Francis Bacon: Introduction to the Philosophy of Induction

An introduction to the philosophy of Francis Bacon, the father of empiricism. Bacon was born in London in 1561. He was an establishment figure born into one of the most powerful families in Britain. He as a member of the house of commons and the house of lords for 37 years, a lawyer, Attorney General, and a member of the Privy Council, the group who advises the monarch. He died of pneumonia after carrying out experiments with ice in 1626.

He’s interested in the question of what is useful, practical, the pursuit of improving our place in the world. He thought that the scholastic philosophy taught at the time was dry, closed off, esoteric, at a dead end.

First, to know the truth we have to be able to distinguish it from falsehood and for Bacon, the mind does a good job at distorting the truth.
He said that the mind was a ‘crooked mirror’, distorted by what he called idols. He wrote: There are four idols: idols of the tribe, idols of the cave, idols of the marketplace, and idols of the theatre.

To remedy the effect the idols have on the pursuit of knowledge, Bacon advocates for induction: the scientific method.

The Baconian Method starts with simple observations. He said ‘a new beginning has to be made from the lowest foundations.’ Instead of starting at the top, from general ideas, we start from the bottom, from particular observations, and work upwards to ‘general truths’ or axioms.

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