francis bacon -an introduction,12, july 2011

ELEVENTH JULY TWO THOUSAND ELEVENFOURTH HOURFIRST MAIGNOU SEMINAR HALL

BYS. NEHRU

LIFE OF BACONLIFE OF BACON

22nd January 1561 York House, Strand, London

Nicolas BaconFather

Anne CookeMother

CAREER

• English Philosopher• Statesman• Scientist• Lawyer• Essayist

PHILOSOPHERSTRUGGLE WITH TRADITION

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY

PHILOSOPHY OF IDOLS

SYSTEM OF SCIENCES

MATTER THEORY AND COSMOLOGY

•IN 1584 AT MELCOMBE•IN 1586 AT TAUNTON•IN 1592 MIDDLESEX

IN 1613 BACON WAS APPOINTEDAS ATTORNEY GENERAL

IN 1596 BACON BECAMEQUEEN’S COUNSEL

IN 1617 HE WAS APPOINTEDAS THE LORD KEEPER

IN 1618,HE WASAPPOINTED, LORD CHANCELLOR

BACON SPLITS SCIENCE INTO TWO

•STUDIES THE VARIABLES•STUDIES THE CONSTANT

LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR APPLIED SCIENCE

EMPHASIZED EMPIRICAL METHODS

In 1582 he became a barrister and was installed as a reader at Gray's Inn

AS A LAWYER HE BECAMEIMMEDIATELY SUCCESSFUL

HIS KNOWLEDGE AND POWEROF PLEADING BECAME WIDELYKNOWN

• WROTE NUMEROUS ESSAYS

• LANGUAGE IS TERSE• PITHY SENTENCES• PACKED WITH

THOUGHT• NO

CIRCUMLOCUTIONS

FAMILYBacon’s father Sir Nicolas was the Lord Keeperof the Great Seal

Anne Cooke is the daughter ofSir Anthony Cooke, tutor ofEdward VI

Anne Cooke is the second wifeTo Nicolas Bacon

Lord Burghley is the maternal Uncle to Bacon

After his father’s death Baconbecame poor and he did notinherit much

Courted a wealthy widow LadyElizabeth Hatton in 1596 butFailed to end in marriage In 1606 he married

Alice Burnham

Anthony is hisElder brother

HONOURS

• KNIGHTED IN 1603• RECEIVED THE TITLE OF BARON

VERULAM IN 1618• VISCOUNT OF St. ALBAN

CHARGES OF CORRUPTION

PAID PENALTY

LOST POSITIONS IN COURT

IMPRISONED FOR FEW DAYS

9TH APRIL 1626 HIGHGATE,LONDONPNEUMONIA

MICHAELS CHURCHSt. ALBANS

THE AGE OF ELIZABETH(1550-1620) 1

• WORKS OF BACON CAN BE PLACED IN THE ELIZABETHAN AGE AND THE JACOBEAN AGE

• MOST OF HIS WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE AGE OF ELIZABETH

• THE AGE OF ELIZABETH WAS WIDELY PEACEFUL AND AN AGE OF PROSPERITY

THE AGE OF ELIZABETH (1550-1620) 2

• THE AGE SAW RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

• THE QUEEN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT

• RELEGIOUS FEAR VANISHED

• A GREAT CREATIVE IMPULSE

• FREEDOM OF THE MIND GAVE STIMULUS TO LITERATURE

THE AGE OF ELIZABETH (1550-1620) 3

• AN AGE OF SOCIAL CONTENMENT

• PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED

• INCREASING TRADE BROUGHT ENORMOUS WEALTH TO ENGLAND

• IMPROVEMENT IN LIVING

• HAD ITS IMPACT ON LITERATURE

THE AGE OF ELIZABETH (1550-1620) 4

• EXPLORATION OF NEW LANDS

• TIME OF INTELLECTUAL LIBERTY

• COMFORT AMONG ALL CLASSES

• AGE OF UNBOUNDED PATRIOTISM

• PEACE AT HOME AND ABROAD

WORKS OF BACON

• The Advancement of Learning [1605]• Novum Organum [1620]• The Great Institution of True Philosophy or

Instauratio Magna [1620]• Essays [1597, 1612, 1625]• The New Atlantis [1626]• De Sapientia Veterum [1609]• The History of Henry VII [1622]

THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING

• PUBLISHED IN 1605

• IT DEALT WITH NATURAL PHILOSOPHY

• A PART OF THE INSTAURATIO MAGNA

NOVUM ORGANUM

• IT IS NEW INSTRUMENT

• USE OF REASON AND EXPERIMENT

• COLLECT FACTS BY MEANS OF NUMEROUS EXPERIMENTS AND DETERMINE THE LAW

• INDUCTION METHOD

The Great Institution of True Philosophy or Instauratio Magna

• MOST AMBITIOUS OF BACON’S WORKS

• CLASSIFICATION AND SUMMARY OF ALL HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

• IT HAD 6 PARTS

Essays

• THE FIRST TEN ESSAYS WERE PUBLISHED IN 1597

• IN 1612 SECOND EDITION WAS PUBLISHED WITH 38 ESSAYS

• IN 1625 IT WAS ENLARGED INTO 58 ESSAYS

The New Atlantis

• A KIND OF SCIENTIFIC NOVEL

• DESCRIBES ANOTHER UTOPIA AS SEEN BY BACON

• THE INHABITANTS OF ATLANTIS HAVE BANISHED PHILOSOPHY AND APPLIED BACON’S METHOD

• THEY HAVE A WONDERFUL CIVILIZATION

De Sapientia Veterum

• IT UNCOVERS DEEP MEANING UNDERLYING ANCIENT MYTHS

The History of Henry VII

• WORK OF HISTORY

• KNOWN FOR ACCURACY

• CALM AND DISPASSIONATE

FEATURES OF BACON’S WRITINGS

• SCIENTIFIC WITH AN IMPRESSIVE DEVOTION TO TRUTH

• INDUCTIVE METHOD OF REASONING• VERIFICATION OF RESULTS BY EXPERIMENT• SYSTEMATIC ORGANISATION OF THOUGHTS• PERENNIAL FRESHNESS• INTELLECTUAL POWER• KEEN SENSE OF OBSERVATION• PRACTICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL IN ROMANTIC AGE

FEATURES OF BACON’S PROSE

• Use of short and sharp statements

• Use of logical sequence

• Contraction and Expansion of Ideas

• Images from day to day life

• Use of Latin and Greek expressions