Francis Bacon's development of Inductive Reasoning:
Empiricism and Francis Bacon:
- General:
- Empiricism - The belief all knowledge is garnered from our human senses.
- Empiricism does not deny that our senses may be manipulative.
- Francis Bacon is considered the "Father or Empiricism"
- Contrasted the commonly held Rationalism (the belief that all knowledge is acquired from logic)
- Significance:
- Empiricism further develops Francis's early ideas of induction.
- Many things could not be scientifically proven by logic, thus needed sensory observation.
- Experimentation became part of the scientific method, utilizing sensory observations to make discoveries.
Struggles:
- Trouble questioning old ideas.
- Bacon’s main struggle was overcoming the adamant ideas of his time.
- Many people held a heavy respect for the old texts so questioning these ideas easily raised controversy.
- Bacon’s works may have been considered insulting to the public (evident in the preface of “Novum Organum” which is an apology to the king).
- Criticizing old humanist ideas made many develop distaste for Bacon.
Influence:
- Empiricism continued to develop and evolve throughout the ages.
- Francis Bacon’s ideas of empiricism were improved upon by minds such as John Locke and George Berkeley.
- Bacon greatly contributed to the Scientific Method, still used today.
- Francis Bacon’s late rise to Lord Chancellor made his influence widespread.
Communication of Ideas:
- Francis Bacon mainly used his books such as “Instauratio Magna” to easily communicate his ideas.
- Bacon’s texts are written inspirationally furthering the effectivity of his writing.
- Due to Francis Bacon’s rise in political power his influence allowed for him to communicate his ideas efficiently.