LECTURE

Lecture 13: Bacon & A New Ideology of Science

(3/3)

I. Francis Bacon: Early Life and Career

II. Bacon's Program for the Reform of Knowledge
A. The 'Baconian Method'
B. The Baconian Program
III. Bacon's Place in the 'New Science' of the 17th Century
A. A Revolution in Method?
B. A New Ideology for the Study of Nature
[References: Bernal 1953; Colie 1954; Dillenberger 1960; Grant
1978; Hill 1965; Houghton 1942; Jardine 1974; Keller 1985;
Kristeller 1979; Losee 1980; Merchant 1980;Zilsel 1942; Zilsel
1945]
I. FRANCIS BACON: EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
BUT FIRST, BEFORE GETTING INTO BACON'S PROGRAM FOR A 'NEW
SCIENCE' I'D LIKE TO GIVE A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE
FRANCIS BACON WAS BORN IN 1561 THE SON OF SIR NICHOLAS
BACON, LORD KEEPER OF THE GREAT SEAL AND ANN COOKE,
DAUGHTER OF SIR ANTHONY COOKE
THE ELDER BACON HAD RISEN THROUGH THE RANKS OF COURT
ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS AND HAD MADE HIS FORTUNE
THROUGH THE SALE OF LANDS SEQUESTERED FROM THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH AFTER THE ENGLISH REFORMATION
HIS PROFITS FROM THESE SALES, LEFT HIM QUITE WELL-OFF AND HE
SOUGHT TO GIVE HIS SON THE BENEFITS OF HIS NEWLY-WON
STATUS

FRANCIS WAS EDUCATED AT TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE AND THEN

AT GRAY'S INN IN PREPRATION FOR A CAREER AS A BARRISTER,
WHICH HE BECAME IN 1582
DESPITE HIS BRIGHT START, HIS CAREER DURING THE REIGN OF
ELIZABETH WAS SLOW, AND ONLY UNDER JAMES I DID HE BEGIN
HIS RISE TO LORD CHANCELLOR
UPON THE ACCESSION OF JAMES I IN 1603 BACON WAS KNIGHTED, IN
1613 HE BECAME ATTORNEY GENERAL; IN 1617 LORD KEEPER;
AND IN 1618 LORD CHANCELLOR
ALSO IN 1621 HE WAS MADE BARON VERULAM, AND
CONTEMPORARIES FREQUENTLY REFERRED TO HIM BY THIS
TITLE
HOWEVER, BACON'S CAREER ENDED IN DISASTER THAT SAME YEAR
WHEN HE WAS CONVICTED OF ACCEPTING BRIBES FROM THOSE
WHOSE CASES HE WAS TO HEAR
HE WAS STRIPPED OF HIS CHANCELLORSHIP, WAS MADE TO PAY AN
ENORMOUS FINE, BANISHED FROM PUBLIC LIFE, BRIEFLY JAILED,
AND RETIRED IN DISGRACE TO HIS ESTATE
DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF HIS LIFE -- BACON DIED IN 1626 -HE PURSUED HIS LIFE-LONG INTEREST IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY
AND SOME OF HIS MOST IMPORTANT WORKS FOR THE HISTORY
OF SCIENCE WERE WRITTEN AFTER 1621
THE STORY HAS IT THAT BACON, EVER TRUE TO HIS PROGRAM FOR
THE EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF NATURE, DIED OF A SEVERE
COLD HE CONTRACTED AFTER STUFFING A CHICKEN WITH SNOW
TO SEE IF FRIGID TEMPERATURES WOULD PREVENT THE MEAT
FROM SPOILING
BACON'S REPUTATION IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE RESTS ALMOST
EXCLUSIVELY ON THE ASSESSMENT OF HIS SCIENTIFIC METHOD

MEN OF SCIENCE IN HIS OWN CENTURY AS WELL AS IN THE

EIGHTEENTH AND EVEN NINETEENTH CENTURIES, HAILED
BACON AS THE FOUNDER OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
AND A GREAT MANY OPENLY PROCLAIMED THAT THEY DID THEIR
SCIENCE STRICTLY ACCORDING TO THE BACONIAN METHOD
AND OF COURSE POSITIVIST HISTORIANS OF SCIENCE SUNG HIS
PRAISES AND ELEVATED HIM TO THE HIGHEST RANKS OF THEIR
PANTHEON OF SCIENTIFIC HEROES
HOWEVER, WITH THE REACTION TO THE POSITIVIST INTERPRETATION
OF SCIENCE, BACON'S REPUTATION HAS SUFFERED A SEVERE
SETBACK
ALEXANDER KOYR, THE RUSSIAN EMIGR WHO ESTABLISHED
HIMSELF AS PERHAPS THE LEADING HISTORIAN OF THE
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION IN THE DECADES AFTER THE SECOND
WORLD WAR, WROTE AT LEAST FIVE MAJOR WORKS ON 17THCENTURY FIGURES
HE MENTIONS BACON IN EXACTLY TWO FOOTNOTES: THEY READ QUOTE[THE NOTION THAT BACON WAS] "THE FOUNDER OF MODERN SCIENCE
ISA JOKE, AND A BAD ONE AT THAT, [AND] ONE THAT [WE] CAN
STILL FIND IN THE TEXT BOOKS. IN FACT BACON UNDERSTOOD
NOTHING ABOUT SCIENCE. HE WAS CREDULOUS AND
COMPLETELY UNCRITICAL. HIS MANNER OF THINKING WAS
CLOSER TO ALCHEMY AND MAGIC (HE BELIEVED IN
'SYMPATHIES'), IN SHORT TO THAT OF A PRIMITIVE OR TO A
THINKER OF THE RENAISSANCE THAN TO THAT OF A GALILEO OR
EVEN A SCHOLASTIC."
IN A LATER WORK AND SOMEWHAT MORE GENEROUS MOOD, KOYR
WROTE: "IT IS CHIEFLY TO HIS SKILL AND VALUE AS A
PROPAGANDIST THAT BACON OWED HIS POPULARITY AMONG
THE 17TH- AND 18TH-CENTURY SCIENTISTS."

DESPITE THESE WIDELY DIVERGENT VIEWS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF

BACON, ONE CAN ARRIVE AT A FEW POINTS OF CONSENSUS:
1) FIRST, MOST AGREE THAT BACON HIMSELF DID NOT ENRICH
SCIENCE BY MEANS OF CONCRETE EXAMPLES DERIVED FROM
HIS OWN METHOD
2) SECOND, ALMOST ALL WOULD CONCEDE THAT BACON'S GREAT
LITERARY GIFTS ENABLED HIM TO EXPRESS HIS IDEAS SO
EFFECTIVELY THAT HE MAY RIGHTLY BE GRANTED A SIGNIFICANT
ROLE IN FORMULATING CERTAIN IDEAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES: HOW CENTRAL WERE THOSE IDEAS
TO THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION?
3) AND THIRD, MOST SCHOLARS WOULD AGREE THAT BACON'S
ORIGINALITY LIES IN HIS THEORY OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD,
ALTHOUGH THERE IS DISAGREEMENT CONCERNING ITS VALUE IN
THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OF SCIENCE
II. BACON'S PROGRAM FOR THE REFORM OF KNOWLEDGE
BACON ONCE DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS BEING NOT MORE THAN THE
'ARTICULATE SPOKEMAN' OF THE UNSPOKEN FORCES OF HIS AGE
THAT SUMMARIZES AS NICELY AS ANYTHING THE SYNTHETIC NATURE
OF HIS WORK AND SUGGESTS WHY HIS WORKS WERE SO
QUICKLY SIEZED UPON BY SUCH A WIDE SEGMENT OF THE
ENGLISH READING PUBLIC
IN FACT, ACCORDING TO ONE STUDY OF THE ALL-TIME BEST-SELLERS
OF SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH PROSE, BACON'S THE NEW
ORGANON RANKS AMONG THE TOP TEN
IT IS FAIR TO SAY THAT BACON TOOK THE PARTIALLY WORKED-OUT
ASSUMPTIONS OF PRACTICAL MEN AND TURNED THEM INTO A
COHERENT INTELLECTUAL SYSTEM

YET, IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT SOME OF BACON'S MOST AVID

SUPPORTERS WERE THE LEISURED ARISTOCRATIC GENTLEMAN
OF SCIENCE, THE VIRTUOSO, WHO SAW IN BACON'S PROGRAM
AN EXPANSION AND LEGITIMATION OF HIS OWN SENSIBILITIES
AND INTERESTS
SOMEHOW WE NEED TO RECONCILE BACON'S STRANGE DOUBLE-ROLE
ONE THE ONE HAND HE GIVES VOICE TO THE PRACTICAL, EMPIRICAL,
UTILITARIAN SCIENCE OF THE CRAFTSMAN AND ARTISAN
AND, ON THE OTHER, HIS PROGRAM FOR A NEW SCIENCE IS TAKEN UP
BY MEMBERS OF ELITE CULTURE
WE NEED TO KEEP THESE QUESTIONS IN MIND AS WE EXAMINE
BACON'S PROGRAM FOR THE REFORM OF KNOWLEDGE AND HIS
METHOD FOR THE DISCOVERY OF NEW KNOWLEDGE
A. THE BACONIAN PROGRAM
BUT BACON'S PURPOSE WAS NEITHER TO CELEBRATE THE
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE CRAFTSMAN AND MECHANIC, NOR
WAS IT TO PROVIDE AMUSEMENTS TO IDLE ARISTOCRATIC
VIRTUOSO
INDEED, BACON REPEATEDLY INSISTED ON THE NECESSITY THAT
SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY BE UTILITARIAN AND DIRECTED TOWARD
THE SOCIAL GOOD
BACON'S PROGRAM WAS ESSENTIALLY A RELIGIOUS PROGRAM: FOR HE
BELIEVED THAT HIS SCIENTIFIC METHOD WOULD, IN CERTAIN
RESPECTS, LIBERATE MANKIND FROM THE HARMFUL
CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL OF ADAM
WHAT BACON HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH WITH HIS REFORM OF SCIENCE
WAS - QUOTE - "A RESTITUTION . . . OF MAN TO [A STATE OF]
SOVEREIGNTY AND POWER -- FOR WHENSOEVER HE SHALL BE
ABLE TO CALL THE CREATURES BY THEIR TRUE NAMES HE SHALL
AGAIN COMMAND THEM --WHICH HE HAD IN HIS FIRST STATE OF
CREATION"

HERE BACON IS REFERRING TO THE BELIEF THAT WHEN ADAM NAMED

THE CREATURES OF THE EARTH BEFORE THE FALL, HE NAMED
THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR ESSENSES -- AND THROUGH THEIR
NAMES HE GAINED, WITH GOD'S BLESSING, CONTROL OVER
THEM
WITH THE FALL, BOTH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR ESSENSES -- THAT
IS THEIR TRUE NAMES -- AND MAN'S POWER OVER THEM WERE
LOST
THUS IT WAS BACON'S GOAL - QUOTE - "TO RESTORE THE COMMERCE
OF THE MIND WITH THINGS TO ITS ORIGINAL PERFECTION"
HE GOES ON:
"FOR MAN BY THE FALL FELL AT THE SAME TIME FROM HIS STATE OF
INNOCENCY AND FROM HIS DOMINION OVER CREATED THINGS.
BOTH THESE LOSSES CAN EVEN IN THIS LIFE BE PARTIALLY
REPAIRED; THE FORMER BY RELIGION AND FAITH, THE LATTER BY
ARTS AND SCIENCES . . .THERE MUST NECESSARILY ENSUE AN
IMPROVEMENT IN MAN'S ESTATE, AND AN INCREASE OF HIS
POWER OVER NATURE"
CLEARLY THEN, BACONS' DEEPEST COMMITMENT WAS ETHICAL AND
RELIGIOUS; THE REFORM OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY WAS THE
PATH FOR THE REFORM AND REDEMPTION OF MANKIND
BUT FOR THIS HE NEEDED A METHOD AND A PROGRAM
THE FIRST STEP FOR BOTH METHOD AND PROGRAM WAS TO PURGE
THE MIND OF HARMFUL PRECONCEPTIONS
THAT IS, WE MUST FIRST MAKE OUR MINDS A 'TABULA ROSA' -- A
BLANK SLATE -- UPON WHICH NATURE HERSELF CAN WRITE THE
TRUTH CLEARLY AND WITHOUT DISTORTION
BACON CLASSIFIES ALL HUMAN MISCONCEPTIONS UNDER FOUR
HEADINGS; HIS FAMOUS 'FOUR IDOLS'

1) THE FIRST IS THE 'IDOLS OF THE TRIBE'; THESE HAVE THEIR ORIGIN
-- QUOTE -- "IN HUMAN NATURE ITSELF, AND IN THE TRIBE OR
RACE OF MEN"
MORE PRECISELY, THESE ARE THE LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN SENSE
PERCEPTION
BACON ASSERTS THAT - QUOTE - "BY FAR THE GREATEST HINDRANCE
AND ABBERATION OF THE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING PROCEEDS
FROM THE DULLNESS, INCOMPETENCY, AND DECEPTIONS OF
THE SENSES"
"HUMAN UNDERSTANDING IS LIKE A FALSE MIRROR, WHICH RECEIVING
RAYS IRREGULARLY, DISTORTS AND DISCOLORS THE [TRUE]
NATURE OF THINGS"
2) THE SECOND GREAT BARRIER TO TRUE KNOWLEDGE IS THE IDOL OF
THE CAVE: THESE ARE THE DISTORTIONS AND PRECONCEPTIONS
ARISING WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL MAN
THEY DERIVE FROM ONE'S TEMPERAMENT, EDUCATION, AND
PERSONAL SET OF VALUES OR PHILOSOPHY
THESE ARE THE IMPEDIMENTS TO TRUTH PLACED IN OWN WAY BY THE
IDIOSYNCRASIES OF OUR OWN PARTICULAR PATH OF
INTELLECTUAL GROWTH
3) THE THIRD IDOL IS THE IDOL OF THE MARKET PLACE
THESE ARE THE DISTORTIONS ARISING FROM THE MISUSE OR
CARELESS USE OF WORDS AND LANGUAGE
THE CONVENTIONS AND HABITS OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE IN A GIVEN
TIME AND PLACE LIMIT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THINGS AS
THEY REALLY ARE
WE MUST GUARD AGAINST THE TYRANY OF HUMAN LANGUAGE IF WE
ARE TO ARRIVE AT A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF THE LANGUAGE
OF NATURE
4) FINALLY, THERE IS THE IDOL OF THE THEATRE: THESE ARE THE
PHILOSOPHICAL DOGMAS THAT MISLEAD AND CONFUSE

BACON CHOSE THE IMAGE OF THE THEATRE -QUOTE - "BECAUSE IN MY

JUDGEMENT ALL THE RECEIVED [PHILOSOPHICAL] SYSTEMS ARE
BUT SO MANY STAGE PLAYS, REPRESENTING WORLDS OF THEIR
OWN CREATION AFTER AN UNREAL AND SCENIC FASHION"
THUS THE GRAND SYSTEM-BUILDERS OF THE PASSED, LIKE THE
STOICS, EPICUREANS, AND ESPECIALLY THE ARISTOTELIANS ARE
BUT SO MANY PLAYWRITES, SPINNING OUT FICTIONS WHICH
THEY MISTAKE FOR REALITY
BACON IDENTIFIES THESE FOUR IDOLS SO THAT WE MAY SEE THEM
FOR WHAT THEY ARE AND DISCARD THEM
WE MUST PURGE THEM FROM OUR MINDS AND CLEANSE OURSELVES
OF THEIR HARMFUL INFLUENCE
NOW I DO NOT USE THIS IMAGE OF PURIFICATION AS AN EMPTY
METAPHOR
FOR BACON HIMSELF TELLS US THAT - QUOTE - "ALL [CLASSES OF
IDOLS]MUST BE RENOUNCED AND PUT AWAY WITH A FIXED AND
SOLID DETERMINATION, AND THE UNDERSTANDING
THOROUGHLY FREED AND CLEANSED; THE ENTRANCE INTO THE
KINGDOM OF MAN, FOUNDED [UPON] THE SCIENCES, BEING
[NOTHING] OTHER THAN THE ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM OF
HEAVEN, WHERE NONE MAY ENTER EXCEPT AS A LITTLE CHILD"
THE RELIGIOUS IMAGERY COULD NOT BE MORE STRIKING: BACON IS
ASKING US TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF NATURE WITH THE
INTELLECTUAL INNOCENCE AND FAITH OF THE BORN-AGAIN
CHIRSTIAN WHO SEEKS TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD
BUT JUST AS MAN MUST WORK FOR THE REDEMPTION OF HIS SOUL,
SO MUST HE LABOR FOR THE REDEMPTION OF HIS LOST POWER
OVER NATURE
IN OTHER WORDS, FOR BACON, THE RECOVERY OF LOST KNOWLEDGE
ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD IS PART OF OUR STRUGGLE FOR
REDEMPTION

AND, JUST AS THE SOUL MUST BE PURGED OF SIN FOR ITS SALVATION
TOBE EFFECTED; SO TOO MUST THE MIND BE PURGED OF
ERROR AND FALSEHOOD BEFORE IT CAN FULLY COMPREHEND
GOD'S CREATION
BACON DOES NOT STOP HERE; IN ADDITION TO LAYING OUT THE
SCIENTIFIC PATH TO SALVATION, HE ALSO PROVIDES A METHOD
WHEREBY THE LABOR OF REDEMPTION MAY PROCEED MOST
EFFICIENTLY
B. THE 'BACONIAN METHOD'
WHAT IS THE 'BACONIAN' OR 'INDUCTIVE METHOD'?
BACON FIRST WARNS US OF THE PROBLEM OF BALANCE: WE MUST
NOT BE TOO QUICK TO JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS OR
GENERALIZATONS ON THE BASIS OF TOO LITTLE DATA
WE MUST NOT BE LIKE THE SCHOLASTIC PHILOSOPHERS, WHO - AS
BACON CLAIMS - ARE LIKE SPIDER THAT SPIN AN ENDLESS WEB
OF THEORIES OUT OF THEIR OWN INTERIORS
YET IF WE PLACE TOO MANY CONSTRAINTS ON OUR INTELLECT, WE
WILL BECOME LIKE THE VULGAR EMPIRICISTS, AND WE WON'T
COME TO ANY CONCLUSIONS AT ALL
THE UNREFLECTING EMPIRICISTS ARE LIKE ANTS SINCE THEY PILE UP
DATA AND INSTANCES BUT FAIL TO DO ANYTHING PRODUCTIVE
WITH THEM
RATHER, BACON CLAIMS, WE SHOULD STRIVE TO BE LIKE BEES
THAT IS, WE SHOULD GATHER ONLY THE NECTAR FROM NATURE AND
REFINE IT INTO THE HONEY OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE OR THEORIES
THE GOAL OF BACON'S METHOD IS TO DETERMINE THE FUNDAMENTAL
BUILDING BLOCKS OF NATURE, TO REDUCE IT TO WHAT HE
CALLED 'SIMPLE NATURES'
THESE ARE ARISTOTELIAN-LIKE QUALITIES OF HARD/SOFT, HOT/COLD,
VOLATILE/FIXED, MOIST/DRY, SOLID/FLUID, AND SO ON

BUT UNLIKE ARISTOTELIAN QUALITIES, ONE MUST ISOLATE THEM

EMPIRICALLY, AND NOT THROUGH SPECULATION, LOGIC, AND
DISPUTATION
BACON LAYS STRESS ON THE NEED FOR A FOUNDATION IN FACTGATHERING AND THE NEED TO GET ONE'S HANDS DIRTY
THE DESCRIPTION OF 'SOLAMON'S HOUSE' IN HIS NEW ATLANTIS
GIVES AND EXCELLENT INDICATION OF THE SORT OF EMPIRICAL
ACTIVITIES BACON HAD IN MIND
YET WE MUST KEEP IN MIND THAT BACON IS NOT RECOMMENDING
MERE OBSERVATIONS BUT CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT
NATURE REVEALS HER SECRETS MORE QUICKLY WHEN IN THE GRIP OF
MAN THEN WHEN LEFT TO HERSELF
THAT IS, MAN MUST CONSTRAIN NATURE, MUST VEX HER WITH
INSTRUMENTS, AND EXTRACT THE TRUTH FROM EVEN AGAINST
HER WILL
--IF THIS LANGUAGE STRIKES YOU AS SOMEWHAT SEXIST, THERE IS A
GOOD REASON FOR THAT
BACON AS SUPERVISOR OF TORTURE; MERCHANT'S IMAGERY OF
VEXING NATURE TO EXTRACT TRUTH, ETC. --NOW ALTHOUGH THE DATA OBTAINED THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF
INSTRUMENTS IS GATHERED FOR THE PURPOSE OF
CONSTRUCTING A THEORY, ITS COLLECTION IS NOT GUIDED BY
THEORY -- THAT IS, AT THIS STAGE, THE GATHERING OF DATA IS
WITHOUT PRECONCEPTION
IT IS WITHOUT THEORY TELLING YOU WHERE TO LOOK OR WHAT TO
SELECT
THIS IS NOT A 'HYPOTHETICO-DEDUCTIVE' SCHEME: FOR BACON,
THERE IS NO GUIDING HYPOTHESIS FROM WHICH ONE DEDUCES

CERTAIN CONCLUSIONS AND THEN GOES OUT LOOKING FOR

CONFIRMING EVIDENCE
RATHER IT IS PURE INDUCTION: THE DATA THAT IS CAREFULLY AND
INDUSTRIOUSLY GATHERED, FORM THE BASIS FOR INDUCTIVE
PROOFS, WHICH IN TURN LEAD TO HIGHER-LEVEL AXIOMS
THAT IS, AXIOMS OR GENERAL PRINCIPLES ARE DERIVED FROM
PARTICULARS
INDEED, THIS IS THE CENTRAL FEATURE OF THE BACONIAN METHOD:
TO PROCEED FROM THE PARTICULAR TO THE GENERAL
OR, TO INVOKE BACON'S OWN METAPHOR; ONE MUST FIRST GATHER
THEUNREFINED GRAPES AND THEN PASS THEM THROUGH THE
FIRST VINTAGE BEFORE ARRIVING AT GENERAL AXIOMS
THE GOAL IS TO ASCERTAIN THE ESSENCES OF NATURE, TO ESTABLISH
A COMPLETE SET OF SIMPLE NATURES THAT UNDERLAY THE
OPERATIONS OFNATURE
BACON THINKS THAT IF HE CAN LIST ALL POSSIBLE 'SIMPLE NATURES'
FOR A GIVEN PHENOMENON AND THEN INDUCTIVELY ELIMINATE
ALL BUTONE, HE COULD ACHIEVE CERTAINTY
BACON'S METHOD OF EXCLUSION DEPENDS UPON HIS SO-CALLED
TABLES OF PRESENCE, ABSENCE, AND DEGREES
THE METHOD IS SO STRAIGHTFORWARD AND EFFECTIVE, THAT HE
BELIEVED THAT ANYONE COULD ENGAGE IN GOOD RESEARCH
THE KEY WAS IN THE APPLICATION OF THE METHOD AND NOT THE
TALENT OF THE RESEARCHER
BACON HIMSELF WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THE 'SIMPLE NATURE' OF
HEAT THROUGH THE USE OF HIS TABLES OF PRESENCES AND
ABSENCES
IN THE TABLE OF PRESENCE HE NOTED ALL THE VARIOUS AND
DISSIMILAR INSTANCES OF HEAT: LIKE, RAYS OF THE SUN, FLAME,
BOILING LIQUIDS, ETC.

IN THE TABLE OF ABSENCE, HE ARRANGES INSTANCES THAT ARE

SIMILAR TO THE ITEMS FROM THE TABLE OF PRESENCE IN ALL
RESPECTS EXCEPT HEAT: LIKE RAYS OF THE MONN OR STARS,
PHOSPHORESCENCE, AND COOL LIQUIDS
THIS IS THE METHOD OF EXCLUSION BY NEGATIVE INSTANCES
FINALLY, THERE IS A TABLE OF DEGREES WHERE INSTANCES ARE
RECORDED SHOWING VARIOUS DEGREES OR INTENSITY OF THE
SIMPLE NATURE UNDER INVESTIGATION
IN THIS MANNER BACON WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE SIMPLE
NATURE OF HEAT -- ITS ESSENCE -- WAS MOTION: MOTION IS
ALWAYS PRESENT WHEN THERE IS HEAT, AND THE GREATER THE
DEGREE OF HEAT THE GREATER THE DEGREE OF MOTION
III. BACON'S PLACE IN THE 'NEW SCIENCE'
A. A REVOLUTION IN METHOD?
NOW THIS IS NOT ONLY A NICE EXAMPLE OF BACON'S METHOD, IT
TURNS OUT TO BE THE ONLY ONE HE EVER WORKED OUT
AND IT CONSTITUTES THE SUM TOTAL OF BACON'S CONTRIBUTION TO
WHAT WE HAVE CALLED THE BODY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
THUS HISTORIANS LIKE KOYR AND OTHERS ARE JUSTIFIED IN
CLAIMING THAT BACON HIMSELF WAS NOT A NATURAL
PHILOSOPHER AND DID LITTLE TO ADVANCE SCIENCE
AND OF COURSE, IT IS TRUE THAT HIS METHOD HAS FLAWS AND THAT
SCIENCE REALLY DOES NOT PROCEED IN THE MANNER HE
OUTLINES
BUT TO LEAVE THE INTERPRETATION OF BACON AT THAT AND DISMISS
HIM AS A MINOR FIGURE IS, I THINK, TO MISS THE POINT
FOR KOYR TO CHARACTERIZE BACON IN A SINGLE FOOTNOTE AS A
PROPAGANDIST FOR SCIENCE DOES NOT REALLY DO HIM JUSTICE
THE WORD 'PROPAGANDA' CARRIES WITH IT SEVERAL NEGATIVE
CONNOTATIONS AND IS ASSOCIATED IN OUR MINDS WITH

DISAGREEABLE IDEOLOGIES AND REPRESSIVE POLITICAL

REGIMES
AND CERTAINLY IT IS NOT AN ADMIRABLE THING TO BE INVOLVED ONLY
IN PROPAGANDA AND NOT IN THE REAL WORK OF SCIENCE
BUT OF COURSE THE TERM IS DERIVED FROM THE VERB 'TO
PROPAGATE'
AND, IN BACON'S OWN DAY, IT FORMED THE CENTRAL PART OF THE
TITLE OF THE COMMITTEE OF CARDINALS IN ROME RESPONSIBLE
FOR OVERSEEING THE PREACHING, OR 'PROPAGATION,' OF THE
GOSPEL IN THE FOREIGN MISSIONS
THAT IS, THE "HOLY OFFICE FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH"
OR, MORE SIMPLY, PROPAGANDA
IN THIS SENSE, THEN, PERHAPS WE COULD ACCEPT KOYR'S ILLINTENDED CHARACTERIZATION: BACON SIGNIFICANCE LIES NOT
IN HIS SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES--THAT IS, IN HIS CONTRIBUTIONS
TO THE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE--BUT IN HIS EFFORTS TO
PROPAGATE THE IDEAS, VALUES, AND VISION OF A NEW
IDEOLOGY OF SCIENCE
IN A MANNER QUITE LIKE THAT OF THE CATHOLIC MINISTRY FOR THE
PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH, BACON POSSESSED A VISION OF A
NEW WORLD TO BE EXPLORED AND CONQUERED BY A
DEDICATED GROUP OF PURIFIED MEN
MEN PREPARED TO ESTABLISH A NEW KINGDOM OF GOD THOUGH
THEIR UNFLINCHING TOIL AND LABOR
OF COURSE THE CATHOLIC AND BACONIAN VISIONS DIFFERED
DRAMATICALLY IN CONTENT; BUT THE COMMITMENT TO THE
VISION ANDTHE DESIRE TO REALIZE THEM GAVE BOTH AN
URGENCY AND MEANING SO TYPICAL OF IDEOLOGICAL
MOVEMENTS
THUS, IF WE RECALL THE THREE-PART DIVISION OF THE SCIENTIFC
ENTERPRISE I MENTIONED A FEW WEEKS AGO: NAMELY, THE

BODY, IMAGE, AND IDEOLOGY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE,

BACON'S PROGRAMFOR THE REFORM OF KNOWLEDGE OCCUPIES
A PLACE OF HONOR NOT INTHE FIRST, BUT IN THE THIRD
B. A NEW IDEOLOGY FOR THE STUDY OF NATURE
BACONIANISM AS ORGANIZATIONAL MYTH [FUCHS]
Fuchs, Positivism, pp. 1-23. Followings Fuchs, I use the term myth neither in
the derogatory nor fictive sense. While such negative connotations may be
distracting, the other and more deeply rooted connotations of myth as a
powerful, inclusive, and universal narrative, are what I wish to emphasize. Thus
I understand the phrase origin myth to be the historical analogue of Fuchs idea
of organizational myth--that is, it is both the set of propositions and beliefs that
undergird and help organize modern scientific practice and the historical
narratives that trace the emergence of that organizational myth.
What I mean by this is that these philosophical propositions are often the explicit
objects of historical work as well as the guides to the construction of
historical knowledge. Thus a positivists philosophical realism,
Copernicuss astronomical realism, and the historians historical realism
are cognate, and the stability of the origin myth depends upon such
repeated and cross-linked patterns of historicized self-exemplification.
A great deal of organizational labor is dedicated to the making and remaking of
organizational legends, stories, and heroes. . . . Generally, such mythmaking and hero worshipping are crucial for members efforts at making
sense of their roles in organizations and for creating and maintaining
social and emotional ties between them. These expressive activities
within an organization are not accidental to its instrumental core; rather,
they shape and strengthen members commitment and dedication to the

organization. Myths, stories, and legends provide the cultural glue

holding an organization together, and they are essential in allowing
members to rationalize and explain their positions and goals within the
organization.1
BACON, ALONG WITH GALILEO AND DESCARTES, WAS RESPONSIBLE
FORTHE CREATION OF A NEW IDEOLOGY OF SCIENCE
NOW I HAVE JUST USED THE WORD IDEOLOGY IN CLOSE CONJUCTION
WITH THE WORD SCIENCE; AND THAT YOU MAY FIND
PROBLEMATIC
SO LET ME TRY TO EXPLAIN MORE FULLY WHAT I MEAN BY THE
IDEOLOGY
FIRST OF ALL, WHEN WE THINK OF SCIENCE WE TEND NOT TO THINK
OF IDEOLOGY
FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, WE TEND TO THINK OF IDEOLOGY AS
SOMETHING ONE-SIDED AND EXTREME; WHEREAS SCIENCE IS
CHARACTERIZED BY BALANCE, FAIRNESS, OBJECTIVITY, AND
IMPARTIALITY
IF SOMEONE IS UNDER THE POWER OF AN IDEOLOGY HE OR SHE IS
LIKELY TO DISTORT OR TWIST THE TRUTH--EITHER CONSCIOUSLY
OR UNCONSCIOUSLY
INDEED, IN MARXIST USAGE, IDEOLOGY IMPLIES FALSE
CONSCIOUSNESSAND THE DELIBERATE USE OF IDEAS AS
INSTRUMENTS OF DECEPTION
IN THIS SENSE OF THE WORD, IDEOLOGY IS EITHER A MASK USED TO
HIDE THE TRUTH, OR IT IS A WEAPON EMPLOYED BY THE
INTELLECTUALSOF THE RULING CLASS TO DUPE AND CONTROL
RULED

Fuchs,Positivism,p.8.

THUS, IN THIS MOST CYNICAL USE OF THE TERM, ONE COULD ARGUE
THAT MUCH OF CATHOLIC RELIGION IS LITTLE MORE THAN AN
IDEOLOGYDESIGNED BY THE PRIESTLY CLASS
IT WHICH SERVES THE INTERESTS OF THE RULING ELITE BY CREATING
ILLUSIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS IN ORDER TO MANIPULATE AND
CONTROLTHE MASSES
BUT THIS OF COURSE IS NOT THE ONLY USE OF THE WORD
IF DIVESTED OF ITS PEJORATIVE CONNOTATIONS, THE TERM CAPTURES,
BETTER THAN ANY OTHER WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,
THE PURPOSEFULNESS AND INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF
COLLECTIVE HUMAN ACTIVITY
FOR EXAMPLE, DONALD KELLEY, IN HIS STUDY OF FRENCH
HUGUENOTS,HAS SHOWN HOW THE NOTION OF IDEOLOGY CAN
BE USEFULLY EMPLOYED IN DISCUSSIONS OF RELIGIOUS
MOVEMENTS IN THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
IN HIS MODEL, IDEOLOGY IS NEITHER AN INSTRUMENT OF POWER NOR
A MASK DESIGN TO DECEIVE AND DISTORT
RATHER, IT IS A DISTINCTIVE CONFIGURATION OF IDEAS AND VALUES,
WHICH SERVES TO DIRECT AND COORDINATE THE THOUGHTS
AND ACTIONS OF ITS ADHERENTS
AN IDEOLOGY IN THIS SENSE IS SIMPLY A COHERENT BODY OF VALUES,
IDEALS, BELIEFS, AND GOALS CAPABLE OF EVOKING DEEP
SENTIMENT IN ITS ADHERENTS AND PROPELLING THEM TO
CONCERTED ACTION
IT IS ESSENTIALLY A SOCIAL PHENOMENON AND THUS ALWAYS
ASSOCIATED WITH A COLLECTIVITY
AN IDEOLOGY THEREFORE ASSUMES SOME FORM OF CORPORATE OR
INSTITUTIONAL EMBODIMENT
MOREOVER, AN IDEOLOGY REQUIRES OF ITS ADHERENTS A LIFE OF
ACTION: IT CHANNELS THEIR COLLECTIVE ENERGIES INTO AN

EXPLICIT PROGRAM OF REFORM AND ENJOINS THEM TO WORK

FERVENTLY TOWARDTHE REALIZATION OF CORPORATE GOALS
IF WE THINK OF IDEOLOGY IN THESE TERMS, THEN PERHAPS YOU WILL
FIND THE CONJUNCTION OF SCIENCE AND IDEOLOGY LESS
OFFENSIVE
FOR, AS IN ANY COLLECTIVE ACTIVITY, SCIENCE ALSO REQUIRES A
CERTAIN SET OF VALUES AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES
IT REQUIRES SOME SORT OF SOCIAL GLUE TO HOLD ITS
PRACTITIONERS TOGETHER AND TO KEEP THEM WORKING
TOWARD COMMON GOALS
AND SCIENCE REQUIRES OF ITS ADHERENTS A DEEP SENSE OF
COMMITMENT TO THE VALUES OF THE COMMUNITY
NOW WHAT EXACTLY THESE VALUES, GOALS, AND SOCIAL
STRUCTURES,ARE WILL, I THINK, SLOWLY BECOME EVIDENT
OVER THE COURSE OF THESEMESTER
WE HAVE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPERIMENT
AS A MEANS OF SETTLING DISPUTES AND BUILDING CONSENSUS
WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE ETHOS OF COOPERATION AND THE REWARD
FOR NOVELTY IN A FEW WEEKS
HOWEVER, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT ONE OF BACON'S MOST SIGNIFICANT
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EMERGING "NEW SCIENCE" OF HIS DAY
WAS A NEW IDEOLOGY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
BACON'S PROGRAM FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE
PROVIDEDA GRAND, IF SOMEWHAT SIMPLIFIED, VISION OF A NEW
WORLD; A VISIONCAPABLE OF UNITING THE EFFORTS OF MANY
INDIVIDUALS AND DIRECTING THEIR COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
TOWARD A COMMON GOAL
INDEED, IN MY VIEW, THAT IS THE REAL FUNCTION OF HIS
METHODOLOGY
ALTHOUGH BACON MAY BELIEVED THAT HE WAS DESCRIBE -- OR
PRESCRIBING -- THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OF SCIENCE, I THINK

WHAT HE WASREALLY PROVIDING WAS A SET OF SOCIAL NORMS

FOR A NEW SCIENTIFICMOVEMENT
IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN ONE CLAIMS TO BE ADHERING TO A
PARTICULAR METHODOLOGY -- LIKE BACON'S METHOD OF
INDUCTION --WHAT ONE IS REALLY DOING IS PROCLAIMING
ONE'S ALLEGIANCE TO A PARTICULAR PROGRAM
THAT IS, ONE IS CLAIMING TO BE A MEMBER OF AN IDEOLOGICAL
MOVEMENT
THE 'NEW SCIENCE' OF THE 17TH CENTURY -- THAT IS, THE IDEAS,
PROBLEMS, AND DISCOVERIES OF THE BODY OF SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGE --COULD NOT HAVE ATTRACTED MEN AND WON
THEIR ALLEGIANCE WITHOUT AN IDEOLOGICAL VISION OF THE
SORT BACON PROVIDED
THROUGHOUT THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES, MOST PRACTICING
SCIENTSISTS OPENLY AND PROUDLY PROCLAIMED THAT THEY
WERE ENGAGING IN BACONIAN SCIENCE: THAT IS, TO BE
FOLLOWING THE METHOD OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
OUTLINED BY BACON
IN ALMOST EVERY CASE, --AND THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE OF BACON -THERE IS A STRIKING CONTRAST BETWEEN WHAT NATURAL
PHILOSOPHERSSAY THEY ARE DOING AND WHAT THEY ARE
REALLY DOING
SO WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF CLAIMING TO BE BACONIANS? IT
IDENTIFIES THEM AS BEING MEMBERS OF THE NEW
IDEOLOGICAL MOVEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE 'NEW
SCIENCE': THEY ARE DECLARINGTHEIR MEMBERSHIP IN THE NEW
PROGRAM OF REFORM
HOW THEY ACTUALLY GO ABOUT DOING SCIENCE IS THEIR OWN
BUSINESS AND VARIES LITERALLY FROM INDIVIDUAL TO
INDIVIDUAL

BUT AT LEAST THEY SHARE IN A COMMON VISION OF WHERE THEIR

COMBINED ACTIVITIES ARE TAKING THEM
AND THAT VISION IS ESSENTIALLY BACONIAN
IN ONE OF HIS MANY FORMULATIONS OF HIS VISION OF THE TRUE END
OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, BACON WROTE: IT IS "TO ESTABLISH
AND EXTEND THE POWER AND DOMINION OF THE HUMAN RACE
ITSELF OVER [NATURE]"
THE PURPOSE OF THIS ENDEVOUR IS BEST CAPTURED IN THE KEY
LINES FROM THE 'THE NEW ATLANTIS': - QUOTE - "THE END OF
OUR FOUNDATIONIS THE KNOWLEDGE OF CAUSES, AND THE
SECRET MOTIONS OF THINGS; AND THE ENLARGING OF THE
BONDS OF HUMAN EMPIRE, TO THE EFFECTING OF ALL THINGS
POSSIBLE"
IN THIS SENSE THEN, ALL ADHERENTS OF THE 'NEW SCIENCE' ARE
INDEED FOLLOWERS OF BACON

BACON
AS WILLIAM EAMON HAS NOTED, "THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
EXPERIMENTAL SCIENTIFIC ACADEMIES ... PLAYED A ROLE IN BREAKING
DOWN THE BARRIER OF SECRECY SURROUNDING KNOWLEDGE.
UNDERLYING THEIR FORMATION WAS A PRONOUNCED DEDICATION TO
THE DISCOVERY OF NEW EXPERIMENTAL DATA--AS OPPOSED TO THE
EXPOSITION OF TEXTS ... -- AND A COMMITMENT TO PUBLISHING THE
RESULTS OF RESEARCH" (EAMON 1985, P. 334)
ONE OF THE STRONGEST SPOKEMEN FOR THIS NEW ATTITUDE
TOWARD KNOWLEDGE WAS FRANCIS BACON
HIS PROGRAM FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING REQUIRED THE
OPEN DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEGE

HE WAS VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED TO THE HABITS OF OBSCURE

LANGUAGE AND HIDDEN MEANINGS SO CHARACTERISTIC OF
ALCHEMICAL LITERATURE AND OFTEN CONDEMNED SUCH PRACTICES
RECALL HIS STERN CONDEMNATION OF THE IDOL OF THE MARKET
PLACE; THAT IS, THE TYRRANY OF WORDS THE CONFUSED USAGE OF
WHICH OBSCURE THE REAL MEANING OF THINGS
AND HIS SOLUTION, OR AT LEAST HIS RECOMMENDATION TO AVOID,
THIS PROBLEM WAS TO CONSTRUCT MEANINGS AROUND TERMS
WHICH COULD BE PUBLICALLY VERIFIED THROUGH EXPERIMENT
AND OF COURSE THE KNOWLEDGE THUS GAINED WAS TO BE USED
FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD; IT WAS TO ASSIST IN THE RESTORATION OF
MAN'S FALLEN STATE, AND TO HELP HIM REGAIN THE GARDEN, AS IT
WERE
THUS, IN THE IDEAS OF BACON, WE CAN SEE THE BEGINNINGS OF A
NEW CONSTELLATION OF ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES REGARDING THE
ACQUISITION AND DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE

BACON'S VISION WAS OF A PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE; GAINED THOUGH

SHARED -- OR AT LEAST SHARE-ABLE -- EXPERIENCE; KNOWLEDGE
EXPRESSED IN SIMPLE CLEAR TERMS AND MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, KNOWLEDGE THAT WAS TO BE PUT TO WORK
FOR THE GOOD OF ALL

BACON'S LADDER OF AXIOMS

METAPHYSICS

FORMS
INVARIANT RELATIONS

PHYSICS

CORRELATIONS

'NATURAL HISTORY'

OBSERVATIONS

DESCARTES' PYRAMID

COGITO
EXISTENCE OF GOD
EXISTENCE OF THE WORLD
ALL CLEAR AND DISTINCT IDEAS TRUE
MATTER = EXTENSION, CONSERVATION OF MOTION
PLENUM

RECTILINEAR INERTIA

VORTEX MOTION

FORCE-RESISTANCE RELATION

ALL ACTION BY CONTACT

WORLD OF PHENOMENA

RULES OF IMFACT