Francis Bacon: Summary Biography Of This Thinker And Researcher
Francis Bacon was an intellectual of the 16th and 17th centuries, who trained as a philosopher, writer, politician and lawyer. English by origin, he is considered the father of philosophical and scientific empiricism, and is remembered for great works such as Novum Organum.
In this article we will see a brief biography of Francias Bacon as well as some of his most relevant works and contributions to the field of science and philosophy.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an English philosopher, orator, lawyer, writer and politician. He is considered one of the most influential English thinkers, pioneer of science, and the father of philosophical and scientific empiricism
In addition, he made great contributions to three prominent fields: literature, politics and philosophy. Let’s see the most important points of his biography.
His origins
Francis Bacon was born in London (England), on January 22, 1561. His parents were Nicholas Bacon and Anne Cooke Bacon, two renowned figures of the time. Sir Nicholas Bacon was a high magistrate in the government of Queen Elizabeth I, and Anne Cooke Bacon was a very learned and cultured scholar, who made great contributions to English religious literature.
Bacon’s education was quite puritanical and it was above all his mother who instilled these values in him during his first years of life.
Trajectory
Francis Bacon He began his studies at the University of Cambridge, where he stood out intellectually which made Queen Elizabeth I notice him.
He also studied at the Gray’s Inn bar in London, which was very prestigious. There, he became a member of the British Parliament in 1584.
He stayed at Gray’s Inn in 1576, where he entered to study law, although he stayed only a few months because he went to France as a member of a diplomatic mission. Thus, Bacon also lived for some time in Paris (France), and was part of the English embassy.
His political career and titles
On a more political level, Bacon received a knighthood and earned the right to bear the seal of the Crown, after his father died. In fact, Bacon was the first Baron Verulam, the first Viscount Saint Albans and the Chancellor of England (the latter is a high-ranking political position).
In addition, he was named I Lord of the Privy Seal and extraordinary counselor of the kingdom by Elizabeth I, and she chose him for the House of Commons. All of them are titles of British royalty and politics. On the other hand, thanks to his numerous contributions, Francis Bacon was awarded the title of Knight of King James.
Philosophy and science
At that time, science was based a lot on philosophy, especially on the ideas of Aristotle and Ancient Greece. Francis Bacon was especially interested in Aristotelian ideas and that is why he began to study scientific principles based on this philosopher (specifically, on his methodology).
What was the Aristotelian methodology based on? In which scientific truth would be found if various intelligent men met to debate and discuss a specific topic, for a considerable period of time, to reach consensus based on what has been observed
However, with experience, Bacon would end up questioning this methodology, and would focus on finding real evidence that demonstrated the “scientific truth.”
Contributions
Francis Bacon investigated how to reformulate the techniques of scientific study because I saw errors in them.
According to Bacon, knowledge is based on the senses (it is born from them); On the other hand, this author considers that the objective of the research should be based on discovering its nature and its associated phenomena.
One of the most interesting contributions of Francis Bacon is that of the inductive (empirical) method in psychology (and other sciences); This constitutes an instrument to analyze experience, based on the compilation of particular cases of the investigated or observed phenomenon, to subsequently induce a series of conclusions, through analogies of the common characteristics of the observed objects. That is, it is based on observing what characteristics or properties the study phenomena share.
His main works
Some of the most notable works of Francis Bacon are:
Essays (1597) The advancement of knowledge (1605) Indications relating to the interpretation of nature (1620) (Novum Organum)
Novum Organum
A special mention should be made of one of Francis Bacon’s most important works: Novum Organum (“Indications Relating to the Interpretation of Nature”), created in 1620. In these writings, Bacon defends that Science is the most appropriate method for man to gain control over nature
The objective of the work was to refute Aristotelian ideas, specifically some of the philosopher’s works, such as Organon. Aristotelian ideas are opposed to those of the theoretical-scientific procedure that Francis Bacon defends in this work.
As a positive effect of this work, it is worth noting that Novum Organum He encouraged precise observation and experimentation in science.
Death
Francis Bacon died in the same city where he was born, London, on April 9, 1626, as a result of pneumonia.
His death was quite curious; He probably caught pneumonia while stuffing a chicken with snow, since as it was snowing in a storm, he thought the snow would preserve the meat, like salt does. Thus, upon leaving his house, while waiting for the chicken to freeze, he caught pneumonia and finally died.
