Knowledge is power.
—Francis Bacon
A key figure in the history of science and logic, Francis Bacon (1561–1626) turned his full attention to philosophy only after his political career ended in disgrace at age sixty. In the few works he managed to complete before his death, Bacon is credited with laying the groundwork for the scientific method and the English philosophical school of empiricism.
Bacon was born into a politically powerful family in London, educated at Cambridge, and elected to Parliament at age twenty. He was elevated to the position of Keeper of Great Seal in 1617. A year later, he was named lord chancellor, England’s most important judicial post.
In 1621, however, Bacon’s career collapsed after he admitted to accepting bribes from litigants in his cases. He was fined, stripped of his office, and imprisoned in the Tower of London, the city’s infamous prison for high-profile criminals. Barred from public office after his release from prison, Bacon devoted the rest of his life to writing and scientific experiments, which he had pursued on the side for years before his public humiliation.
In Bacon’s writing, he sought to draw a distinction between philosophy, which he believed should be based on reason, and theology, which was based on revelation. He also wrote on logic, astronomy, and mathematics. One of his most famous arguments was against deductive reasoning—favored by Western intellectuals since Aristotle (384–322 BC)—in favor of inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning involves the use of syllogisms to derive particular facts. For instance, if George Washington was a man and men have arms, then George Washington had arms.
Inductive reasoning, however, uses observed facts to derive general principles. For instance, ice is cold in every observed case; therefore, we can safely say that all ice is cold, even without testing every last ice cube. This form of logic, although it has been criticized, is a guiding principle of modern empirical science.
One of Bacon’s own scientific goals was to discover the nature of heat and cold. Unfortunately for him, this quest led to his death; he succumbed to bronchitis after an experiment that involved stuffing a chicken carcass full of snow. He was sixty-five.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- Despite a lack of evidence, Bacon has long been suspected of being the actual author of the plays of William Shakespeare (1564–1616). The two men both lived in London at the same time, and supporters of the hypothesis claim to have found numerous clues in the plays pointing to Bacon’s authorship.
- Bacon was knighted in 1603, made a baron in 1618, and created a viscount in 1621. At the time of his death, his official title was First Viscount Saint Alban.
- Although sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for bribery, Bacon actually spent only four days in the Tower before he was released by King James I (1566–1625).
