Bacon Francis. Francis Bacon: biography, philosophical doctrine Monument to Francis Bacon in the US Library of Congress

Francis Bacon writes about the instruments of rhetoric and cites as an example the 47 antitheses he collected: commonplaces, already thought out and worked out in advance, that could be used as arguments both “for” and “against”, for example, arguments in defense of the letter of the law and arguments in defense of the spirit of the law, etc. We would like to expand the scope of their applications to other areas and use these commonplaces not only in legal practice, but also in all kinds of arguments and disputes. In general, we want all common places that are especially often used (both to prove or refute, and to convince the truth or falsity of an opinion, and to praise or blame something), were thought out in advance and were at our disposal. and so that we, with all the strength of our mind, even somewhat dishonestly and contrary to the truth, try to defend or refute these theses. We believe that for the best use of such a collection (and so that its volume is not too large) it will be best if all these commonplaces are expressed in short and sharp maxims, like a kind of ball from which you can pull a thread. any length depending on the requirements of the circumstances. This kind of work was done by Seneca, but only in relation to hypotheses or individual cases. Having a large number of such common places, we decided to give some of them here as an example. We call them "antitheses of things". EXAMPLES OF ANTITHESIS I. Nobility For Those who are born with valor are not so much unwilling as they cannot be bad. Nobility is a laurel wreath with which time crowns people. Even in dead monuments we respect antiquity; how much more should we respect her alive? If we despise the nobility of families, then what will finally be the difference between the human race and animals? Nobility frees valor from envy and makes it an object of gratitude. Against Nobility is rarely the result of prowess; valor is the result of nobility even less often. The nobility refers to their ancestors more often in order to gain forgiveness for their mistakes in their name than to occupy an honorable position with their support. The energy of ordinary people is usually so great that in comparison with them the nobles seem like mannequins. Nobles look back too often while running, which is a sign of a bad runner." […] XXV. Knowledge, contemplation For only that pleasure is natural, which does not know satiety. There is nothing sweeter than seeing clearly the delusions of others. How good it is to have a mind in tune with the universe. All bad feelings are false ideas, and in the same way, goodness and truth are essentially one and the same. Against Contemplation is decent idleness. A good thought is not much better than a good dream. The deity takes care of the world, but you think about your homeland! The statesman also uses his thoughts for sowing. XXVI. Science Beyond If books were written about everything, including the smallest facts, there would probably be no need for experience anymore. Reading is talking with wise men, action is meeting fools. Those sciences should not be considered useless, which in themselves have no practical application, but contribute to the development of sharpness and orderliness of thought. Against Universities are taught to believe. What science has ever taught how to apply science in a timely manner? Wisdom based on rules and wisdom gained by experience are completely opposite to each other, so that a person who has one of them is not able to learn the other. Very often, science brings very dubious benefits, to say nothing. Almost all scientists are distinguished by the fact that from any fact they always deduce only what they know, and do not know how to discover in it what they do not know. […] XL. Innovations For Every treatment is an innovation. He who avoids new medicines must wait for new misfortunes. The greatest innovator is time; so why should we not imitate time? Examples from the distant past are meaningless; modern ones testify to ambition and depravity. Let the ignorant and quarrelsome be guided by examples. Those to whom families owe their nobility are almost always more worthy men than their descendants; in the same way, innovators usually outperform those who imitate what they have done. A stubborn desire to preserve old customs is no less dangerous than bold reforms. Since everything in the world itself is changing for the worse, then if we do not change it for the better with the power of our mind, where will there be a limit to misfortunes? Slaves of custom are toys in the hands of time. Against Newborns are ugly. Only time creates real value. Everything new is never harmless, because it destroys what already exists. What has become customary, if not entirely good, is at least adapted one to the other. What innovator can imitate time, which makes all changes so imperceptibly that our senses cannot detect how they occur? What happens unexpectedly is not so pleasant for the one who benefits from it, and much more painful for the one who is harmed by it.

2.1 Materialist empiricism

2.1.1 Bacon Francis (1561-1626).

Bacon's main work is The New Organon (1620). This name shows that Bacon consciously opposed his understanding of science and its method to the understanding on which Aristotle's Organon (a set of logical works) relied. Another important work of Bacon was the utopia "New Atlantis".

Bacon Francis - English philosopher, founder of English materialism. In the treatise "New Organon" he proclaimed the goal of science to increase the power of man over nature, proposed a reform of the scientific method - the purification of the mind from delusions ("idols" or "ghosts"), turning to experience and processing it through induction, the basis of which is experiment. In 1605, the work On the Dignity and Multiplication of the Sciences was published, which is the first part of Bacon's grandiose plan - the Great Restoration of the Sciences, which included 6 stages. The last years of his life he was engaged in scientific experiments and died in 1626, having caught a cold after the experiment. Bacon was fascinated by projects for the transformation of science, he was the first to come closer to understanding science as social institution. He shared the theory of dual truth, delimiting the functions of science and religion. Bacon's winged sayings about science have been repeatedly chosen by famous philosophers and scientists as epigraphs for their works. Bacon's work is characterized by a certain approach to the method of human cognition and thinking. Feelings are the starting point of any cognitive activity. Therefore, Bacon is often called the founder of empiricism - a direction that builds its epistemological premises mainly on sensory knowledge and experience. The basic principle of this philosophical orientation in the field of the theory of knowledge is: "There is nothing in the mind that has not previously passed through the senses."

Baconian classification of sciences, representing an alternative to Aristotle, has long been recognized as fundamental by many European scientists. Bacon put such abilities of the human soul as memory, imagination (fantasy), and reason as the basis for the classification. Accordingly, the main sciences, according to Bacon, should be history, poetry, philosophy. The division of all sciences into historical, poetic and philosophical is determined by Bacon by a psychological criterion. Thus, history is knowledge based on memory; it is divided into natural history, which describes the phenomena of nature (including miracles and all kinds of deviations), and civil history. Poetry is based on imagination. Philosophy is based on reason. It is divided into natural philosophy, divine philosophy (natural theology), and human philosophy (the study of morality and social phenomena). In natural philosophy, Bacon singles out the theoretical (study of causes, with preference given to material and effective causes over formal and purposive), and practical ("natural magic") parts. As a natural philosopher, Bacon sympathized with the atomistic tradition of the ancient Greeks, but did not fully subscribe to it. Considering that the elimination of errors and prejudices is the starting point of correct philosophizing, Bacon was critical of scholasticism. He saw the main drawback of Aristotelian-scholastic logic in the fact that it passes by the problem of the formation of concepts that make up the premises of syllogistic inferences. Bacon also criticized Renaissance humanistic scholarship, which bowed to ancient authorities and replaced philosophy with rhetoric and philology. Finally, Bacon fought against the so-called "fantastic learning", based not on reliable experience, but on unverifiable stories about miracles, hermits, martyrs, etc.

The doctrine of the so-called "idols", distorting our knowledge is the basis of the critical part of Bacon's philosophy. The condition of the reform of science must also be the purification of the mind from delusions. Bacon distinguishes four types of errors or obstacles in the way of knowledge. - four kinds of "idols" (false images) or ghosts. These are "idols of the clan", "idols of the cave", "idols of the square" and "idols of the theater".

At the heart of the innate "idols of the family" are subjective evidence of the senses and all kinds of delusions of the mind (empty abstraction, the search for goals in nature, etc.) "Idols of the family" are obstacles caused by nature common to all people. Man judges nature by analogy with his own properties. From this arises a teleological conception of nature, errors arising from the imperfection of human feelings under the influence of various desires and inclinations. Delusions are caused by inaccurate sensory evidence or logical fallacies.

"Idols of the cave", due to the dependence of knowledge on individual characteristics, physical and mental properties, as well as the limitations personal experience of people. "Idols of the cave" - ​​errors that are not inherent in the entire human race, but only in some groups of people (as if sitting in a cave) due to subjective preferences, sympathies, antipathies of scientists: some see differences between objects more, others see their similarities; some tend to believe in the infallible authority of antiquity, others, on the contrary, prefer only the new.

"Idols of the market, or squares" have social origins. Bacon urges not to exaggerate the role of words to the detriment of the facts and the concepts behind the words. "Idols of the Square" - obstacles that arise as a result of communication between people through words. In many cases, the meanings of words were established not on the basis of knowledge of the essence of the subject; but on the basis of a completely random impression of this subject. Bacon argues against the delusions caused by the use of meaningless words (as happens in the market).

Bacon proposes to eradicate the "idols of the theater", which are based on uncritical adherence to authorities. "Idols of the theater" - obstacles generated in science by uncritically assimilated, false opinions. "Idols of the theater" are not innate in our mind, they arise as a result of the subordination of the mind to erroneous views. False views, rooted in faith in the old authorities, appear before the mental eye of people like theatrical performances.

Bacon considered it necessary to create a correct method, with the help of which it would be possible to gradually ascend from single facts to broad generalizations. In ancient times, all discoveries were made only spontaneously, while the correct method should be based on experiments (purposefully set experiments), which should be systematized in "natural history". In general, induction appears in Bacon not only as one of the types of logical conclusion, but also as the logic of scientific discovery, the methodology for developing concepts based on experience. Bacon understood his methodology as a certain combination of empiricism and rationalism, likening it to the mode of action of a bee processing the collected nectar, in contrast to an ant (flat empiricism) or a spider (scholasticism divorced from experience). Thus Bacon distinguished three main ways of learning:1) "the way of the spider" - the derivation of truths from pure consciousness. This path was the main one in scholasticism, which he subjected to sharp criticism. Dogmatic scientists, neglecting empirical knowledge, weave a web of abstract reasoning. 2) "the way of the ant" - narrow empiricism, the collection of disparate facts without their conceptual generalization; 3) "the path of the bee" - a combination of the first two paths, a combination of the abilities of experience and reason, i.e. sensual and rational. A scientist, like a bee, collects juices - experimental data and, theoretically processing them, creates the honey of science. Advocating for this combination, Bacon, however, gives priority to empirical knowledge. Bacon distinguished between fruitful experiments, that is, immediately bringing certain results, their goal is to bring direct benefit to a person, and luminous experiments, the practical benefit of which is not immediately noticeable, but which ultimately give the maximum result, their goal is not immediate benefit, but knowledge of the laws of phenomena. and properties of things. .

So, F. Bacon, the founder of materialism and experimental science of his time, believed that the sciences that study knowledge, thinking are the key to all the others, because they contain "mental tools" that give instructions to the mind or warn it from delusions ("idols"). ).

Highertask of knowledgeAndallSciences, according to Bacon, - domination over nature and improvement of human life. According to the head of the "House of Solomon" (a kind of research center of the Academy, the idea of ​​which was put forward by Bacon in the utopian novel "The New Atlantis"), "the goal of society is the knowledge of the causes and hidden forces of all things, the expansion of man's power over nature, until everything becomes possible for him." Scientific research should not be limited to thoughts of its immediate utility. Knowledge is power, but it can become real power only if it is based on finding out the true causes of phenomena occurring in nature. Only that science is capable of conquering nature and dominating over it, which itself "obeys" nature, that is, is guided by the knowledge of its laws.

Technocratic School. The "New Atlantis" (1623-24) tells about the mysterious country of Bensalem, which is led by the "House of Solomon", or "Society for the knowledge of the true nature of all things", uniting the main sages of the country. Bacon's utopia differs from communist and socialist utopias by its pronounced technocratic character: the cult of scientific and technical inventions reigns on the island, which are the main reason for the prosperity of the population. The Atlanteans have an aggressive and entrepreneurial spirit, and the clandestine export of information about achievements and secrets from other countries is encouraged. "New Atlantis" remained unfinished. .

Theory of induction: Bacon developed his empirical method of cognition, which is his induction - a true tool for studying the laws ("forms") of natural phenomena, which, in his opinion, make it possible to make the mind adequate to natural things.

Concepts are usually obtained through too hasty and insufficiently substantiated generalizations. Therefore, the first condition for the reform of science, the progress of knowledge, is the improvement of the methods of generalization, the formation of concepts. Since the process of generalization is induction, the logical basis for the reform of science must be a new theory of induction.

Before Bacon, philosophers who wrote about induction focused their understanding mainly on those cases or facts that confirm propositions or generalizable propositions. Bacon stressed the importance of those cases that refute the generalization, contradict it. These are the so-called negative instances. Even a single such case can completely or partially refute a hasty generalization. According to Bacon, neglect of negative instances is the main cause of errors, superstitions and prejudices.

Bacon exposes a new logic: “My logic differs essentially from traditional logic in three things: its very purpose, the method of proof, and where it begins its research. The purpose of my science is not the invention of arguments, but various arts; not things that agree with the principles but the principles themselves; not some plausible relations and arrangements, but a direct representation and description of bodies. As you can see, he subordinates his logic to the same goal as philosophy.

Bacon considers induction to be the main working method of his logic. In this he sees a guarantee against shortcomings not only in logic, but in all knowledge in general. He characterizes it as follows: "Under induction I understand the form of proof, which looks closely at feelings, strives to comprehend the natural character of things, strives for deeds and almost merges with them." Bacon, however, dwells on the present state of development and the present way of using the inductive approach. He rejects the induction which, he says, is carried out by mere enumeration. Such an induction "leads to an indeterminate conclusion, it is subject to the dangers that threaten it from opposite cases, if it pays attention only to what it is accustomed to, and does not come to any conclusion." Therefore, he emphasizes the need for a revision, or more precisely, the development of an inductive method. The first condition for the progress of knowledge is the improvement of methods of generalization. The process of generalization is induction. Induction proceeds from sensations, individual facts, and rises step by step, without jumps, to general propositions. The main task is to create a new method of cognition. Essence: 1) observation of facts; 2) their systematization and classification; 3) cutting off unnecessary facts; 4) decomposition of the phenomenon into its component parts; 5) verification of facts by experience; 6) generalization.

Bacon is one of the first who consciously began to develop scientific method based on observation and understanding of nature. Knowledge becomes power if it is based on the study of natural phenomena and is guided by the knowledge of its laws. The subject of philosophy should be matter, as well as its various and diverse forms. Bacon spoke about the qualitative heterogeneity of matter, which has diverse forms of motion (19 types, including resistance, oscillation.). The eternity of matter and motion does not need justification. Bacon defended the cognizability of nature, believed that this issue is resolved not by disputes, but by experience. On the way of knowledge there are many obstacles, delusions that clog the mind.

Bacon emphasized the importance of natural science, but stood on the point of view of theory duality of truth(then progressive): theology has God as its object, science has nature. It is necessary to distinguish between the spheres of God's competence: God is the creator of the world and man, but only an object of faith. Knowledge does not depend on faith. Philosophy is based on knowledge and experience. The main obstacle is scholasticism. The main vice is abstractness, the derivation of general provisions from particular ones. Bacon is an empiricist: knowledge begins with sensory data that needs experimental verification and confirmation, which means that natural phenomena should be judged only on the basis of experience. Bacon also believed that knowledge should strive to reveal internal cause-and-effect relationships and the laws of nature through the processing of data by the senses and theoretical thinking. In general, Bacon's philosophy was an attempt to create an effective way of knowing nature, its causes, laws. Bacon significantly contributed to the formation of the philosophical thinking of modern times. And although his empiricism was historically and epistemologically limited, and from the point of view of the subsequent development of knowledge, it can be criticized in many directions, in its time it played a very positive role.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) lived and worked in an era that was not only a period of powerful economic, but also an exceptional cultural upsurge and development of England.

The 17th century opens a new period in the development of philosophy called the philosophy of modern times. If in the Middle Ages philosophy acted in alliance with theology, and in the Renaissance - with art, then in modern times it mainly relies on science. Therefore, epistemological problems come to the fore in philosophy itself and two major areas are formed, in the confrontation of which the history of modern philosophy takes place - these are empiricism (reliance on experience) and rationalism (reliance on reason).

The founder of empiricism was the English philosopher Francis Bacon. He was a talented scientist, an outstanding public and political figure, coming from a noble aristocratic family. Francis Bacon graduated from the University of Cambridge. In 1584 he was elected to Parliament. From 1617 he becomes Lord Privy Seal under King James I, inheriting this position from his father; then Lord Chancellor. In 1961, Bacon was brought to trial on charges of bribery on a false denunciation, convicted and removed from all positions. Soon he was pardoned by the king, but did not return to public service, devoting himself entirely to scientific and literary work. The legends surrounding the name of Bacon, like any great man, have preserved the story that he even bought an island on purpose in order to create a new society on it in accordance with his ideas about the ideal state, set forth later in the unfinished book "New Atlantis" , however, this attempt failed, crashing against the greed and imperfection of the people he chose as allies.

Already in his youth, F. Bacon was hatching a grandiose plan for the “Great Restoration of the Sciences,” which he had been striving for all his life. The first part of this work is completely new, different from the Aristotelian classification of sciences traditional for that time. It was proposed in Bacon’s work “On the Prosperity of Knowledge” (1605), but it was fully developed in the main work of the philosopher “The New Organon” (1620), which in its very title indicates the opposition of the author’s position to the dogmatized Aristotle, who was then revered in Europe for infallible authority. Bacon is credited with giving a philosophical status to experimental natural science and "returning" philosophy from heaven to earth.

philosophy francis bacon

The problem of man and nature in philosophyF. Bacon

F. Bacon was sure that the goal scientific knowledge not in the contemplation of nature, as it was in Antiquity, and not in the comprehension of God, according to the medieval tradition, but in bringing benefits and benefits to mankind. Science is a means, not an end in itself. Man is the master of nature, such is the leitmotif of Bacon's philosophy. “Nature is conquered only by submission to it, and what in contemplation appears as a cause is in action a rule.” In other words, in order to subjugate nature, man must learn its laws and learn how to use his knowledge in real practice. The relation MAN-NATURE is understood in a new way, which is transformed into the relation SUBJECT-OBJECT, and enters into the flesh and blood of the European mentality, the European style of thinking, which has been preserved to this day. Man is presented as a knowing and acting principle (subject), and nature as an object to be known and used.

Calling on people, armed with knowledge, to subjugate nature, F. Bacon rebelled against the prevailing at that time scholastic scholarship and the spirit of human self-abasement. Due to the fact that the basis of book science, as already mentioned, was the emasculated and absolutized logic of Aristotle, Bacon also refuses the authority of Aristotle. “Logic,” he writes, which is now used, rather serves to strengthen and preserve errors that have their basis in generally accepted concepts than to search for truth. Therefore, it is more harmful than useful.” He orients science towards the search for truth not in books, but in the field, in the workshop, at the forges, in a word, in practice, in direct observation and study of nature. His philosophy can be called a kind of revival of ancient natural philosophy with its naive faith in the inviolability of the truths of fact, with the setting at the center of the entire philosophical system of nature. However, unlike Bacon, natural philosophy was far from putting before man the task of transforming and subjugating nature; natural philosophy maintained a reverent admiration for nature.

The concept of experience in philosophyF. Bacon

“Experience” is the main category in Bacon’s philosophy, because knowledge begins and comes to it, it is in experience that the reliability of knowledge is verified, it is it that gives food to reason. Without sensory assimilation of reality, the mind is dead, because the subject of thought is always drawn from experience. “The best proof of all is experience,” writes Bacon. Experiments in science are fruitful And luminous. The first bring new knowledge useful to man, this is the lowest kind of experience; and the second - discover the truth, it is to them that the scientist should strive, although this is a difficult and long way.

The central part of Bacon's philosophy is the doctrine of method. The method for Bacon has a deep practical and social significance. He is the greatest transforming force, the method increases the power of man over the forces of nature. Experiments, according to Bacon, must be carried out according to a certain method.

This method in Bacon's philosophy is induction. Bacon taught that induction is necessary for the sciences, based on the testimony of the senses, the only true form of proof and method of knowing nature. If in deduction the order of movement of thought is from the general to the particular, then in induction it is from the particular to the general.

The method proposed by Bacon provides for the sequential passage of five stages of the study, each of which is recorded in the corresponding table. Thus, the entire volume of empirical inductive research, according to Bacon, includes five tables. Among them:

1) Presence table (listing all occurrences of a phenomenon);

2) Table of deviation or absence (all cases of absence of one or another sign or indicator in the presented items are entered here);

3) Table of comparison or degrees (comparison of an increase or decrease in a given attribute in the same subject);

4) Rejection table (the exclusion of individual cases that do not occur in this phenomenon is not typical for it);

5) Table of "gathering fruits" (forming a conclusion based on the common that is available in all tables).

The inductive method is applicable to all empirical scientific research, and since then, specific sciences, especially sciences based on direct empirical research, have widely used the inductive method developed by Bacon.

Induction can be complete or incomplete. Full induction- this is the ideal of knowledge, it means that absolutely all the facts related to the field of the phenomenon under study are collected. It is easy to guess that this task is difficult, if not unattainable, although Bacon believed that in time science would solve this problem; therefore, in most cases, people use incomplete induction. This means that promising conclusions are built on the material of a partial or selective analysis of empirical material, but such knowledge always retains the character of hypotheticality. For example, we can say that all cats meow until we meet at least one non-meowing cat. In science, Bacon believes, empty fantasies should not be allowed, “... the human mind must be given not wings, but rather lead and gravity, so that they hold back every jump and flight.”

Bacon sees the main task of his inductive logic in the study of forms inherent in matter. The knowledge of forms forms the proper subject matter of philosophy.

Bacon creates his own theory of form. Form is the material essence of the property belonging to the object. Thus, the form of heat is a certain kind of motion. But in an object, the form of any property does not exist in isolation from other properties of the same object. Therefore, in order to find the form of some property, it is necessary to exclude from the object everything that is accidentally connected in it with the desired form. This exclusion from the subject of everything that is not connected with the given property in it cannot be real. It is a mental logical exception, a distraction, or an abstraction.

On the basis of his induction and teachings on forms, Bacon developed a new system of classification of the sciences.

Bacon's classification was based on the principle that comes from the difference between the abilities of human cognition. These abilities are memory, imagination, reason, or thinking. Each of these three abilities corresponds to a special group of sciences. Namely: the group of historical sciences corresponds to memory; poetry corresponds to the imagination; reason (thinking) is a science in the proper sense of the word.

The entire vast area of ​​historical knowledge is divided into 2 parts: "natural" history and "civil" history. Natural history investigates and describes natural phenomena. Civil history explores the phenomena of human life and human consciousness.

If history is a reflection of the world in the memory of mankind, then poetry is a reflection of being in the imagination. Poetry reflects life not as it is, but according to the desire of the human heart. Bacon excludes lyric poetry from the realm of poetry. The lyrics express what is - the actual feelings and thoughts of the poet. But poetry, according to Bacon, is not about what is, but about what is desirable.

Bacon divides the message of the genre of poetry into 3 types: epic, drama and allegorical-didactic poetry. Epic poetry imitates history. Dramatic poetry presents events, persons and their actions as if they were taking place in front of the audience. Allegorical-didactic poetry also represents faces through symbols.

The value of the types of poetry Bacon makes dependent on their practical effectiveness. From this point of view, he considers allegorical-didactic poetry to be the highest type of poetry, as the most instructive, capable of educating a person.

The most developed classification of the third group of sciences - based on reason. In it, Bacon sees the highest of human mental activities. All the sciences of this group are divided into types depending on the differences between the subjects. Namely: rational cognition can be cognition either of God, or of ourselves, or of nature. To these three different types of rational cognition there correspond three different modes or types of cognition itself. Our direct knowledge is directed to nature. Indirect knowledge is directed at God: we do not know God directly, but through nature, through nature. And, finally, we know ourselves through reflection or reflection.

The concept of "ghosts"atF. Bacon

The main obstacle to the knowledge of nature, Bacon considered the clogging of people's consciousness with the so-called idols, or ghosts - distorted images of reality, false ideas and concepts. He distinguished 4 types of idols with which a person needs to fight:

1) Idols (ghosts) of the family;

2) idols (ghosts) of the cave;

3) idols (ghosts) of the market;

4) idols (ghosts) of the theater.

Idols of the kind Bacon considered false ideas about the world that are inherent in the entire human race and are the result of the limitations of the human mind and senses. This limitation is most often manifested in endowing natural phenomena with human characteristics, mixing with the natural nature of one's own human nature. To reduce harm, people need to compare the readings of the senses with the objects of the surrounding world and thereby verify their correctness.

Idols of the cave Bacon called distorted ideas about reality associated with the subjectivity of the perception of the surrounding world. Each person has his own cave, his own subjective inner world, which leaves an imprint on all his judgments about things and processes of reality. The inability of a person to go beyond his subjectivity is the cause of this type of delusion.

TO market idols or area Bacon refers to the false ideas of people generated by the misuse of words. People often put different meanings into the same words, and this leads to empty disputes, which distracts people from studying natural phenomena and understanding them correctly.

Category theater idols Bacon includes false ideas about the world, borrowed uncritically by people from various philosophical systems. Each philosophical system, according to Bacon, is a drama or a comedy played before people. How many philosophical systems have been created in the history, so many dramas and comedies depicting fictional worlds have been staged and played. People, however, took these productions "at face value", referred to them in their reasoning, took their ideas as guiding rules for their lives.

Francis Bacon (born January 22, 1561 - death April 9, 1626) - one of the most prominent English thinkers, writer and diplomat, his name is associated with the most important stage in the organizational and structural development of the "Rosicrucian Brotherhood" - Masonic lodges. It is believed that it was he who encoded their ideology in his philosophical and political writings.

Origin

Bacon comes from a well-born family that has long belonged to the British political elite(his father, the lord, was the keeper of the seal). 1575 - Francis graduated from the University of Cambridge, in 1583 he became a member of parliament, and from 1618 to 1621. holds the office of Lord Chancellor of England. But, being a completely honest person and a stranger to court intrigues, he was eventually accused by ill-wishers of financial and political abuses, he was removed from office and put on trial, and only thanks to the personal intervention of King James I, who favored him, was removed suspicion of "political crime."

The life and work of Francis Bacon

Upon his release, Francis Bacon prudently decided not to return to public service, and last years devoted his life to philosophical, natural-science and literary works, publishing such works that glorified his name, such as the treatises “On the Great Restoration of the Sciences” (which he wrote throughout almost his entire life), “On the Wisdom of the Ancients” (1609), and also “ New Atlantis (which was published posthumously in 1627)

Although, as you know, Bacon never publicly declared that he belonged to any secret societies, a mystical halo began to form around his name during his lifetime, which in the 19th and 20th centuries acquired a truly mythical status, especially after the publication of a series works devoted to him, where on the basis of information borrowed from various sources - the testimony of contemporaries, the correspondence of brother Francis, Anthony, who at one time headed the British foreign intelligence service, and, in the end, the writings of the Lord Chancellor himself, proved the fact of his involvement in the "occult Renaissance" in 17th-century England. To this end, everything was taken into service - not only the content of his works, but also the elements of them. decoration and even hidden patterns that were revealed by analyzing the typos contained in them.

True, it must be noted that researchers were sometimes guided not so much by purely occult interest as by the desire to find confirmation of the rumors that firmly gripped the minds of contemporaries that it was Bacon who was the author of the plays that he released under the pseudonym William Shakespeare.

Such an unbridled mixture of occultism, elements of cryptography and literary studies has led to the fact that the real personality of Bacon has almost completely disappeared into the "Baconian myth", where the wishful thinking is passed off as the real.

Where does the myth begin?

But what really served as the initial core around which this myth developed over time?

It is well known that throughout his life Bacon showed a keen interest in the so-called natural, or experimental, magic, to which he attributed such "royal" sciences as alchemy and astrology, while resolutely opposed any charlatanism in this area. As Bacon believed, true science and mystical experience have nothing to do with substitution or deception. On the contrary, he advocated, in the words of A.F. Losev, for "an accurate empirical study of the real things of our real experience", that is, for scientific and technical magic, achieving the so-called "miracles" in a scientific and technical way.

He outlined these principles and their forms in his works: “On the Great Restoration of the Sciences” and “Moral and Political Experiments”, where he declares science, especially applied, empirical science, the legitimate heir and successor of archaic magic, which, they say, by that time has already worked out its internal resource and now must pass the baton to new forms of cognition of the hidden properties of Nature.

Having learned the secret laws of matter, Bacon believed, and, first of all, the great mystery of the mutual transformation and interpenetration of substances, a person is able to achieve the highest, truly divine power and begin to create new laws that will radically change his environment, bringing it into line with high demands. "king of nature"

Therefore, instead of praising the power and blessings of the Creator typical of mystical literature, we find in Bacon numerous and rather detailed “miracles” of technological progress, anticipating many inventions of the distant (if we start from the time of the philosopher’s life) future: airplanes, x-rays, meteorology, and much more.

That is why A.F. Losev finds it appropriate to speak in this connection about the “technique of the 21st century”, meaning by this some special kind of materialism, that is, magical and mystical materialism, aimed primarily at discovering, in the words of Bacon himself, “the signs of the Creator on His creatures imprinted and fixed in matter by means of the true and most subtle means. According to Francis Bacon, if it is possible to achieve such a discovery, then not through abstract scholastic theology, but through applied, experimental research, free from any prejudices and biases.

The Need for Organized Societies

Because it is unlikely that anyone can cope with such a grandiose plan alone, Bacon points out in connection with this the need to create some organized societies whose members could actively support each other in their endeavors. “Truly,” he wrote, “just as Nature herself creates brotherhood in families, so in the process of cognition, brotherhood cannot but develop on the basis of knowledge and morality, ascending to that special paternity that is attributed to God, calling Him the Father of Enlightenment. , or Light.

These statements leave no doubt as to what kind of “brotherhood” the author hinted at: a community of adherents of “natural magic”, within which scientific and cultural “enlightenment” would be organically supplemented by enlightenment by the divine spirit, that is, esoteric Gnosis. According to Francis Bacon, such a community of "scientific magicians" would be the main support and driving force of spiritual and scientific progress, with the ultimate goal of expanding the creative possibilities of man to the degree of godlikeness.

On the other hand, later Bacon nowhere develops or specifies this theme of the “brotherhood of the enlightened”. Moreover, he even expressed (more than once) critical remarks about some prominent representatives of the Renaissance occultism, including Paracelsus himself. As you can see, this can only be explained by one thing: the need to disguise his views, because, occupying a high official position and constantly being in the center of envious attention from many rivals, he otherwise risked being branded as a “heretic”, and most importantly, losing the favor of James I , who was terribly afraid of everything supernatural and even composed an extensive guide to exposing witches.

By virtue of the principle of noblesse oblige (Latin "origin obliges"), the Lord Chancellor tried to give his reasoning about the "restoration of sciences" more a traditional and innocent look, and this he succeeded in such a way that not only King James was confused, but also modern researchers.

Be that as it may, the philosopher was able to achieve his goal: he managed, without arousing suspicion and criticism, provided himself with a “cover” for the implementation of his favorite ideas and far-reaching plans. Undoubtedly, the idea of ​​Francis Bacon as a great conspirator and cryptographer had its source in precisely this kind of duality and came from a circle of people who knew well about the behind-the-scenes aspects of a politician's life.

"New Atlantis"

And, perhaps, we would never have known about anything if the heirs of the philosopher, sorting through his archive after his death, had not found a manuscript with the text of the New Atlantis, a kind of modern version of the legendary Platonic myth. Actually, following his favorite idea of ​​nature as a wonderful book written by the Creator in “living” writings, Bacon all the time had a deep interest in the symbolic language and interpretation of ancient myths and traditions, in which, as he believed, not without reason, the secret lies in an allegorical form. wisdom of the millennia.

So, in a small, but rather interesting from this point of view, treatise “On the Wisdom of the Ancients,” he gave an original interpretation of 28 key images of ancient mythology, identifying each of them with some kind of metaphysical principle, or archetype. For example, Orpheus is the archetype of "universal philosophy". Proteus is the archetype of matter. Pan is the archetype of the natural world. Promethene represents the synthesis of science and magic, etc.

As for the “New Atlantis”, here the philosopher “crossed” the Platonic allegory with Kabbalah and more than transparent Rosicrucian symbolism, among other things. In the center of the story is a community of magicians and sages who settled on a secluded and inaccessible island in the middle of the ocean (a symbol of secret wisdom hidden from the eyes of mere mortals), who adopted their wisdom from the biblical King Solomon, in memory of whom the main center of this community is called Bensal, that is "House of Solomon"

This community simultaneously combines the past, because its adherents are tempted in all forms ancient magic, and the future, since it is based on purely technocratic principles. Yes, and the way of life that the adherents of the Order of Bensalem lead, who know about everything that happens in the outside world, but are not known to anyone outside the island, as if written off from the charter of some ancient mystical sect like the Pythagorean.

Thus, they are ordered to observe the highest chastity, and carnal intercourse is allowed only for the purpose of procreation. (Here, no doubt, Bacon's rational hatred of carnal reproduction, under the influence of which, it should be noted, became a convinced homosexual, had an effect.)

This kind of description appearance and items of decoration of ritual premises in the house of Solomon are also based on hidden associations with the Rosicrucian legend and ingenious symbolic moves, while the main attributes of decoration - astral signs and tools such as a square, compass, etc. - later became the main symbols of Masonic lodges. It is obvious that the described society is nothing but a realized Rosicrucian utopia: its members carried out the “great restoration of the sciences” and as a result returned to the state of Adam before the fall - after all, this is how Francis Bacon and the authors of the “Rosicrucian manifestos” imagined the ultimate goal of spiritual evolution humanity.

Finishing this brief essay on the outstanding "Rosicrucian" of his time, one cannot but say that the "New Atlantis" became the basis not only for all the technocratic utopias of the new time, but also for the theory of the notorious "Jewish Masonic conspiracy", this peculiar form of militant materialism. According to one of the characters of Atlantis (guide to Bensalem), a wise Jew named Yaabin (this name is made up of the names of two sacred columns at the biblical temple of Solomon - Jakin and Boaz), the inhabitants of the island descend from the “tribe of Abraham”, and "The current laws of Bensalem are derived from the secret laws inscribed by Moses in the Kabbalah." These words can serve as a clear proof that Francis Bacon was in fact one of the most insightful and erudite men of his time!

Selected quotes by Francis Bacon

Most of all, we flatter ourselves.

Envy never knows a holiday.

A healthy body is a living room for the soul; the sick is a prison.

Friendship doubles the joys and cuts the sorrows in half.

Libraries are shrines where the remains of great saints are kept.

Wealth cannot be a worthy goal of human existence.

In each person, nature sprouts either as cereals or as weeds.

Anger is unconditional weakness; it is known that weak beings are most susceptible to it: children, women, the elderly, the sick, etc.

It is impossible to be wise in love.

Three things make a nation great and prosperous: a fertile soil, an active industry, and an easy movement of people and goods.

Books are ships of thought, roaming the waves of time and carefully carrying their precious cargo from generation to generation.

The opportunity to steal creates a thief.

Rudeness breeds hatred.

It is best to recognize a person in three situations: in solitude - since here he takes off everything ostentatious; in a fit of passion - for then he forgets all his rules; and in new circumstances - because here the force of habit leaves him.

Flattery is the product of a person's character rather than ill will.

Flattery is the style of slaves.

A lie reveals a weak soul, a helpless mind, a vicious character.

To enjoy happiness is the greatest blessing, to be able to give it to others is even greater.

Previously, we published an article "" in which we wrote that " British exports of bombs and missiles to Saudi Arabia have increased by nearly 500 percent since the kingdom's aggression in Yemen began, says a British organization working to stop..."

You may also be interested in the article "", from which you will learn that " The complete or almost complete absence of land on water-covered planets can lead to a lack of phosphorus, one of the elements necessary for life. Planets covered by an entire ocean..."

And of course, do not miss "", only here you will learn that " The type of personality that best suits you. What type of personality suits you best according to the zodiac sign Aries The one who brings out the best in you. Aries…"

Francis Bacon - English philosopher, progenitor of empiricism, materialism and founder of theoretical mechanics. Born January 22, 1561 in London. Graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge University. He held fairly high positions under King James I.

Bacon's philosophy took shape during the general cultural upsurge of the capitalistically developing European countries, the alienation of the scholastic ideas of church dogma.

The problems of the relationship between man and nature occupy a central place in the entire philosophy of Francis Bacon. In his work The New Organon, Bacon tries to present the correct method of knowing nature, preferring the inductive method of knowing, which is trivially called "Bacon's method." This method is based on the transition from particular provisions to general ones, on the experimental testing of hypotheses.

Science occupies a strong position in all of Bacon's philosophy, his winged aphorism "Knowledge is power" is widely known. The philosopher tried to connect the differentiated parts of science into a single system for a holistic reflection of the picture of the world. The basis of the scientific knowledge of Francis Bacon is the hypothesis that God, having created man in his own image and likeness, endowed him with a mind for research, knowledge of the Universe. It is the mind that is able to provide a person with well-being, to gain power over nature.

But on the way of human knowledge of the Universe, mistakes are made that Bacon called idols or ghosts, systematizing them into four groups:

1. idols of the cave - in addition to the errors inherent in all, there are purely individual ones, associated with the narrowness of people's knowledge, they can be both innate and acquired.
2. idols of the theater or theories - the assimilation by a person from other people of false ideas about reality
3. idols of the square or market - susceptibility to common misconceptions that are generated by speech communication and, in general, the social nature of man.
4. idols of the family - are born, hereditarily transmitted by human nature, do not depend on the culture and individuality of a person.

Bacon considers all idols to be just attitudes of human consciousness, and traditions of thinking, which may turn out to be false. The sooner a person can clear his mind of idols that interfere with an adequate perception of the picture of the world, his knowledge, the sooner he will be able to master the knowledge of nature.

The main category in Bacon's philosophy is experience, which gives food to the mind, determines the reliability of specific knowledge. To get to the bottom of the truth, you need to accumulate enough experience, and in testing hypotheses, experience is the best evidence.

Bacon is rightfully considered the founder of English materialism, for him matter, being, nature, the objective as opposed to idealism, are primary.

Bacon introduced the concept of the dual soul of man, noting that bodily man unequivocally belongs to science, but he considers the soul of man, introducing the categories of the rational soul and the sensual soul. The rational soul in Bacon is the subject of study of theology, and the sensual soul is studied by philosophy.

Francis Bacon made a huge contribution to the development of English and European philosophy, to the emergence of a completely new European thinking, was the founder of the inductive method of cognition and materialism.

Among the most significant followers of Bacon: T. Hobbes, D. Locke, D. Diderot, J. Bayer.

Download this material:

(3 rated, rating: 5,00 out of 5)

Who is he: a philosopher or a scientist? Francis Bacon is a great thinker of the English Renaissance. who has changed many positions, has seen several countries and expressed more than one hundred that people are still guided by. The desire for knowledge and oratorical skills of Bacon from an early age played a major role in the reformation of the philosophy of that time. In particular, scholasticism and the teachings of Aristotle, which were based on cultural and spiritual values, were refuted by the empiricist Francis in the name of science. Bacon argued that only scientific and technological progress can raise civilization and thereby enrich humanity spiritually.

Francis Bacon - biography of a politician

Bacon was born in London on January 22, 1561, into an organized English family. His father served at the court of Elizabeth I as keeper of the royal seal. And the mother was the daughter of Anthony Cook, who raised the king. An educated woman who knows ancient Greek and Latin instilled in young Francis a love of knowledge. He grew up as a smart and intelligent boy, with a great interest in the sciences.

At the age of 12, Bacon entered the University of Cambridge. After graduation, the philosopher travels a lot. The political, cultural and social life of France, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden left their imprint in the notes "On the State of Europe" written by the thinker. After the death of his father, Bacon returned to his homeland.

My political career Francis did when I ascended the English throne. The philosopher was both Attorney General (1612), Keeper of the Seals (1617), and Lord Chancellor (1618). However, the rapid rise ended in a rapid fall.

Following the path of life

In 1621, Bacon was accused of bribery by the king, imprisoned (albeit for two days) and pardoned. Following this, Francis' career as a politician ended. All subsequent years of his life he was engaged in science and experiments. The philosopher died in 1626 from a cold.

• "Experiments and Instructions" - 1597 - first edition. The book has since been expanded and reprinted many times. The work consists of short essays and essays, where the thinker talks about politics and morality.
• "On the Significance and Success of Knowledge, Divine and Human" - 1605
• "On the Wisdom of the Ancients" - 1609
• Descriptions of intellectuals of the world.
• "About a high position", in which the author spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of high ranks. “It is difficult to stand on a high place, but there is no way back, except for a fall, or at least a sunset ...”.
• "New Organon" - 1620 - a cult book of that time, dedicated to its methods and techniques.
• On the Dignity and Growth of the Sciences is the first part of The Great Restoration of the Sciences, Bacon's most voluminous work.

An illusory utopia or a look into the future?

Francis Bacon. "New Atlantis". Two terms in philosophy that can be considered synonymous. Although the work remained unfinished, it absorbed the entire worldview of its author.

The New Atlantis was published in 1627. Bacon takes the reader to a remote island where an ideal civilization flourishes. All thanks to scientific and technological achievements, unprecedented at that time. Bacon seemed to look hundreds of years into the future, because in Atlantis you can learn about the microscope, the synthesis of living beings, and also about the cure for all diseases. In addition, it contains descriptions of various, not yet discovered, sound and auditory devices.

The island is run by a society that unites the main sages of the country. And if Bacon's predecessors touched on the problems of communism and socialism, then this work is completely technocratic in nature.

A look at life through the eyes of a philosopher

Francis Bacon is truly the founder of thought. The thinker's philosophy refutes scholastic teachings and puts science and knowledge in the first place. Having learned the laws of nature and turning them for his own good, a person is able not only to gain power, but also to grow spiritually.

Francis noted that all discoveries were made by chance, because few people knew scientific methods and techniques. Bacon first tried to classify science on the basis of the properties of the mind: memory is history, imagination is poetry, reason is philosophy.

The key to knowledge should be experience. All research must begin with observations, not theory. Bacon believes that only that experiment will be successful, for which conditions, time and space, as well as circumstances are constantly changing. Matter must be in motion all the time.

Francis Bacon. Empiricism

The scientist himself and his philosophy eventually led to the emergence of such a concept as "empiricism": knowledge lies through experience. Only having enough knowledge and experience, you can count on the results in your activities.

Bacon identifies several ways to acquire knowledge:

• "Way of the Spider" - knowledge is obtained from pure reason, in a rational way. In other words, the web is woven from thoughts. Specific factors are not taken into account.
• "Way of the ant" - knowledge is gained through experience. Attention is concentrated only on the collection of facts and evidence. However, the essence remains unclear.
• "The Way of the Bee" is an ideal way that combines the good qualities of both the spider and the ant, but at the same time is devoid of their shortcomings. Following this path, all facts and evidence must be passed through the prism of your thinking, through your mind. Only then will the truth be revealed.

Obstacles to knowledge

It is not always easy to learn new things. Bacon in his teachings speaks of ghost obstacles. It is they who interfere with adjusting your mind and thoughts. There are congenital and acquired obstacles.

Congenital: “ghosts of the family” and “ghosts of the cave” - this is how the philosopher himself classifies them. “Ghosts of the clan” - human culture interferes with knowledge. "Ghosts of the cave" - ​​knowledge is hindered by the influence of specific people.

Acquired: “ghosts of the market” and “ghosts of the theater”. The former involve the misuse of words and definitions. A person perceives everything literally, and this interferes with correct thinking. The second obstacle is the influence on the process of cognition of the existing philosophy. Only by renouncing the old can one comprehend the new. Relying on old experience, passing it through their thoughts, people are able to achieve success.

Great minds don't die

Some great people - centuries later - give rise to others. Bacon Francis is an expressionist artist of our time, as well as a distant descendant of a philosopher thinker.

Francis the artist revered the works of his ancestor, he followed his instructions in every possible way, left in the "smart" books. Francis Bacon, whose biography ended not so long ago, in 1992, had a great influence on the world. And when the philosopher did it with words, then his distant grandson did it with paints.

For his unconventional orientation, Francis Jr. was expelled from home. Wandering around France and Germany, he successfully got to the exhibition in 1927. She had a huge impact on the guy. Bacon returns to his native London, where he acquires a small garage workshop and begins to create.

Francis Bacon is considered one of the darkest artists of our time. His paintings are vivid proof of this. Blurred, desperate faces and silhouettes are depressing, but at the same time they make you think about the meaning of life. Indeed, in each person such blurry faces and roles are hidden, which he uses for different occasions.

Despite their gloom, the paintings are very popular. The great connoisseur of Bacon's art is Roman Abramovich. At the auction, he bought the canvas "Landmark of the canonical XX century" worth 86.3 million dollars!

In the words of a thinker

Philosophy is the eternal science of eternal values. Anyone who is able to think a little is a "little" philosopher. Bacon wrote down his thoughts always and everywhere. And many of his quotes people use every day. Bacon surpassed even the greatness of Shakespeare. So did his contemporaries.

Francis Bacon. Note quotes:

• A hobbler on a straight road will overtake a runner who has gone astray.
• There is little friendship in the world - and least of all among equals.
• There is nothing worse than fear itself.
• The worst loneliness is not having true friends.
• Stealth is the refuge of the weak.
• In the dark, all colors are the same.
• Hope is a good breakfast but a bad dinner.
• Good is that which is useful to man, to mankind.

Knowledge is power

Power is knowledge. Only by abstracting from everyone and everything, passing your experience and the experience of your predecessors through your own mind, you can comprehend the truth. It is not enough to be a theoretician, you need to become a practitioner! There is no need to be afraid of criticism and condemnation. And who knows, maybe the biggest discovery is yours!