.

Death and Legacy

Bacon died of pneumonia in Highgate, near London, on 9 April 1626. He had been experimenting with preserving meat by stuffing a fowl with snow to see if it would preserve the meat in the same way as salt does, which led to his fatal illness. Despite his personal and professional controversies, Bacon's philosophical ideas, particularly concerning the methodology of science, had a lasting impact. His advocacy for a new science based on observation and experiment laid the groundwork for the development of the scientific method, which is fundamental to the advancement of modern science.

Works

Bacon's most notable works include The Advancement of Learning, Novum Organum, and New Atlantis. His writings initiated a new era of scientific methodology and inquiry.