Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon

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It has been suggested that

It has been suggested that Idols of the mind  Idols of the mind  be be mergedmerged into this article or section. into this article or section. ((DiscussDiscuss))

for the painter see

for the painter see Francis Bacon (painter)Francis Bacon (painter)

For other persons named Francis Bacon, see

For other persons named Francis Bacon, see Francis Bacon (disambiguation)Francis Bacon (disambiguation).. Western Philosophy

Western Philosophy

Renaissance philosophy

Renaissance philosophy

ir Francis Bacon ir Francis Bacon Name

Name Francis BaconFrancis Bacon Birth

Birth !! Januar"!! Januar"#$%##$%#

Death

Death & 'pril& 'pril#%!%#%!%

School/tradition

School/tradition mpiricismmpiricism

Influences

Influences DemocritusDemocritus,, latolato

Influenced

Influenced DiderotDiderot,, *obbes*obbes,, *ume*ume Francis Bacon, 1st iscount St !l"an

Francis Bacon, 1st iscount St !l"an ( (!! Januar"!! Januar"#$%##$%# + + & 'pril& 'pril#%!%#%!%) as an) as an nglishnglish

 philosopher 

revolution. Indeed, according to John 'ubre", his dedication ma" have brought him into a rare historical group of scientists ho ere -illed b" their on eperiments.

*is or-s established and populari/ed an inductive methodolog" for scientific in0uir", often called the Baconian method or simpl", the scientific method. In the contet of his time such methods ere connected ith the occult trends of hermeticism and

alchem"1citation needed 2_{. 3evertheless, his demand for a planned procedure of investigating all}

things natural mar-ed a ne turn in the rhetorical and theoretical frameor- for science, much of hich still surrounds conceptions of proper methodolog" toda".

Bacon as -nighted in #%45, createdBaron erulam in #%#6, and creatediscount St !l"an in #%!#7 ithout heirs, both peerages became etinct upon his death. *e has been credited as the creator of the nglish essa".1citation needed 2

#ontents

• $ or-s and philosoph"

• % ;n 5 orld<changing inventions • = ;thers

• 6 Bacon and ha-espeare • & >imeline

• #4 ee also • ## 3otes • #! ?eferences

• #5 ternal lin-s

$edit% &arly life

Francis Bacon as born at @or- *ouse, trand, Aondon. *e as the "oungest of five sons of ir 3icholas Bacon, Aord eeper of the Creat eal under li/abeth I. *is mother, 'nn 8oo- , as ir 3icholass second ife. he as a daughter of ir 'nthon" 8oo-e and a member of the ?eformed uritan 8hurch. *is (maternal) aunt married illiam 8ecil (Aord Burghle"), the chief minister of Eueen li/abeth I.

Biographers believe that Bacon received an education at home in his earl" "ears, and that his health during that time, as later, as delicate. *e entered >rinit" 8ollege, 8ambridge, in #$=5 at the age of telve, living for three "ears there ith h is older brother 'nthon".

't 8ambridge he first met the Eueen, ho as impressed b" his precocious intellect, and as accustomed to call him the "oung Aord eeper.

>here also his studies of science brought him to the conclusion that the methods (and thus the results) ere erroneous. *is reverence for 'ristotle conflicted ith his disli-e of

'ristotelian philosoph", hich seemed to him barren, disputatious, and rong in its obGectives.

;n != June #$=%, he and 'nthon" ere entered de societate magistrorum at Cra"s Inn, and a fe months later the" ent abroad ith ir 'mias aulet, the nglish ambassador  at aris. >he disturbed state of government and societ" in France under *enr" III

afforded him valuable political instruction.

>he sudden death of his father in Februar" #$=& necessitated Bacons return to ngland, and seriousl" influenced his fortunes. ir 3icholas had laid up a considerable sum of mone" to purchase an estate for his "oungest son, but he died before doing so, and Francis as left ith onl" a fifth of that mone". *aving started ith insufficient means, he borroed mone" and became habituall" in debt. >o support himself, he too- up his residence in la at Cra"s Inn in #$=&.

$edit% #areer

Bacons goals ere threefold: discover" of truth, service to his countr", and service to the church. noing that a prestigious post ould aid him toard these ends, in #$64 he applied, through his uncle, Aord Burghle", for a post at court hich might enable him to devote himself to a life of learning. *is application failed, and for the net to "ears he or-ed 0uietl" at Cra"s Inn giving himself seriousl" to the stud" of la, until admitted as an outer barrister  in #$6!. In #$69 he too- his seat in parliament for Helcombe in Dorset, and subse0uentl" for >aunton (#$6%). *e rote on the condition of parties in the church, and he rote don his thoughts on philosophical reform in the lost tract,

Temporis Partus Maimus, but he failed to obtain a position of the -ind he thought necessar" for his on success.

In the arliament of #$6% he too- a prominent part in urging the eecution of Har" Eueen of cots. 'bout this time he seems again to have approached his poerful uncle, the result of hich ma" possibl" be traced in his rapid progress at the bar, and in his receiving, in #$6&, the reversion to the 8ler-ship of the tar 8hamber , a valuable appointment, the enGo"ment of hich, hoever, he did not enter into until #%46.

During this period Bacon became ac0uainted ith ?obert Devereu, !nd arl of sse (#$%=+#%4#), Eueen li/abeths favorite. B" #$&# he as acting as the earls confidential adviser. Bacon too- his seat for Hiddlese hen in Februar" #$&5 li/abeth called a arliament to investigate a ?oman 8atholic plot against her. *is opposition to a bill that ould lev" triple subsidies in half the usual time (he obGected to the time span) offended man" people7 he as accused of see-ing popularit", and as for a time ecluded from the court. hen the 'ttorne"<Ceneralship fell vacant in #$&9 and Bacon became a candidate

for the office, Aord sses influence could not secure him the position7 in fashion, Bacon failed to become solicitor in #$&$. >o console him for these disappointments, sse

 presented him ith a propert" at >ic-enham, hich he subse0uentl" sold for #644, the e0uivalent of around !94,444 toda".

Hemorial to Francis Bacon, in the chapel of >rinit" 8ollege, 8ambridge

In #$&% he as made a Eueens 8ounsel, but missed the appointment of Haster of the ?olls. During the net fe "ears, his financial situation remained bad. *is friends could find no public office for him, a scheme for retrieving his position b" a marriage ith the ealth" ido Aad" li/abeth *atton failed, and in #$&6 he as arrested for debt. *is standing in the 0ueens e"es, hoever, as beginning to improve. *e graduall" ac0uired the standing of one of the learned counsel, though he had no commission or arrant and received no salar". *is relationship ith the 0ueen also improved hen he severed ties ith sse, a fortunate move considering that the latter ould be eecuted for treason in #%4#7 and Bacon as one of those appointed to investigate the charges against him, and eamine itnesses, in connection ith hich he shoed eagerness in pressing the case against his former friend and benefactor. >his act Bacon endeavoured to Gustif" in !

 "eclaration of the Practices and Treasons# etc.# of ... the $arl of $sse# etc. *e received a gift of a fine of #!44 on one of sses accomplices.

>he accession of James I brought Bacon into greater favour7 he as -nighted in #%45, and endeavoured to set himself right ith the ne poers b" riting his !pologie (defence) of his proceedings in the case of sse, ho had favoured the succession of James. Bacon as present at the state opening of parliament in #%4$, hich ould have all but certainl" made him a victim of the Cunpoder lot had it succeeded. >he

folloing "ear, during the course of the uneventful first parliament session Bacon

married 'lice Barnham (#$&!+#%$4), the fourteen "ear old daughter of a ell<connected Aondon alderman and H..

In #%46, Bacon entered upon the 8ler-ship of the tar 8hamber , and as in the enGo"ment of a large income7 but old debts and present etravagance -ept him

embarrassed, and he endeavoured to obtain further promotion and ealth b" supporting the -ing in his arbitrar" polic". *oever, Bacons services ere rearded in June #%4= ith the office of olicitor. In #%#4 the famous fourth parliament of James met. Despite Bacons advice to him, James and the 8ommons found themselves fre0uentl" at odds over ro"al prerogatives and the -ings embarrassing etravagance, and the *ouse as dissolved in Februar" #%##. >hrough this Bacon managed in fre0uent debate to uphold

the prerogative, hile retaining the confidence of the 8ommons. In #%#5, Bacon as finall" able to become attorne" general, b" dint of advising the -ing to shuffle Gudicial appointments7 and in this capacit" he ould prosecute omerset in #%#%. >he parliament of 'pril #%#9 obGected to Bacons presence in the seat for 8ambridge  he as alloed to sta", but a la as passed that forbade the attorne"<general to sit in parliament  and to the various ro"al plans hich Bacon had supported. *is obvious influence over the -ing inspired resentment or apprehension in man" of his peers.

Bacon continued to receive the ings favour, and in #%#6 as appointed b" James to the  position of Aord 8hancellor . *is public career ended in disgrace in #%!# hen, after

having fallen into debt, a arliamentar" 8ommittee on the administration of the la charged him ith corruption under tent"<three counts. >o the lords, ho sent a

committee to in0uire hether the confession as reall" his, h e replied, H" lords, it is m" act, m" hand, and m" heart7 I beseech "our lordships to be merciful to a bro-en reed. *e as sentenced to a fine of 94,444, remitted b" the -ing, to be committed to the

>oer of Aondon during the -ings pleasure (his imprisonment in fact lasted onl" a fe da"s). Hore seriousl", Aord t 'lban as declared incapable of holding future office or sitting in parliament. *e narrol" escaped being deprived of his titles. >henceforth the disgraced viscount devoted himself to stud" and riting.

It has been argued b" 3ieves Hathes that Bacon as in fact innocent of the briber" charges7 Bacon himself claimed he as forced to plead guilt" so as to save ing James from a political scandal, stating:

I as the Gustest Gudge, that as in ngland these last fift" "ears. hen the boo- of all hearts is opened, I trust I shall not be found to have the troubled fountain of a corrupt heart. I -no I have clean hands and a clean heart. I am as innocent of bribes as an" born on t Innocents Da".

?eports of increasing friction in his marriage to 'lice Barnham appeared, ith

speculation that some of this ma" have also been due to financial resources not being as readil" available to 'lice as she as accustomed to having in the past. 'lice as

reportedl" interested in fame and fortune, and hen reserves of mone" ere no longer available, there ere complaints about here all the mone" as going.1#2_Francis

disinherited her upon discovering her secret romantic relationship ith John Knderhill. *e rerote his ill, hich had previousl" been ver" generous to her (leaving her lands, goods, and income), to revo-e it all.

$edit% Se'uality

everal contemporar" commentators discussed Bacons love life, addressing principall" his alleged relationships ith other males. ;f relationships ith omen onl" one is -non: his late marriage to his ife, a marriage considered to be emotionall" distant. John 'ubre", in his Brief Aives, notithstanding his generall" favorable attitude toards the philosopher, asserts he as a pederast and had ganimeds and favourites.

In #%#& the ire of the church itself as aroused b" Bacons doings: a minister of the time  preached a public sermon in hich he inveighed against the scandal caused b" Bacons

catamites, as recorded in a published transcript.

imonds des mentions Bacons habits in his !uto%iograph&. In the entr" for Ha" 5rd, #%!# he rites: His most a%omina%le and darling sinne I should rather %urie in silence# than mencion it# and then proceeds to mention it, &et would he not relinquish the practice of his most horri%le ' secret sinne of sodomie# keeping still one (odrick# a verie

effeminate faced &outh# to %ee his catamite and %edfellow. >his practice he deems not a rare indulgence: his unnaturall crime# which hee had practiced manie &eares# deserting the %edd of his )adie# which hee accounted# as the Italians and the Turkes doe# a poore ' meane pleasure in respect of the other. 'ccording to des, this behavior as -non to a number of other contemporaries, leading to calls for his being brought to trial: ' it was thought %& some# that hee should have %een tried at the %arre of *ustice for it# ' have  satisfied the law most severe against that horri%le villanie with the price of his %loud+ which caused some %old and forward man to write these verses following in a whole  sheete of paper# ' to cast it down in some part of ,orkehouse in the strand# wheere

-iscount t. !l%an &et la&/

Within this sty a *hogg doth ly, That must be hang'd for Sodomy .

01alluding %oth to his sirname of Bacon# ' to that swinish a%omina%le sinne.2 Bacons homoseual relationships, according to contemporar" descriptions, appear to have been primaril" ith his household servants. 'mong these is one *enr" erc", ho as be0ueathed the large sum of #44 and for hom he rote a letter to the ecretar" of tate recommending the man to his HaGest"s service, one of the ver" last letters he rote. >his is thought to be the same erc" of hom Bacons mother rote, iratel", that %lood& Perc& ho as -ept &ea as a coach companion and a %ed companion.

Based on this evidence, several modern authors, such as historians '. A. ?ose,1!2_?ictor

 3orton,152 _{and rofessor of nglish and 8omparative Aiterature 'lan teart,}192 _conclude

that he did indeed have homoseual inclinations.

 3ieves Hathes,1$2 _{claims that the sources are not conclusive. he dismisses des as an}

enem". *oever he is regarded as a responsible and scrupulous la"er. John 'ubre" she discounts for having ritten his biograph" after Bacons death. >he note b" 'nn Bacon in hich she epressed disapproval of the friends Francis (and his brother

'nthon", ho as himself a pederast ho as tried for his relationship ith a page and narrol" escaped punishment at the hands of the French legal s"stem) ere associating ith, Hathes blames not on criticism of her sons amorous habits but because one as a apist, and mone" as oned to her sons. *oever, coaches ere one of the fe  private spaces at the time, thus the term coach companion is a clear reference to seual

doings.1%2 hile contesting Bacon7s identification as a homoseual, Hathes provides no evidence to support her theor" of Bacons heteroseualit".

$edit% Death

Honument to Bacon at his burial place, t Hichaels 8hurch in t 'lbans

In Harch #%!%, Aord t 'lban came to Aondon. 8ontinuing his scientific research, he as Gourne"ing to *ighgate through the sno ith the ings ph"sician hen, as John 'ubre" recounts in Brief )ives, he as suddenl" inspired b" the possibilit" of using the sno to preserve meat. 'ccording to 'ubre" >he" ere resolved the" ould tr" the eperiment presentl". >he" alighted out of the coach and ent into a poor omans house at the bottom of *ighgate hill, and bought a fol, and made the oman eenterate it. 'fter stuffing the fol ith sno, he happened to contract a fatal case of  pneumonia. *e then attempted to etend his fading lifespan b" consuming the fol that had caused his illness. ome people, including 'ubre", consider these to contiguous, possibl"

coincidental events as related and causative of his death: >he no so chilled him that he immediatel" fell so etremel" ill, that he could not return to his Aodging ...but ent to the arle of 'rundels house at *ighgate, here the" put him into ... a damp bed that had not been la"n<in ... hich gave him such a cold that in ! or 5 da"s as I remember Hr *obbes told me, he died of uffocation. *e died at Aord 'rundels home1=2 _{in *ighgate}

on & 'pril #%!%, leaving assets of about =,444 and debts to the amount of !!,444.

$edit% Works and philosophy

Bacons or-s include his $ssa&s, as ell as the 3olours of (ood and $vil  and the

 Meditationes acrae, all published in #$&=. *is famous aphorism, -noledge is poer , is found in the Meditations. *e published The Proficience and !dvancement of )earning  in #%4$. Bacon also rote In felicem memoriam $li4a%ethae, a eulog" for the 0ueen ritten in #%4&7 and various philosophical or-s hich constitute the fragmentar" and incomplete Instauratio magna, the most important part of hich is the 5ovum 6rganum (published #%!4). Bacon also rote the !strologia ana and epressed his belief that stars had ph"sical effects on the planet. *e is also -non for The 5ew !tlantis, a utopian novel he rote in #%!%.

Bacon did not propose an actual philosoph", but rather a method of developing

 philosoph"7 he rote that, hilst philosoph" at the time used the deductive s"llogism to interpret nature, the philosopher should instead proceed through inductive reasoning from fact to aiom to la. Before beginning this induction, the in0uirer is to free his mind from certain false notions or tendencies hich distort the truth. >hese are called Idols162

(idola), and are of four -inds: Idols of the >ribe (idola tri%us), hich are common to the race7 Idols of the Den (idola specus), hich are peculiar to the individual7 Idols of the Har-etplace (idola fori), coming from the misuse of language7 and Idols of the >heatre (idola theatri), hich result from an abuse of authorit". >he end of induction is the discover" of forms, the a"s in hich natural phenomena occur, the causes from hich the" proceed.

Bacons somehat fragmentar" ethical s"stem, derived through use of his methods, is eplicated in the seventh and eighth boo-s of his "e augmentis scientiarum (#%!5). *e distinguishes beteen dut" to the communit", an ethical matter, and dut" to Cod, a purel" religious matter. 'n" moral action is the action of the human ill, hich is governed b" reason and spurred on b" the passions7 habit is hat aids men in directing their ill

toard the good. 3o universal rules can be made, as both situations and mens characters differ.

Bacon distinctl" separated religion and philosoph", though the to can coeist. here  philosoph" is based on reason, faith is based on revelation, and therefore irrational  in  "e augmentis he rites that the more discordant, therefore, and incredible, the divine

m"ster" is, the more honour is shon to Cod in believing it, and the nobler is the victor" of faith. 'nd "et he rites in >he ssa"s: ;f 'theism that a little philosoph"

inclineth manLs mind to atheism7 but depth in philosoph" bringeth menLs minds about to religion, suggesting he continued to emplo" inductive reasoning in all areas of his life, including his on spiritual beliefs.

Bacon contrasted the ne approach, of the development of science, ith that of the

Hiddle 'ges. *e once said, to top it all off:  Men have sought to make a world from their  own conception and to draw from their own minds all the material which the& emplo&ed# %ut if# instead of doing so# the& had consulted eperience and o%servation# the& would have the facts and not opinions to reason a%out# and might have ultimatel& arrived at the knowledge of the laws which govern the material world.

$edit% (n ) *orld+chanin in-entions

In Bacons or- 5ovum 6rganum, he cites three orld<changing inventions:

rinting, gunpoder and the compass: >hese three have changed the hole face and state of things throughout the orld7 the first in literature, the second in arfare, the third in navigation7 hence have folloed innumerable changes, in so much that no empire, no sect, no star seems to have eerted greater poer and influence in human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.1&2

$edit% (thers

Bacons ideas about the improvement of the human lot ere influential in the #%54s and #%$4s among a number of arliamentarian scholars. During the ?estoration, Bacon as

commonl" invo-ed as a guiding spirit of the ne<founded ?o"al ociet". In the nineteenth centur" his emphasis on induction as revived and developed b" illiam heell, among others.

Bacon as ran-ed M&4 on Hichael *. *arts list of the most influential figures in histor".

$edit% Bacon and Shakespeare

>he so<called ha-espearean authorship 0uestion, hich ascribes the famous pla"s to various contemporaries instead of ha-espeare, has produced a large number of

candidates, of hom Bacon is one of the most popular. 'n #666 to<volume boo-, >he Creat 8r"ptogram, b" 'merican Gournalist and adventurer Ignatius Donnel", had much to do ith this. Donnel" developed comple numerical schemes for or-ing out hidden messages ithin the pla"s, but his methods ere so fleible that one could literall" use them to obtain an" desired tet.1%2 Donnel" himself used them to discover that Bacon had ritten not onl" ha-espeare, but Hontaigne and Harloe as ell.1=2 'fter Donnel" the Baconian theor" became etremel" popular and gave birth to man" further studies of Bacons cipher. dard 8lar-s late #&th centur" >he >ale of the ha-spere pitaph b" Francis Bacon referred to an inscription on a bust of ha-espeare hich he asserted concealed the sentence, F?' B' ?> '? '@, an abbreviation of Francis Bacon rote ha-espeares pla"s. 'nother author,Francis 8arr, has suggested that Bacon rote not onl" ha-espeares pla"s but Don Euiote as ell,162 hile Dr ;rville ;en, in his monumantal ($ volumes) Francis Bacons 8ipher tor" (#6&5<&$), recounted his

success in using a special machine to prove Bacon the true author of ha-espeare and the son of the arl of Aeicester and li/abeth I. ven Har- >ain as a Baconian arguing vigorousl" for Bacon and ridiculing the tratfordolators and the ha-espearoids in Is ha-espeare DeadN (3e @or-: *arper and Brothers, #&4&).1&2