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= Francis_Bacon =
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Introduction
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Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 - 9 April
1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney
General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon
argued for the importance of natural philosophy, guided by the
scientific method, and his works remained influential throughout the
Scientific Revolution.
Bacon has been called the father of empiricism. He argued for the
possibility of scientific knowledge based only upon inductive
reasoning and careful observation of events in nature. He believed
that science could be achieved by the use of a sceptical and
methodical approach whereby scientists aim to avoid misleading
themselves. Although his most specific proposals about such a method,
the Baconian method, did not have long-lasting influence, the general
idea of the importance and possibility of a sceptical methodology
makes Bacon one of the later founders of the scientific method. His
portion of the method based in scepticism was a new rhetorical and
theoretical framework for science, whose practical details are still
central to debates on science and methodology. He is famous for his
role in the scientific revolution, promoting scientific
experimentation as a way of glorifying God and fulfilling scripture.
Bacon was a patron of libraries and developed a system for cataloguing
books under three categories - history, poetry, and philosophy - which
could further be divided into specific subjects and subheadings. About
books he wrote: "Some books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and
some few to be chewed and digested." The Baconian theory of
Shakespeare authorship, a fringe theory which was first proposed in
the mid-19th century, contends that Bacon wrote at least some and
possibly all of the plays conventionally attributed to William
Shakespeare.
Bacon was educated at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge,
where he rigorously followed the medieval curriculum, which was
presented largely in Latin. He was the first recipient of the Queen's
counsel designation, conferred in 1597 when Elizabeth I reserved him
as her legal advisor. After the accession of James I in 1603, Bacon
was knighted, then created Baron Verulam in 1618 and Viscount St Alban
in 1621. He had no heirs, and so both titles became extinct on his
death of pneumonia in 1626 at the age of 65. He is buried at St
Michael's Church, St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Early life and education
==========================
Francis Bacon was born on 22 January 1561 at York House near Strand in
London, the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper of the Great Seal)
by his second wife, Anne (Cooke) Bacon, the daughter of the noted
Renaissance humanist Anthony Cooke. His mother's sister was married to
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, making Burghley Bacon's uncle.
Biographers believe that Bacon was educated at home in his early years
owing to poor health, which would plague him throughout his life. He
received tuition from John Walsall, a graduate of Oxford with a strong
leaning toward Puritanism. He attended Trinity College at the
University of Cambridge on 5 April 1573 at the age of 12, living there
for three years along with his older brother Anthony Bacon (1558-1601)
under the personal tutelage of John Whitgift, future Archbishop of
Canterbury. Bacon's education was conducted largely in Latin and
followed the medieval curriculum. It was at Cambridge that Bacon first
met Queen Elizabeth, who was impressed by his precocious intellect,
and was accustomed to calling him "The young lord keeper".
His studies brought him to the belief that the methods and results of
science as then practised were erroneous. His reverence for Aristotle
conflicted with his rejection of Aristotelian philosophy, which seemed
to him barren, argumentative and wrong in its objectives.
On 27 June 1576, he and Anthony entered 'de societate magistrorum' at
Gray's Inn. A few months later, Francis went abroad with Sir Amias
Paulet, the English ambassador at Paris, while Anthony continued his
studies at home. The state of government and society in France under
Henry III afforded him valuable political instruction. For the next
three years he visited Blois, Poitiers, Tours, Italy, and Spain. There
is no evidence that he studied at the University of Poitiers. During
his travels, Bacon studied language, statecraft, and civil law while
performing routine diplomatic tasks. On at least one occasion he
delivered diplomatic letters to England for Walsingham, Burghley,
Leicester, and for the queen.
The sudden death of his father in February 1579 prompted Bacon to
return to England. Sir Nicholas had laid up a considerable sum of
money to purchase an estate for his youngest son, but he died before
doing so, and Francis was left with only a fifth of that money. Having
borrowed money, Bacon got into debt. To support himself, he took up
his residence in law at Gray's Inn in 1579, his income being
supplemented by a grant from his mother Lady Anne of the manor of
Marks near Romford in Essex, which generated a rent of £46.
Parliamentarian
=================
Bacon stated that he had three goals: to uncover truth, to serve his
country, and to serve his church. He sought to achieve these goals by
seeking a prestigious post. In 1580, through his uncle, Lord Burghley,
he applied for a post at court that might enable him to pursue a life
of learning, but his application failed. For two years he worked
quietly at Gray's Inn, until he was admitted as an outer barrister in
1582.
His parliamentary career began when he was elected MP for Bossiney,
Cornwall, in a by-election in 1581. In 1584 he took his seat in
Parliament for Melcombe in Dorset, and in 1586 for Taunton. At this
time, he began to write on the condition of parties in the church, as
well as on the topic of philosophical reform in the lost tract
'Temporis Partus Maximus'. Yet he failed to gain a position that he
thought would lead him to success. He showed signs of sympathy to
Puritanism, attending the sermons of the Puritan chaplain of Gray's
Inn and accompanying his mother to the Temple Church to hear Walter
Travers. This led to the publication of his earliest surviving tract,
which criticized the English church's suppression of the Puritan
clergy. In the Parliament of 1586, he openly urged execution for the
Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots.
About this time, he again approached his powerful uncle for help; this
move was followed by his rapid progress at the bar. He became a
bencher in 1586 and was elected a Reader in 1587, delivering his first
set of lectures in Lent the following year. In 1589, he received the
valuable appointment of reversion to the Clerkship of the Star
Chamber, although he did not formally take office until 1608; the post
was worth £1,600 a year.
In 1588 he became MP for Liverpool and then for Middlesex in 1593. He
later sat three times for Ipswich (1597, 1601, 1604) and once for
Cambridge University (1614).
He became known as a liberal-minded reformer, eager to amend and
simplify the law. Though a friend of the crown, he opposed feudal
privileges and dictatorial powers. He spoke against religious
persecution. He struck at the House of Lords in its usurpation of the
Money Bills. He advocated for the union of England and Scotland, which
made him a significant influence toward the consolidation of the
United Kingdom; and he later would advocate for the integration of
Ireland into the Union. Closer constitutional ties, he believed, would
bring greater peace and strength to these countries.
Final years of Elizabeth's reign
==================================
Bacon soon became acquainted with Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of
Essex, Queen Elizabeth's favourite. By 1591 he acted as the earl's
confidential adviser. In 1592, he was commissioned to write a tract in
response to the Jesuit Robert Parson's anti-government polemic, which
he titled 'Certain Observations Made upon a Libel', identifying
England with the ideals of democratic Athens against the belligerence
of Spain. Bacon took his third parliamentary seat for Middlesex when
in February 1593 Elizabeth summoned Parliament to investigate a Roman
Catholic plot against her. Bacon's opposition to a bill that would
levy triple subsidies in half the usual time offended the Queen:
opponents accused him of seeking popularity, and for a time the Court
excluded him from favour.
When the office of Attorney General fell vacant in 1594, Lord Essex's
influence was not enough to secure the position for Bacon and it was
given to Sir Edward Coke. Likewise, Bacon failed to secure the lesser
office of Solicitor General in 1595, the Queen pointedly snubbing him
by appointing Sir Thomas Fleming instead. To console him for these
disappointments, Essex presented him with a property at Twickenham,
which Bacon subsequently sold for £1,800.
In 1597 Bacon became the first Queen's Counsel designate, when Queen
Elizabeth reserved him as her legal counsel. In 1597, he was also
given a patent, giving him precedence at the Bar. Despite his
designations, he was unable to gain the status and notoriety of
others. In a plan to revive his position he unsuccessfully courted the
wealthy young widow Lady Elizabeth Hatton. His courtship failed after
she broke off their relationship upon accepting marriage to Sir Edward
Coke, a further spark of enmity between the men. In 1598 Bacon was
arrested for debt. Afterward, however, his standing in the Queen's
eyes improved. Gradually, Bacon earned the standing of one of the
learned counsels. His relationship with the Queen further improved
when he severed ties with Essexa shrewd move, as Essex would be
executed for treason in 1601.
With others, Bacon was appointed to investigate the charges against
Essex. A number of Essex's followers confessed that Essex had planned
a rebellion against the Queen. Bacon was subsequently a part of the
legal team headed by the Attorney General Sir Edward Coke at Essex's
treason trial. After the execution, the Queen ordered Bacon to write
the official government account of the trial, which was later
published as 'A DECLARATION of the Practices and Treasons attempted
and committed by Robert late Earle of Essex and his Complices, against
her Majestie and her Kingdoms ...' after Bacon's first draft was
heavily edited by the Queen and her ministers.
According to his personal secretary and chaplain, William Rawley, as a
judge Bacon was always tender-hearted, "looking upon the examples with
the eye of severity, but upon the person with the eye of pity and
compassion". And also that "he was free from malice", "no revenger of
injuries", and "no defamer of any man".
James I comes to the throne
=============================
The succession of James I brought Bacon into greater favour. He was
knighted in 1603. In another shrewd move, Bacon wrote his 'Apologies'
in defence of his proceedings in the case of Essex, as Essex had
favoured James to succeed to the throne. The following year, during
the course of the uneventful first parliamentary session, Bacon
married Alice Barnham. In June 1607, he was at last rewarded with the
office of Solicitor General and in 1608 he began working as the Clerk
of the Star Chamber. Despite a generous income, old debts still could
not be paid. He sought further promotion and wealth by supporting King
James and his arbitrary policies. In 1610 the fourth session of
James's first Parliament met. Despite Bacon's advice to him, James and
the Commons found themselves at odds over royal prerogatives and the
King's embarrassing extravagance. The House was finally dissolved in
February 1611. Throughout this period Bacon managed to stay in favour
with the King while retaining the confidence of the Commons.
In 1613 Bacon was finally appointed Attorney General, after advising
the King to shuffle judicial appointments. As Attorney General, Bacon,
by his zealous effortswhich included tortureto obtain the conviction
of Edmund Peacham for treason, raised legal controversies of high
constitutional importance. Bacon and Gray's Inn produced 'The Masque
of Flowers' to celebrate the wedding of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of
Somerset and his wife, Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset, and he
successfully prosecuted them for murder in 1616.
The so-called Prince's Parliament of April 1614 objected to Bacon's
presence in the seat for Cambridge and to the various royal plans that
Bacon had supported. Although he was allowed to stay, Parliament
passed a law that forbade the Attorney General to sit in Parliament.
His influence over the King had evidently inspired resentment or
apprehension in many of his peers. Bacon, however, continued to
receive the King's favour, which led to his appointment in March 1617
as temporary Regent of England (for a period of a month), and in 1618
as Lord Chancellor. On 12 July 1618 the King created Bacon Baron
Verulam of Verulam in the Peerage of England; he then became known as
Francis, Lord Verulam.
Bacon continued to use his influence with the King to mediate between
the throne and Parliament, and in this capacity he was further
elevated in the same peerage as Viscount St Alban on 27 January 1621.
Lord Chancellor and public disgrace
=====================================
Bacon's public career ended in disgrace in 1621. After he fell into
debt, a parliamentary committee on the administration of the law
charged him with 23 separate counts of corruption. His lifelong enemy,
Sir Edward Coke, who had instigated these accusations, was one of
those appointed to prepare the charges against the chancellor. To the
lords, who sent a committee to enquire whether a confession was really
his, he replied, "My lords, it is my act, my hand, and my heart; I
beseech your lordships to be merciful to a broken reed." He was
sentenced to a fine of £40,000 and committed to the Tower of London at
the king's pleasure; the imprisonment lasted only a few days and the
fine was remitted by the king. More seriously, parliament declared
Bacon incapable of holding future office or sitting in parliament. He
narrowly escaped undergoing degradation, which would have stripped him
of his titles of nobility. Subsequently, the disgraced viscount
devoted himself to study and writing.
There seems little doubt that Bacon had accepted gifts from litigants,
but this was an accepted custom of the time and not necessarily
evidence of deeply corrupt behaviour. While acknowledging that his
conduct had been lax, he countered that he had never allowed gifts to
influence his judgement and, indeed, he had on occasion given a
verdict against those who had paid him. He even had an interview with
King James in which he assured:
He also wrote the following to George Villiers, 1st Duke of
Buckingham:
As the conduct of accepting gifts was ubiquitous and common practice,
and the Commons was zealously inquiring into judicial corruption and
malfeasance, it has been suggested that Bacon served as a scapegoat to
divert attention from Buckingham's own ill practice and alleged
corruption.
The true reason for his acknowledgement of guilt is the subject of
debate, but some authors speculate that it may have been prompted by
his sickness, or by a view that through his fame and the greatness of
his office he would be spared harsh punishment. He may even have been
blackmailed, with a threat to charge him with sodomy, into confession.
The British jurist Basil Montagu wrote in Bacon's defense, concerning
the episode of his public disgrace:
Religious beliefs
===================
Bacon was a devout Anglican. He believed that philosophy and the
natural world must be studied inductively, but argued that we can only
study arguments for the existence of God. Information about God's
attributes (such as nature, action, and purposes) can only come from
special revelation. Bacon also held that knowledge was cumulative,
that study encompassed more than a simple preservation of the past.
"Knowledge is the rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the
relief of man's estate," he wrote. In his Essays, he affirms that "a
little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in
philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."
Bacon's idea of idols of the mind may have self-consciously
represented an attempt to Christianize science at the same time as
developing a new, reliable scientific method; Bacon gave worship of
Neptune as an example of the idola tribus fallacy, hinting at the
religious dimensions of his critique of the idols.
Bacon was against the splintering within Christianity, believing that
it would ultimately lead to the creation of atheism as a dominant
worldview, as indicated with his quote that "The causes of atheism
are: divisions in religion, if they be many; for any one main
division, addeth zeal to both sides; but many divisions introduce
atheism. Another is, scandal of priests; when it is come to that which
St. Bernard saith "One cannot now say the priest is as the people, for
the truth is that the people are not so bad as the priest". A third
is, custom of profane scoffing in holy matters; which doth by little
and little deface the reverence of religion. And lastly, learned
times, specially with peace and prosperity; for troubles and
adversities do more bow men's minds to religion."
Architectural projects
========================
Bacon built Verulam House in St Albans to his own designs. It has been
suggested that this building was derivative of Sir Rowland Hill's
building at Soulton Hall.
Marriage to Alice Barnham
===========================
When he was 36, Bacon courted Elizabeth Hatton, a young widow of 20.
Reportedly, she broke off their relationship upon accepting marriage
to a wealthier man, Bacon's rival, Sir Edward Coke. Years later, Bacon
still wrote of his regret that the marriage to Hatton had not taken
place.
At the age of 45, Bacon married Alice Barnham, the 13-year-old
daughter of a well-connected London alderman and MP. Bacon wrote two
sonnets proclaiming his love for Alice. The first was written during
his courtship and the second on his wedding day, 10 May 1606. When
Bacon was appointed lord chancellor, "by special Warrant of the King",
Lady Bacon was given precedence over all other Court ladies. Bacon's
personal secretary and chaplain, William Rawley, wrote in his
biography of Bacon that his marriage was one of "much conjugal love
and respect", mentioning a robe of honour that he gave to Alice and
which "she wore unto her dying day, being twenty years and more after
his death".
However, an increasing number of reports circulated about friction in
the marriage, with speculation that this may have been due to Alice's
making do with less money than she had once been accustomed to. It was
said that she was strongly interested in fame and fortune, and when
household finances dwindled, she complained bitterly. Bunten wrote in
her 'Life of Alice Barnham' that, upon their descent into debt, she
went on trips to ask for financial favours and assistance from their
circle of friends. Bacon disinherited her upon discovering her secret
romantic relationship with Sir John Underhill, rewriting his will
(which had generously planned to leave her lands, goods, and income)
and revoking her entirely as a beneficiary.
Sexuality
===========
Several authors believe that, despite his marriage, Bacon was
primarily attracted to men. Forker, for example, has explored the
"historically documentable sexual preferences" of both Francis Bacon
and King James I and concluded they were both oriented to "masculine
love", a contemporary term that "seems to have been used exclusively
to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own
gender." Bacon's sexuality has been disputed by others, who point to
lack of consistent evidence and consider the sources to be more open
to interpretation.
The Jacobean antiquary and Bacon's fellow parliament member Sir
Simonds D'Ewes implied there had been a question of bringing Bacon to
trial for buggery, with which his brother Anthony Bacon had also been
charged. (Bacon's brother "apparently also was homosexual", according
to literature and sexuality scholar Joseph Cady.) In his
'Autobiography and Correspondence' diary entry for 3 May 1621, the
date of Bacon's censure by Parliament, D'Ewes describes Bacon's love
for his Welsh serving-men, in particular his servant Mr. Henry Godrick
or Goodrick, a "very effeminate-faced youth" whom he calls "his
catamite and bedfellow". Bacon's own mother complained to Anthony on
Bacon's affection for another servant of his, named Percy, whom she
wrote Bacon kept as "a coach companion and bed companion."
In his 'Brief Lives' sketches (likely composed during 1665-1690 and
published as a book in 1813), the antiquary John Aubrey wrote that
Bacon was a pederast "whose Ganimeds and Favourites tooke Bribes".
While pederast strictly denoted "boy-lover" in earlier times, Cady
wrote that Aubrey deployed the term discreetly in the original Greek
to signify "male homosexual". The figure of Ganymede, he continued,
was another of many common ways of referring obliquely to
homosexuality.
In 'New Atlantis', Bacon described his utopian island as being "the
chastest nation under heaven", with "no touch" of "masculine love".
Cady argued that Bacon's reference to male homosexuality in the 'New
Atlantis' deliberately gave the appearance of coming from "outside the
phenomenon" due to prevalent opposition. It contrasted deliberately
with "veiled" praise of the topic elsewhere in Bacon's work, he
asserted. Cady offered several examples, including that Bacon
discussed only male beauty in his short essay "Of Beauty". He also
noted that Bacon ended his monologue 'The Masculine Birth of Time'
with an older man asking a younger one (from his "inmost heart") to
"give yourself to me so that I may restore you to yourself" and
"secure [you] an increase beyond all hopes and prayers of ordinary
marriages".
Death
=======
On 9 April 1626, Bacon died of pneumonia at Highgate outside London,
specifically at Arundel House, a country residence of his friend the
Earl of Arundel, though Arundel was then imprisoned in the Tower of
London. An influential account of the circumstances of his death was
given by John Aubrey's 'Brief Lives'. Aubrey's vivid account, which he
says was told to him by "Mr Hobbs" (Thomas Hobbes), portrays Bacon as
a martyr to experimental scientific method. It has him journeying to
High-gate through the snow with the King's physician when he is
suddenly inspired by the possibility that "flesh [meat] might not be
preserved in snow, as in Salt":
After stuffing the hen with snow, Bacon contracted a fatal case of
pneumonia. Some people, including Aubrey, consider these two possibly
coincidental events as related and causing his death:
Aubrey has been criticized for his evident credulousness in this and
other works; on the other hand, he knew Thomas Hobbes, Bacon's
fellow-philosopher and friend. Being unwittingly on his deathbed, the
philosopher dictated his last letter to the Earl:
Another account appears in a biography by William Rawley, Bacon's
personal secretary and chaplain:
He was buried in St Michael's Church in St Albans. At the news of his
death, over 30 great minds collected together their eulogies of him,
which were then later published in Latin. He left personal assets of
about £7,000 and lands that realised £6,000 when sold. His debts
amounted to more than £23,000, equivalent to more than £4m at current
value.
Philosophy and works
======================================================================
Francis Bacon's philosophy is displayed in the vast and varied
writings he left, which might be divided into three great branches:
* 'Scientific works' in which his ideas for a universal reform of
knowledge into scientific methodology and the improvement of mankind's
state using the Scientific method are presented.
* 'Religious and literary works' in which he presents his moral
philosophy and theological meditations.
* 'Juridical works' in which his reforms in English law are proposed.
Science
=========
Bacon's seminal work the 'Novum Organum' was highly influential in the
17th century among scholars, in particular Sir Thomas Browne, who in
his encyclopedia 'Pseudodoxia Epidemica' (1646-72) frequently adheres
to a Baconian approach to his scientific enquiries. This book entails
the basis of the scientific method as a means of observation and
induction. Also Robert Hooke was highly influenced by Bacon, using
Baconian language and ideas in his book, "Micrographia."
According to Bacon, learning and knowledge all derive from inductive
reasoning. Through his belief in experimentally-derived data, he
theorised that all the knowledge that was necessary to fully
understand a concept could be attained using induction. "Induction"
in this context can be thought of as "reasoning from evidence," as
opposed to "deduction," or "top-down reasoning," which can be thought
of as "reasoning from a pre-existing premise, or hypothesis." In order
to get to the point of an inductive conclusion, one must consider the
importance of observing the particulars (specific parts of nature).
"Once these particulars have been gathered together, the
interpretation of Nature proceeds by sorting them into a formal
arrangement so that they may be presented to the understanding."
Experimentation is essential to discovering the truths of Nature. When
an experiment happens, the data is used to form a result and
conclusion. Note that this process does not involve a pre-existing
hypothesis. On the contrary, inductive reasoning starts with data, not
a prior premise or hypothesis. Through this conclusion of particulars,
an understanding of Nature can be formed. Now that an understanding of
Nature has been arrived at, an inductive conclusion can be drawn.
"There are and can be only two ways of searching into and discovering
truth. The one flies from the senses and particulars to the most
general axioms, and from these principles, the truth of which it takes
for settled and immovable, proceeds to judgment and to the discovery
of middle axioms. And this way is now in fashion. The other derives
axioms from the senses and particulars, rising by a gradual and
unbroken ascent, so that it arrives at the most general axioms last of
all. This is the true way, but as yet untried." (Bacon's axiom XIX
from the Novum Organum)
Bacon explains how we come to this understanding and knowledge because
of this process in comprehending the complexities of nature. "Bacon
sees nature as an extremely subtle complexity, which affords all the
energy of the natural philosopher to disclose her secrets." Bacon
described the evidence and proof revealed through taking a specific
example from nature and expanding that example into a general,
substantial claim of nature. Once we understand the particulars in
nature, we can learn more about it and become surer of things
occurring in nature, gaining knowledge and obtaining new information
all the while. "It is nothing less than a revival of Bacon's supremely
confident belief that inductive methods can provide us with ultimate
and infallible answers concerning the laws and nature of the
universe." Bacon states that when we come to understand parts of
nature, we can eventually understand nature better as a whole because
of induction. Because of this, Bacon concludes that all learning and
knowledge must be drawn from inductive reasoning.
During the Restoration, Bacon was commonly invoked as a guiding spirit
of the Royal Society founded under Charles II in 1660. During the
18th-century French Enlightenment, Bacon's non-metaphysical approach
to science became more influential than the dualism of his French
contemporary Descartes, and was associated with criticism of the
'Ancien Régime'. In 1733 Voltaire introduced him to a French audience
as the "father" of the scientific method, an understanding which had
become widespread by the 1750s. In the 19th century his emphasis on
induction was revived and developed by William Whewell, among others.
He has been reputed as the "Father of Experimental Philosophy".
He also wrote a long treatise on Medicine, 'History of Life and
Death', with natural and experimental observations for the
prolongation of life.
One of his biographers, the historian William Hepworth Dixon, states:
"Bacon's influence in the modern world is so great that every man who
rides in a train, sends a telegram, follows a steam plough, sits in an
easy chair, crosses the channel or the Atlantic, eats a good dinner,
enjoys a beautiful garden, or undergoes a painless surgical operation,
owes him something."
In 1902 Hugo von Hofmannsthal published a fictional letter, known as
'The Lord Chandos Letter', addressed to Bacon and dated 1603, about a
writer who is experiencing a crisis of language.
North America
===============
Bacon played a leading role in establishing the British colonies in
North America, especially in Virginia, the Carolinas and Newfoundland
in northeastern Canada. His government report on "The Virginia Colony"
was submitted in 1609. In 1610 Bacon and his associates received a
charter from the king to form 'the Tresurer and the Companye of
Adventurers and planter of the Cittye of London and Bristoll for the
Collonye or plantacon in Newfoundland', and sent John Guy to found a
colony there. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United
States, wrote: "Bacon, Locke and Newton. I consider them as the three
greatest men that have ever lived, without any exception, and as
having laid the foundation of those superstructures which have been
raised in the Physical and Moral sciences".
In 1910, Newfoundland issued a postage stamp to commemorate Bacon's
role in establishing the colony. The stamp describes Bacon as "the
guiding spirit in Colonization Schemes in 1610". Moreover, some
scholars believe he was largely responsible for the drafting, in 1609
and 1612, of two charters of government for the Virginia Colony.
William Hepworth Dixon considered that Bacon's name could be included
in the list of Founders of the United States.
Law
=====
Although few of his proposals for law reform were adopted during his
lifetime, Bacon's legal legacy was considered by the magazine 'New
Scientist' in 1961 as having influenced the drafting of the Napoleonic
Code as well as the law reforms introduced by 19th-century British
Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. The historian William Hepworth Dixon
referred to the Napoleonic Code as "the sole embodiment of Bacon's
thought", saying that Bacon's legal work "has had more success abroad
than it has found at home", and that in France "it has blossomed and
come into fruit".
Harvey Wheeler attributed to Bacon, in 'Francis Bacon's Verulamiumthe
Common Law Template of The Modern in English Science and Culture', the
creation of these distinguishing features of the modern common law
system:
* using cases as repositories of evidence about the "unwritten law";
* determining the relevance of precedents by exclusionary principles
of evidence and logic;
* treating opposing legal briefs as adversarial hypotheses about the
application of the "unwritten law" to a new set of facts.
As late as the 18th century, some juries still declared the law rather
than the facts, but already before the end of the 17th century Sir
Matthew Hale explained modern common law adjudication procedure and
acknowledged Bacon as the inventor of the process of discovering
unwritten laws from the evidences of their applications. The method
combined empiricism and inductivism in a new way that was to imprint
its signature on many of the distinctive features of modern English
society. Paul H. Kocher writes that Bacon is considered by some
jurists to be the father of modern Jurisprudence.
Bacon is commemorated with a statue in Gray's Inn, South Square in
London where he received his legal training, and where he was elected
Treasurer of the Inn in 1608.
More recent scholarship on Bacon's jurisprudence has focused on his
advocating torture as a legal recourse for the crown. Bacon himself
was not a stranger to the torture chamber; in his various legal
capacities in both Elizabeth I's and James I's reigns, Bacon was
listed as a commissioner on five torture warrants. In 1613(?), in a
letter addressed to King James I on the question of torture's place
within English law, Bacon identifies the scope of torture as a means
to further the investigation of threats to the state: "In the cases of
treasons, torture is used for discovery, and not for evidence." For
Bacon, torture was not a punitive measure, an intended form of state
repression, but instead offered a modus operandi for the government
agent tasked with uncovering acts of treason.
Organization of knowledge
===========================
Francis Bacon developed the idea that a classification of knowledge
must be universal while handling all possible resources. In his
progressive view, humanity would be better if access to educational
resources were provided to the public, hence the need to organise it.
His approach to learning reshaped the Western view of knowledge theory
from an individual to a social interest.
The original classification proposed by Bacon organised all types of
knowledge into three general groups: history, poetry, and philosophy.
He did that based on his understanding of how information is
processed: memory, imagination, and reason, respectively. His
methodical approach to the categorization of knowledge goes
hand-in-hand with his principles of scientific methods. Bacon's
writings were the starting point for William Torrey Harris's
classification system for libraries in the United States by the second
half of the 1800s.
The phrase "" (or ""), meaning "knowledge is power", is commonly
attributed to Bacon: the expression "" ("knowledge itself is power")
occurs in his 'Meditationes Sacrae' (1597).
Bacon and Shakespeare
=======================
The Baconian hypothesis of Shakespearean authorship, first proposed in
the mid-19th century, contends that Francis Bacon wrote some or even
all of the plays conventionally attributed to William Shakespeare.
Occult theories
=================
Francis Bacon often gathered with the men at Gray's Inn to discuss
politics and philosophy, and to try out various theatrical scenes that
he admitted writing. Bacon's alleged connection to the Rosicrucians
and the Freemasons has been widely discussed by authors and scholars
in many books. However, others, including Daphne du Maurier in her
biography of Bacon, have argued that there is no substantive evidence
to support claims of involvement with the Rosicrucians. Frances Yates
does not make the claim that Bacon was a Rosicrucian, but presents
evidence that he was nevertheless involved in some of the more closed
intellectual movements of his day. She argues that Bacon's movement
for the advancement of learning was closely connected with the German
Rosicrucian movement, while Bacon's 'New Atlantis' portrays a land
ruled by Rosicrucians. He apparently saw his own movement for the
advancement of learning to be in conformity with Rosicrucian ideals.
The link between Bacon's work and the Rosicrucians' ideals which Yates
allegedly found was the conformity of the purposes expressed by the
Rosicrucian Manifestos and Bacon's plan of a "Great Instauration", for
the two were calling for a reformation of both "divine and human
understanding", as well as both, had in view the purpose of mankind's
return to the "state before the Fall".
Another major link is said to be the resemblance between Bacon's 'New
Atlantis' and the German Rosicrucian Johann Valentin Andreae's
'Description of the Republic of Christianopolis' (1619). Andreae
describes a utopic island in which Christian theosophy and applied
science ruled, and in which the spiritual fulfilment and intellectual
activity constituted the primary goals of each individual, the
scientific pursuits being the highest intellectual callinglinked to
the achievement of spiritual perfection. Andreae's island also depicts
a great advancement in technology, with many industries separated in
different zones which supplied the population's needswhich shows great
resemblance to Bacon's scientific methods and purposes.
While rejecting occult conspiracy theories surrounding Bacon and the
claim Bacon personally identified as a Rosicrucian, intellectual
historian Paolo Rossi has argued for an occult influence on Bacon's
scientific and religious writing. He argues that Bacon was familiar
with early modern alchemical texts and that Bacon's ideas about the
application of science had roots in Renaissance magical ideas about
science and magic facilitating humanity's domination of nature. Rossi
further interprets Bacon's search for hidden meanings in myth and
fables in such texts as 'The Wisdom of the Ancients' as succeeding
earlier occultist and Neoplatonic attempts to locate hidden wisdom in
pre-Christian myths. As indicated by the title of his study, however,
Rossi claims Bacon ultimately rejected the philosophical foundations
of occultism as he came to develop a form of modern science.
Rossi's analysis and claims have been extended by Jason
Josephson-Storm in his study, 'The Myth of Disenchantment'.
Josephson-Storm also rejects conspiracy theories surrounding Bacon and
does not make the claim that Bacon was an active Rosicrucian. However,
he argues that Bacon's "rejection" of magic actually constituted an
attempt to purify magic of Catholic, demonic, and esoteric influences
and to establish magic as a field of study and application paralleling
Bacon's vision of science. Furthermore, Josephson-Storm argues that
Bacon drew on magical ideas when developing his experimental method.
Josephson-Storm finds evidence that Bacon considered nature a living
entity, populated by spirits, and argues Bacon's views on the human
domination and application of nature actually depend on his
spiritualism and personification of nature.
Bacon's influence can also be seen on a variety of religious and
spiritual authors, and on groups that have utilized his writings in
their own belief systems.
Bibliography
======================================================================
Some of the more notable works by Bacon are:
* 'Essays'
** 1st edition with 10 essays (1597)
** 2nd edition with 38 essays (1612)
** 3rd/final edition with 58 essays (1625)
* 'The Advancement and Proficience of Learning Divine and Human'
(1605)
* 'Instauratio magna' (The Great Instauration) (1620) - a multi-part
work including 'Distributio operis' (Plan of the Work); 'Novum
Organum' (The New 'Organon'); 'Parasceve ad historiam naturalem'
(Preparatory for Natural History) and 'Catalogus historiarum
particularium' (Catalogue of Particular Histories)
* 'De augmentis scientiarum' (1623) - an enlargement of 'The
Advancement of Learning' translated into Latin
* 'New Atlantis' (1626)
See also
======================================================================
* 'Cestui que' (defence and comment on Chudleigh's Case)
* Romanticism and Bacon
* 'Scientia potentia est'
Primary sources
=================
* Bacon, Francis. 'The Essays and Counsels, Civil and Moral of Francis
Bacon: all 3 volumes in a single file.' B&R Samizdat Express,
2014.
*
*
Further reading
======================================================================
*
*
* Contains English translations of
** 'Temporis Partus Masculus'
** 'Cogitata et Visa'
** 'Redargutio Philosophiarum'
*
*
*
*
*
* Serjeantson, Richard. "Francis Bacon and the 'Interpretation of
Nature' in the Late Renaissance," 'Isis' (December 2014) 105#4 pp.
681-705.
External links
======================================================================
*
*
*
*
*
*
* [
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com Contains the New Organon, slightly
modified for easier reading]
* Lord Macaulay's essay 'Lord Bacon' ('Edinburgh Review', 1837)
[
https://archive.org/details/lordbacon00mac/page/n6 Lord Bacon]
* [
https://archive.org/details/cu31924029010219 'Francis Bacon of
Verulam. Realistic Philosophy and its Age'] by Kuno Fischer,
translated from the German by John Oxenford London 1857
* [
https://archive.org/details/bacon00fowlgoog 'Bacon'] by Thomas
Fowler (1881) public domain at Internet Archive
* [
http://francisbaconsociety.co.uk/ The Francis Bacon Society]
* [
http://www.sixdegreesoffrancisbacon.com/ Six Degrees of Francis
Bacon]
* [
https://archive.org/details/baconiana Journals of the Francis
Bacon Society from 1886 to 1999]
*
[
http://depts.washington.edu/vienna/documents/Hofmannsthal/Hofmannsthal_Chandos.htm
English translation of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's fictional 'The Lord
Chandos Letter', addressed to Bacon]
* [
https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/073.html The George Fabyan
Collection] at the Library of Congress is rich in the works of Francis
Bacon.
* [
https://www.fbrt.org.uk Francis Bacon Research Trust]
* [
http://www.sirbacon.org Sir Francis Bacon's New Advancement of
Learning]
*
*
[
https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_4079293#description
Letterbook and correspondence by Sir Francis Bacon at Columbia
University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.]
License
=========
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Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon
