Francis Bacon: condensed biography of this thinker and researcher

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

• Related article: "Types of philosophy and main currents of thought"

Biography of Francis Bacon

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

In addition, he made great contributions to three prominent fields: literature, politics, and philosophy. Let's see the most important points of his biography.

His origins

Francis Bacon was born in London, England, on January 22, 1561. Her parents were Nicholas Bacon and Anne Cooke Bacon, two renowned figures at the time. Sir Nicholas Bacon was a high magistrate in Queen Elizabeth I's government, and Anne Cooke Bacon was a erudite woman, very enlightened and cultured, who made great contributions to religious literature english.

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

Trajectory

Francis Bacon he began his studies at the University of Cambridge, where he excelled intellectually, which made Queen Elizabeth I notice him.

He also studied at Gray's Inn Law School in London, which was very prestigious. There, he became a member of the British Parliament, in the year 1584.

At Gray's Inn he was in the year 1576, 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 was also living for some time in Paris (France), and was part of the English embassy.

His political career and his titles

On a more political level, Bacon received a knighthood and earned the right to bear the seal of the Crown, after his father died. In fact, Bacon was the 1st Baron Verulam, the 1st Viscount of Saint Albans and the Chancellor of England (the latter is a high-ranking political position).

In addition, he was named I Lord of the Privy Seal and Extraordinary Counselor of the Kingdom by Elizabeth I, and she chose him for the House of Commons. All of them are titles of British royalty and the political realm. On the other hand, thanks to his numerous contributions, Francis Bacon was awarded the title of Knight of King James.

philosophy and science

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

What was the Aristotelian methodology based on? In that the scientific truth would be found if diverse men with intelligence met to debate and discuss about a specific subject, during a considerable period of time, to reach consensus based on what is observed.

However, with experience, Bacon would end up questioning this methodology, and would focus on finding real evidence that demonstrated the "scientific truth".

• You may be interested in: "The 8 steps of the scientific method"

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 the investigation must be based on discovering its nature and its 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 compilation of particular cases of the phenomenon investigated or observed, to later induce a series of conclusions, through analogies of the characteristics common to the objects observed. That is, it is based on observing what characteristics or properties the study phenomena share.

His main works

Some of the most outstanding works of Francis Bacon are:

essays (1597) the advancement of knowledge (1605) Indications regarding the interpretation of nature (1620) (Novum Organum)

Novum Organum

A special mention should be made of one of the most important works of Francis Bacon: Novum Organum (“Indications relative to 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 objective 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 that Francis Bacon defends in this work.

As a positive effect of this work, it should be noted that Novum Organum he encouraged accurate 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 curious enough; he probably caught pneumonia while stuffing a chicken with snow, since since it was snowing in a storm, he thought that the snow would preserve the meat, like salt does. So, leaving his house, while waiting for the chicken to freeze, he caught pneumonia and eventually passed away.