Francis Bacon was an intellectual of the 16th and 17th centuries, who trained as a philosopher, writer, politician and lawyer. English in 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 her most relevant works and contributions to the field of science and philosophy.

Biography of Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an English philosopher, speaker, lawyer, writer, and politician. He is considered one of the most influential English thinkers, a pioneer of science, and the father of philosophical and scientific empiricism .

He also made great contributions to three outstanding fields: literature, politics and philosophy. Let’s look at the most important points of his biography.

Its origins

Francis Bacon was born in London, England, on January 22, 1561. His parents were Nicholas Bacon and Anne Cooke Bacon, two well-known figures of the time. Sir Nicholas Bacon was a high magistrate in the government of Queen Elizabeth I, and Anne Cooke Bacon was a highly educated and learned woman who made great contributions to English religious literature.

The education Bacon received was quite puritanical , and it was mainly his mother who instilled these values in him, during his first years of life.

Trajectory

Francis Bacon began his studies at the University of Cambridge, where he stood out intellectually , which made Queen Elizabeth I pay attention to 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.

In 1576, he was at Gray’s Inn, where he entered to study law, although he stayed 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 wear the seal of the Crown, after his father died. In fact, Bacon was the first Baron Verulam, the first Viscount of Saint Albans and the Chancellor of England (the latter is a high political office).

In addition, he was appointed I Lord of the Private Seal and extraordinary advisor of the kingdom by Elizabeth I, and she chose him for the House of Commons. These are all titles of the British royalty and the political arena. On the other hand, thanks to his many contributions, Francis Bacon was decorated with the title of Knight of King James.

Philosophy and Science

At that time, science was very much based on philosophy, especially on the ideas of Aristotle and ancient Greece. Francis Bacon was especially interested in Aristotelian ideas , and that is why he started to study scientific principles based on this philosopher (specifically, on his methodology).

What was the Aristotelian methodology based on? On the fact that scientific truth would be found if various men with intelligence met to debate and discuss a particular subject, over a considerable period of time, in order to reach consensus based on what was observed .

However, with experience, Bacon would end up questioning such methodology, and focus on finding real evidence to prove “scientific truth”.

Contributions

Francis Bacon investigated how to reformulate the techniques of scientific study , because he 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 research should be based on discovering its nature and associated phenomena.

One of the most interesting contributions of Francis Bacon is that of the inductive (empirical) method in psychology (and in other sciences); this constitutes an instrument to analyze the experience, based on the collection of particular cases of the phenomenon investigated or observed, to later induce a series of conclusions, by means of analogies of the common characteristics of the objects observed. In other words, it is based on observing what characteristics or properties the phenomena under study share.

His main works

Some of Francis Bacon’s most outstanding works are:

Essays (1597)
The advance of knowledge (1605)
Indications concerning the interpretation of nature (1620) (Novum Organum)

Novum Organum

Special mention should be made of one of the most important works by Francis Bacon: Novum Organum (“Indications concerning the interpretation of nature”), created in 1620. In these writings, Bacon argues that science is the most suitable method for man to gain control over nature .

The aim of the work was to refute Aristotelian ideas, specifically some of the philosopher’s works, such as Organon . The Aristotelian ideas are opposed to those of the theoretical-scientific procedure defended by Francis Bacon in this work.

As a positive effect of this work, it should be noted that Novum Organum 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 it was snowing in a storm, he thought that the snow would preserve the meat, as salt does. So when he left his house, while waiting for the chicken to freeze, he caught pneumonia and finally died.

Bibliographic references:

  • Bacon, F. (1620). Novum Organum. First Edition. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers.
  • Hearnshaw, L.S. (1985). Francis Bacon Precursor of Scientific Psychology. Journal of the History of Psychology, 6(1): 5-14.
  • Ruiza, M., Fernández, T. and Tamaro, E. (2004). Biography of Francis Bacon. In Biografías y Vidas. The online biographical encyclopedia. Barcelona (Spain).