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The Oxford Francis Bacon #4
Cele două cărţi despre excelenţa şi progresul cunoaşterii divine şi umane
Inventar al temelor modernităţii, cartografie a lumii intelectuale, trecere în revistă a lipsurilor de care suferă cunoaşterea şi a bolilor minţii umane, Cele două cărţi despre excelenţa şi progresul cunoaşterii constituie, în acelaşi timp, un manifest al conlucrării şi cooperării între spiritele active ale Europei. Această scriere definitorie a umanismului renascentist oferă proiectul unei culturi instituţionale fundamentale pentru dezvoltarea ştiinţei europene şi pentru afirmarea importanţei perene a filozofiei. Arareori ni se iveşte ocazia întâlnirii cu o operă care să ofere imaginea fidelă a unei epoci, vădind, totodată, valoare filozofică universală.
502 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1605
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About the author
Francis Bacon
2,487 books904 followersNot to confuse with collateral descendant and artist Francis Bacon
English philosopher, essayist, courtier, jurist, and statesman Francis Bacon, first viscount Saint Albans, in writings, which include The Advancement of Learning (1605) and the Novum Organum (1620), proposed a theory of scientific knowledge, based on observation and experiment, which people came as the inductive method.
A Baconian follows the doctrines of the philosopher Francis Bacon or believes in the theory of, relating to, or characteristic of his works or thought that he authored the plays, attributed to William Shakespeare.
This Queen's Counsel, an orator, authored. He served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. After his death, his works extremely influenced especially as advocate and practitioner during the revolution.
People called Bacon the creator of empiricism. His works established and popularized simple Baconian inquiry, often called. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all natural things marked a new turn in much of the rhetorical framework, which still surrounds proper conceptions today.
Bacon received a knighthood in 1603, and people created him baron Verulam in 1618 and promoted him in 1621.
Ideas of Bacon in the 1630s and 1650s influenced scholars; Sir Thomas Browne in his Encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646–72) frequently adheres to an approach to his inquiries. During the Restoration, the royal society founded under Charles II in 1660, commonly invoked Bacon as a guiding spirit.
During the 18th-century Enlightenment of France, criticism of the ancien regime associated more influential non-metaphysical approach of Bacon than the dualism of his French contemporary René Descartes. In 1733, Voltaire "introduced him as the ''father," a widespread understanding before 1750, to a French audience.
In the 19th century, William Whewell revived and developed his emphasis. People reputed him as the "father."
Because Bacon introduced the influence behind the dawning of the Industrial age in England, people also consider him. In works, Bacon,
meaning he expected that through the understanding of use of mechanics, society creates more inventions that to an extent solves the problems. This idea, found in medieval ages, changed the course in history to inventive that eventually led to the mechanical inventions that made possible the Industrial Revolutions of the following centuries.
He also a long treatise on Medicine, History of Life and Death , with the natural prolongation.
For the historian William Hepworth Dixon of biographers, so great influence of Bacon in modern world proceeds to owe to who rides in a train, sends a telegram, follows a steam plough, sits in an easy chair, crosses the channel or the Atlantic, eats a good dinner, enjoys a beautiful garden, or undergoes a painless surgical operation
Francis Bacon's left the vast and varied that dispaly and that divided in three great branches:
Works present his ideas for an universal reform into the use of the improvement.
In literary works, he presents his morals.
Works reform in law.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with thi
English philosopher, essayist, courtier, jurist, and statesman Francis Bacon, first viscount Saint Albans, in writings, which include The Advancement of Learning (1605) and the Novum Organum (1620), proposed a theory of scientific knowledge, based on observation and experiment, which people came as the inductive method.
A Baconian follows the doctrines of the philosopher Francis Bacon or believes in the theory of, relating to, or characteristic of his works or thought that he authored the plays, attributed to William Shakespeare.
This Queen's Counsel, an orator, authored. He served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. After his death, his works extremely influenced especially as advocate and practitioner during the revolution.
People called Bacon the creator of empiricism. His works established and popularized simple Baconian inquiry, often called. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all natural things marked a new turn in much of the rhetorical framework, which still surrounds proper conceptions today.
Bacon received a knighthood in 1603, and people created him baron Verulam in 1618 and promoted him in 1621.
Ideas of Bacon in the 1630s and 1650s influenced scholars; Sir Thomas Browne in his Encyclopaedia Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646–72) frequently adheres to an approach to his inquiries. During the Restoration, the royal society founded under Charles II in 1660, commonly invoked Bacon as a guiding spirit.
During the 18th-century Enlightenment of France, criticism of the ancien regime associated more influential non-metaphysical approach of Bacon than the dualism of his French contemporary René Descartes. In 1733, Voltaire "introduced him as the ''father," a widespread understanding before 1750, to a French audience.
In the 19th century, William Whewell revived and developed his emphasis. People reputed him as the "father."
Because Bacon introduced the influence behind the dawning of the Industrial age in England, people also consider him. In works, Bacon,
"the explanation of which things, and of the true relation between the nature of things and the nature of the mind, is as the strewing and decoration of the bridal chamber of the mind and the universe, out of which marriage let us hope there may spring helps to man, and a line and race of inventions that may in some degree subdue and overcome the necessities and miseries of humanity,"
meaning he expected that through the understanding of use of mechanics, society creates more inventions that to an extent solves the problems. This idea, found in medieval ages, changed the course in history to inventive that eventually led to the mechanical inventions that made possible the Industrial Revolutions of the following centuries.
He also a long treatise on Medicine, History of Life and Death , with the natural prolongation.
For the historian William Hepworth Dixon of biographers, so great influence of Bacon in modern world proceeds to owe to who rides in a train, sends a telegram, follows a steam plough, sits in an easy chair, crosses the channel or the Atlantic, eats a good dinner, enjoys a beautiful garden, or undergoes a painless surgical operation
Francis Bacon's left the vast and varied that dispaly and that divided in three great branches:
Works present his ideas for an universal reform into the use of the improvement.
In literary works, he presents his morals.
Works reform in law.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with thi
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 2, 2016
All of the writings of Sir Francis Bacon, whether his terse collection of essays or his expositions on science, have a quality that is logical and rigorous, clearly brilliant, and eminently unrelatable. Whether it's his shameless toadying to the resident monarch or his tendency to abstract simple, common-sense ideas into multiple paragraphs of raw pretentiousness, you're likely to find yourself doing more than a few eye rolls. Also, note that if you are going to tackle Advancement of Learning and don't speak Latin, you'll need an annotated version with translations.
Nevertheless, there is no denying his prescience concerning the evolution of academia, and science in particular. The purpose of Advancement of Learning is to motivate the continued pursuit and funding for academic disciplines (book one) and to identify gaps in the body of knowledge as it existed at the beginning of the 17th century (book two).
I found the first book to be the least compelling of the two, both because his justification for the pursuit of knowledge invoked quite a few religious arguments, which I would consider to be beside the point, and because his historical justifications were vague, more closely resembling name-dropping than a rigorous defense of learning. It's also difficult for me to believe that the first book had much impact, as the argument was written with such pompous flair that I doubt he was preaching to any but the converted (i.e., the learned).
The second book was a somewhat more interesting. Bacon's breakdown of the various fields of academia was insightful -- I had fun matching his description of the then-unexplored areas of human thought to the modern disciplines that have since arisen. Among others, he predicted the advent of sociology, linguistics, and economics. In addition, he correctly identified some major flaws in the practice of the physical sciences, including the need for a clear distinction from metaphysics and the unhealthy tendency to rely on ideal mathematical constructs. In the latter case, he gave a specific example of how we shouldn't require astronomical objects to follow circular or spherical paths. Four years later, Kepler would publish his first law of planetary motion, which described planetary orbits as ellipses with the sun at one focus.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book to the casual reader unless they have a specific interest in the history of science. It is nevertheless an impressive accomplishment at a key moment in the history of Western civilization.
Nevertheless, there is no denying his prescience concerning the evolution of academia, and science in particular. The purpose of Advancement of Learning is to motivate the continued pursuit and funding for academic disciplines (book one) and to identify gaps in the body of knowledge as it existed at the beginning of the 17th century (book two).
I found the first book to be the least compelling of the two, both because his justification for the pursuit of knowledge invoked quite a few religious arguments, which I would consider to be beside the point, and because his historical justifications were vague, more closely resembling name-dropping than a rigorous defense of learning. It's also difficult for me to believe that the first book had much impact, as the argument was written with such pompous flair that I doubt he was preaching to any but the converted (i.e., the learned).
The second book was a somewhat more interesting. Bacon's breakdown of the various fields of academia was insightful -- I had fun matching his description of the then-unexplored areas of human thought to the modern disciplines that have since arisen. Among others, he predicted the advent of sociology, linguistics, and economics. In addition, he correctly identified some major flaws in the practice of the physical sciences, including the need for a clear distinction from metaphysics and the unhealthy tendency to rely on ideal mathematical constructs. In the latter case, he gave a specific example of how we shouldn't require astronomical objects to follow circular or spherical paths. Four years later, Kepler would publish his first law of planetary motion, which described planetary orbits as ellipses with the sun at one focus.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book to the casual reader unless they have a specific interest in the history of science. It is nevertheless an impressive accomplishment at a key moment in the history of Western civilization.
March 15, 2015
One of those books that I found myself re-reading whole paragraphs in order to try to more fully grasp the flow of thought. That's a good thing! It made it a challenge to get through, but I feel my time was well spent. Bacon's been referred to as a forerunner of modern philosophy and science. He certainly had a prodigious intellect and was able to take a breathtaking survey of a wide range of subjects. Very rarely do we find such men or women today in our increasing tendency to specialize in fields of knowledge. Oh for the age of the renaissance man!
December 24, 2013
It may just be the most important work of science ever written (granted it is damned hard to read with so many Latin interjections and poetic epigrams). Bacon addresses the stagnancy of the scientific method since Plato and develops a thorough agenda for reforming all areas of thought and practice, from medicine to metaphysics. Along the way he casually invents multiple new sciences: social psychology, personality psychology, clinical psychology, science relating to how our body affects our minds and vice versa, alludes to the development of the correlation, creates a science for negotiations/business, government, dream interpretation, what success in life means, among other fields. If you work in these areas, you owe it to Francis Bacon for the way you practice and think today.
Along with creating these new sciences, he also methodically addresses the errors and shortcomings of extant areas, particularly medicine. In these pages he radically transforms this field, telling people to document and organize and advance these disciplines. We take this as an obvious aspect of our work today, but in 1605 where people commonly sought out witchcraft as frequently as doctors to cure what ails them, it is the scientific method that differentiates one from the other, and where guess-and-check comes up short.
We commonly summarize Bacon's philosophy as "knowledge is power", superficially interpreting this to mean that "it's better to know than not to know". The prevailing wisdom of the time was for knowledge to be idly used in contemplation of metaphysics and philosophy. The true meaning of this phrase echoes Machiavelli, to remove oneself from the idealistic world of oughts and should-bes, to the practical application of how things are and CAN be with knowledge as a trusty companion. Knowledge is to be used for action and the conquest of nature, and no one before Bacon coordinates man better toward such goals that he dreams we can attain.
Along with creating these new sciences, he also methodically addresses the errors and shortcomings of extant areas, particularly medicine. In these pages he radically transforms this field, telling people to document and organize and advance these disciplines. We take this as an obvious aspect of our work today, but in 1605 where people commonly sought out witchcraft as frequently as doctors to cure what ails them, it is the scientific method that differentiates one from the other, and where guess-and-check comes up short.
We commonly summarize Bacon's philosophy as "knowledge is power", superficially interpreting this to mean that "it's better to know than not to know". The prevailing wisdom of the time was for knowledge to be idly used in contemplation of metaphysics and philosophy. The true meaning of this phrase echoes Machiavelli, to remove oneself from the idealistic world of oughts and should-bes, to the practical application of how things are and CAN be with knowledge as a trusty companion. Knowledge is to be used for action and the conquest of nature, and no one before Bacon coordinates man better toward such goals that he dreams we can attain.
January 8, 2015
لما تقرأه في الوقت الي مسيطر فيه العلم عالعالم مش حتحس ان الكتاب هذا سوى تكرار لكلام انت عارفه
بس لما تعرف ان الكتاب انكتب من ٥٠٠ سنة فاتت حتحس بثورية أفكار بيكون وكيف كاين سابق لزمانه
مؤسس العلم التجريبي لك كل تحياتي
افضل اقتباس من الكتاب :
Aren't true discovers those who say that they shouldn't sail the sea looking for land because they only sea water .
Little knowledge turns u into an atheist , but greater knowledge turn u back to god
بس لما تعرف ان الكتاب انكتب من ٥٠٠ سنة فاتت حتحس بثورية أفكار بيكون وكيف كاين سابق لزمانه
مؤسس العلم التجريبي لك كل تحياتي
افضل اقتباس من الكتاب :
Aren't true discovers those who say that they shouldn't sail the sea looking for land because they only sea water .
Little knowledge turns u into an atheist , but greater knowledge turn u back to god
September 10, 2021
Denna bok är Bacons handledning kring fabeltolkningar. Hade den varit marginellt lättare skriven hade jag velat använda den i undervisningen; kanske borde översätta den för sakens skull...
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October 4, 2025But the greatest error of all the rest is the mistaking or misplacing of the last or furthest end of knowledge. For men have entered into a desire of learning and knowledge, sometimes upon a natural curiosity and inquisitive appetite; sometimes to entertain their minds with variety and delight; sometimes for ornament and reputation; and sometimes to enable them to victory of wit and contradiction; and most times for lucre and profession; and seldom sincerely to give a true account of their gift of reason to the benefit and use of men: as if there were sought in knowledge a couch whereupon to rest a searching and restless spirit; or a terrace for a wandering and variable mind to walk up and down with a fair prospect; or a tower of state, for a proud mind to raise itself upon; or a fort or commanding ground, for strife and contention; or a shop, for profit or sale; and not a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man’s estate. But this is that which will indeed dignify and exalt knowledge, if contemplation and action may be more nearly and straitly conjoined and united together than they have been: a conjunction like unto that of the two highest planets, Saturn, the planet of rest and contemplation; and Jupiter, the planet of civil society and action.
Not for any exact truth that can be expected in those theories; for as the same phenomena in astronomy are satisfied by this received astronomy of the diurnal motion, and the proper motions of the planets, with their eccentrics and epicycles, and likewise by the theory of Copernicus, who supposed the earth to move, and the calculations are indifferently agreeable to both, so the ordinary face and view of experience is many times satisfied by several theories and philosophies; whereas to find the real truth requireth another manner of severity and attention. For as Aristotle saith, that children at the first will call every woman mother, but afterward they come to distinguish according to truth, so experience, if it be in childhood, will call every philosophy mother, but when it cometh to ripeness it will discern the true mother.
In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except it be that men do not sufficiently understand this excellent use of the pure mathematics, in that they do remedy and cure many defects in the wit and faculties intellectual. For if the wit be too dull, they sharpen it; if too wandering, they fix it; if too inherent in the sense, they abstract it. So that as tennis is a game of no use in itself, but of great use in respect it maketh a quick eye and a body ready to put itself into all postures, so in the mathematics that use which is collateral and intervenient is no less worthy than that which is principal and intended.
But the use of this part of metaphysic, which I report as deficient, is of the rest the most excellent in two respects: the one, because it is the duty and virtue of all knowledge to abridge the infinity of individual experience, as much as the conception of truth will permit, and to remedy the complaint of vita brevis, ars longa; which is performed by uniting the notions and conceptions of sciences. For knowledges are as pyramids, whereof history is the basis. So of natural philosophy, the basis is natural history; the stage next the basis is physic; the stage next the vertical point is metaphysic. As for the vertical point, opus quod operatur Deus à principio usque ad finem, the summary law of nature, we know not whether man’s inquiry can attain unto it. But these three be the true stages of knowledge, and are to them that are depraved no better than the giants’ hills:—
“Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam,
Scilicet atque Ossæ frondsum involvere Olympum.”
But to those which refer all things to the glory of God, they are as the three acclamations, Sante, sancte, sancte! holy in the description or dilatation of His works; holy in the connection or concatenation of them; and holy in the union of them in a perpetual and uniform law. And, therefore, the speculation was excellent in Parmenides and Plato, although but a speculation in them, that all things by scale did ascend to unity. So then always that knowledge is worthiest which is charged with least multiplicity, which appeareth to be metaphysic; as that which considereth the simple forms or differences of things, which are few in number, and the degrees and co-ordinations whereof make all this variety.
And in like manner, I doubt not but it will easily appear to men of judgment, that in this and other particulars, wheresoever my conception and notion may differ from the ancient, yet I am studious to keep the ancient terms. For hoping well to deliver myself from mistaking, by the order and perspicuous expressing of that I do propound, I am otherwise zealous and affectionate to recede as little from antiquity, either in terms or opinions, as may stand with truth and the proficience of knowledge. And herein I cannot a little marvel at the philosopher Aristotle, that did proceed in such a spirit of difference and contradiction towards all antiquity; undertaking not only to frame new words of science at pleasure, but to confound and extinguish all ancient wisdom; insomuch as he never nameth or mentioneth an ancient author or opinion, but to confute and reprove; wherein for glory, and drawing followers and disciples, he took the right course. For certainly there cometh to pass, and hath place in human truth, that which was noted and pronounced in the highest truth:—Veni in nomine partis, nec recipits me; si quis venerit in nomine suo eum recipietis. But in this divine aphorism (considering to whom it was applied, namely, to antichrist, the highest deceiver), we may discern well that the coming in a man’s own name, without regard of antiquity or paternity, is no good sign of truth, although it be joined with the fortune and success of an eum recipietis. But for this excellent person Aristotle, I will think of him that he learned that humour of his scholar, with whom it seemeth he did emulate; the one to conquer all opinions, as the other to conquer all nations. Wherein, nevertheless, it may be, he may at some men’s hands, that are of a bitter disposition, get a like title as his scholar did:—
“Felix terrarum prædo, non utile mundo
Editus exemplum, &c.”
So,
“Felix doctrinæ prædo.”
(6) But if my judgment be of any weight, the use of history mechanical is of all others the most radical and fundamental towards natural philosophy; such natural philosophy as shall not vanish in the fume of subtle, sublime, or delectable speculation, but such as shall be operative to the endowment and benefit of man’s life. For it will not only minister and suggest for the present many ingenious practices in all trades, by a connection and transferring of the observations of one art to the use of another, when the experiences of several mysteries shall fall under the consideration of one man’s mind; but further, it will give a more true and real illumination concerning causes and axioms than is hitherto attained. For like as a man’s disposition is never well known till he be crossed, nor Proteus ever changed shapes till he was straitened and held fast; so the passages and variations of nature cannot appear so fully in the liberty of nature as in the trials and vexations of art.
Not for any exact truth that can be expected in those theories; for as the same phenomena in astronomy are satisfied by this received astronomy of the diurnal motion, and the proper motions of the planets, with their eccentrics and epicycles, and likewise by the theory of Copernicus, who supposed the earth to move, and the calculations are indifferently agreeable to both, so the ordinary face and view of experience is many times satisfied by several theories and philosophies; whereas to find the real truth requireth another manner of severity and attention. For as Aristotle saith, that children at the first will call every woman mother, but afterward they come to distinguish according to truth, so experience, if it be in childhood, will call every philosophy mother, but when it cometh to ripeness it will discern the true mother.
In the mathematics I can report no deficience, except it be that men do not sufficiently understand this excellent use of the pure mathematics, in that they do remedy and cure many defects in the wit and faculties intellectual. For if the wit be too dull, they sharpen it; if too wandering, they fix it; if too inherent in the sense, they abstract it. So that as tennis is a game of no use in itself, but of great use in respect it maketh a quick eye and a body ready to put itself into all postures, so in the mathematics that use which is collateral and intervenient is no less worthy than that which is principal and intended.
But the use of this part of metaphysic, which I report as deficient, is of the rest the most excellent in two respects: the one, because it is the duty and virtue of all knowledge to abridge the infinity of individual experience, as much as the conception of truth will permit, and to remedy the complaint of vita brevis, ars longa; which is performed by uniting the notions and conceptions of sciences. For knowledges are as pyramids, whereof history is the basis. So of natural philosophy, the basis is natural history; the stage next the basis is physic; the stage next the vertical point is metaphysic. As for the vertical point, opus quod operatur Deus à principio usque ad finem, the summary law of nature, we know not whether man’s inquiry can attain unto it. But these three be the true stages of knowledge, and are to them that are depraved no better than the giants’ hills:—
“Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam,
Scilicet atque Ossæ frondsum involvere Olympum.”
But to those which refer all things to the glory of God, they are as the three acclamations, Sante, sancte, sancte! holy in the description or dilatation of His works; holy in the connection or concatenation of them; and holy in the union of them in a perpetual and uniform law. And, therefore, the speculation was excellent in Parmenides and Plato, although but a speculation in them, that all things by scale did ascend to unity. So then always that knowledge is worthiest which is charged with least multiplicity, which appeareth to be metaphysic; as that which considereth the simple forms or differences of things, which are few in number, and the degrees and co-ordinations whereof make all this variety.
And in like manner, I doubt not but it will easily appear to men of judgment, that in this and other particulars, wheresoever my conception and notion may differ from the ancient, yet I am studious to keep the ancient terms. For hoping well to deliver myself from mistaking, by the order and perspicuous expressing of that I do propound, I am otherwise zealous and affectionate to recede as little from antiquity, either in terms or opinions, as may stand with truth and the proficience of knowledge. And herein I cannot a little marvel at the philosopher Aristotle, that did proceed in such a spirit of difference and contradiction towards all antiquity; undertaking not only to frame new words of science at pleasure, but to confound and extinguish all ancient wisdom; insomuch as he never nameth or mentioneth an ancient author or opinion, but to confute and reprove; wherein for glory, and drawing followers and disciples, he took the right course. For certainly there cometh to pass, and hath place in human truth, that which was noted and pronounced in the highest truth:—Veni in nomine partis, nec recipits me; si quis venerit in nomine suo eum recipietis. But in this divine aphorism (considering to whom it was applied, namely, to antichrist, the highest deceiver), we may discern well that the coming in a man’s own name, without regard of antiquity or paternity, is no good sign of truth, although it be joined with the fortune and success of an eum recipietis. But for this excellent person Aristotle, I will think of him that he learned that humour of his scholar, with whom it seemeth he did emulate; the one to conquer all opinions, as the other to conquer all nations. Wherein, nevertheless, it may be, he may at some men’s hands, that are of a bitter disposition, get a like title as his scholar did:—
“Felix terrarum prædo, non utile mundo
Editus exemplum, &c.”
So,
“Felix doctrinæ prædo.”
(6) But if my judgment be of any weight, the use of history mechanical is of all others the most radical and fundamental towards natural philosophy; such natural philosophy as shall not vanish in the fume of subtle, sublime, or delectable speculation, but such as shall be operative to the endowment and benefit of man’s life. For it will not only minister and suggest for the present many ingenious practices in all trades, by a connection and transferring of the observations of one art to the use of another, when the experiences of several mysteries shall fall under the consideration of one man’s mind; but further, it will give a more true and real illumination concerning causes and axioms than is hitherto attained. For like as a man’s disposition is never well known till he be crossed, nor Proteus ever changed shapes till he was straitened and held fast; so the passages and variations of nature cannot appear so fully in the liberty of nature as in the trials and vexations of art.
May 28, 2016
We are in 1605, Bacon explains to his king the methods and the effects of learning. You need to go through his pompous salutations and several quotes in Latin to learn something here. This is mainly a report, meaning that he is not demanding much brain power from his king. He even says that this text is analogous to the sound of an orchestra tuning their instruments; the beautiful sounds will follow. He was damn right… the scientific revolution was just starting.
May 11, 2011
I was certainly challenged by the language and Latin in this essay. The length was another obstacle to overcome. However, there were a few lines that made me realize that education and learning hasn't advanced all that much over the last few centuries!
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July 17, 2025This is good for it’s time, but the old language just gave me an absolute headache. This just basically takes a scientific/empirical approach to the art of rhetoric and Bacon details how rhetoric can be used to advance knowledge.
January 3, 2012
Heavy on the Latin and pithy aphorisms, but definitely worth it.
June 8, 2024
"The first distemper of learning, when men study words and not matter: How is it possible but this should have an operation to discredit learning, even with vulgar capacities, when they see learned men's works like the first letter of a patent or limned book; which though it hath large flourishes, yet it is but a letter? It seems to me that Pygmalion's frenzy is a good emblem or portraiture of this vanity: for words are but the images of matter; and except they have life of reason and invention, to fall in love with them is all one as to fall in love with a picture."
Reading this book as a Marxist is truly fascinating at times (I won't lie, the frequent latin interjections become tedious), with strangely relevant criticisms of the state of learning in some parts. Being able to connect the way affluent intellectuals thought during the early enlightenment period alongside the early development of capitalism in London is quite validating for a historical materialist analysis. The strange intermixture of feudal and bourgeois consciousness feels at once alien and familiar. He was PAINFULLY and consistently dualist in his thinking, and basically an objective idealist, it would appear approaching empiricism or even materialism at times, but then he comes back to god shortly thereafter.
What made him truly revolutionary for his time I think was the complete break from the old scientific method of the "scholastics", basically overly pedantic theologically driven old-heads who cautioned against "too much" science for fear of atheism, but Franky boy said au contraire, "those men do not consider that it was not the pure knowledge of nature and universality which gave the occasion to the fall; but it was the proud knowledge of good and evil, with an intent to give law unto himself and to depend no more upon God's commandments, which was the form of temptation. As for the conceit that too much knowledge should incline a man to atheism, and that ignorance of second causes should make a more devout dependence upon God who is the first cause; first it is good to ask the question as Job asked his friends, 'Will you lie for God as one man will do for another to gratify him?' For certain it is that God worketh nothing in nature but by second causes; and if they would otherwise have it believed, it is mere imposture, as it were in favour towards God, and nothing else but to offer to the author of truth the unclean sacrifice of a lie." I think this here demonstrates the impact of the recent protestant reformation upon the thought of the day, and shows explicitly how it laid the grounds for scientific revitalization.
Some things, like using the absence of a certain quality in a thing undergoing a phenomenon while other things under the same phenomenon do not require that quality for the phenomenon to happen, demonstrating that that quality is not required for that phenomenon to happen, for us may seem like something a 5 year old should intuitively know, but apparently this was ground breaking, and Frank introduced this method. He also had the ground breaking initiative to separate science from magic, not to the discredit of magic, but rather demonstrating that the two have little practically to do with each other. He was of course a magician himself, being a founding member of the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians.
His understanding of metaphysics is also rather unique. Not as vulgar as Plato's forms where they are completely abstracted from matter, his forms referred (or tried to) more to the scientific basis for certain qualities/causes, for example, that flame melts wax but hardens clay, so the metaphysical form he would seek is the nature of melting, and the nature of hardening, thereby gaining an understanding of the properties of the object and the universe more generally: "To enquire the form of the lion, oak, gold, nay of water, of air, is a vain pursuit: but to enquire the forms of sense, voluntary motion, vegetation, colors, gravity and levity, density, tenuity, heat, cold, and all other natures and qualities, which like an alphabet are not many, and of which the essences (upheld by matter) of all creatures do consist; to enquire I say the true forms of these is that part of metaphysic which we now define of."
Also the fact that this guy was a spy for like 40 years, was most likely Elizabeth I's illegitimate son, and oversaw the implementation of such basic capitalist economic conditions as the legalization of the charging of interest on loans, makes this guy generally just...interesting isn't the word, and I don't know what word it would be, but I'm sure he would know the perfect one to use.
Reading this book as a Marxist is truly fascinating at times (I won't lie, the frequent latin interjections become tedious), with strangely relevant criticisms of the state of learning in some parts. Being able to connect the way affluent intellectuals thought during the early enlightenment period alongside the early development of capitalism in London is quite validating for a historical materialist analysis. The strange intermixture of feudal and bourgeois consciousness feels at once alien and familiar. He was PAINFULLY and consistently dualist in his thinking, and basically an objective idealist, it would appear approaching empiricism or even materialism at times, but then he comes back to god shortly thereafter.
What made him truly revolutionary for his time I think was the complete break from the old scientific method of the "scholastics", basically overly pedantic theologically driven old-heads who cautioned against "too much" science for fear of atheism, but Franky boy said au contraire, "those men do not consider that it was not the pure knowledge of nature and universality which gave the occasion to the fall; but it was the proud knowledge of good and evil, with an intent to give law unto himself and to depend no more upon God's commandments, which was the form of temptation. As for the conceit that too much knowledge should incline a man to atheism, and that ignorance of second causes should make a more devout dependence upon God who is the first cause; first it is good to ask the question as Job asked his friends, 'Will you lie for God as one man will do for another to gratify him?' For certain it is that God worketh nothing in nature but by second causes; and if they would otherwise have it believed, it is mere imposture, as it were in favour towards God, and nothing else but to offer to the author of truth the unclean sacrifice of a lie." I think this here demonstrates the impact of the recent protestant reformation upon the thought of the day, and shows explicitly how it laid the grounds for scientific revitalization.
Some things, like using the absence of a certain quality in a thing undergoing a phenomenon while other things under the same phenomenon do not require that quality for the phenomenon to happen, demonstrating that that quality is not required for that phenomenon to happen, for us may seem like something a 5 year old should intuitively know, but apparently this was ground breaking, and Frank introduced this method. He also had the ground breaking initiative to separate science from magic, not to the discredit of magic, but rather demonstrating that the two have little practically to do with each other. He was of course a magician himself, being a founding member of the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians.
His understanding of metaphysics is also rather unique. Not as vulgar as Plato's forms where they are completely abstracted from matter, his forms referred (or tried to) more to the scientific basis for certain qualities/causes, for example, that flame melts wax but hardens clay, so the metaphysical form he would seek is the nature of melting, and the nature of hardening, thereby gaining an understanding of the properties of the object and the universe more generally: "To enquire the form of the lion, oak, gold, nay of water, of air, is a vain pursuit: but to enquire the forms of sense, voluntary motion, vegetation, colors, gravity and levity, density, tenuity, heat, cold, and all other natures and qualities, which like an alphabet are not many, and of which the essences (upheld by matter) of all creatures do consist; to enquire I say the true forms of these is that part of metaphysic which we now define of."
Also the fact that this guy was a spy for like 40 years, was most likely Elizabeth I's illegitimate son, and oversaw the implementation of such basic capitalist economic conditions as the legalization of the charging of interest on loans, makes this guy generally just...interesting isn't the word, and I don't know what word it would be, but I'm sure he would know the perfect one to use.
September 23, 2018
This book is over 400 years old. It holds up surprisingly well. Bacon was a well-read and intelligent fellow.
The book has 3 main aspects for the modern reader to contend with.
1) Tons of Latin. At the time of this writing in the early 17th century, Latin was known by most scholars. Bacon assumes the reader of this intellectual tomb is familiar with this now dead language. For the modern reader, we suffer due to the lack of comprehension of many of his theories which begin with Latin passages.
2) Digressions and discussions of biblical, Greek philosophy, Roman history and Machiavellian theories. Bacon many times gives shout outs to the Greeks and Romans who he believes are the two great civilizations and societies from antiquity. He recommends that his king, King James, take heed of their philosophy and history. He talks much about Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Caesar, Cato, and Cicero. He accepts most of the biblical text as fact. His deference to his predecessors takes the reader away from his more radical philosophy ideas, and somewhat drags down the flow of the book.
3) Innovative thoughts on philosophy. Bacon breaks down knowledge into 3 main categories. Divine, natural and human nature. He states that much of what we know is based on faith and our trust in god. In nature, we learn from experimentation, math, and science. In human nature, we study history, government, economy, and society to make sense of our human emotions and relationships.
The philosophical points of Bacon are well laid out and spoken in a language that is comprehensible today. Mostly Bacon's ideas are flexible enough to stand the test of time and do not suffer from anachronistic proofs. He accounts for the progression of science and how as we learn more about our natural world, that our philosophy need to adjust to these new truths.
He writes the book as an open letter to King James. The introduction and conclusions are deferential. As you scratch under the surface, you discover a brilliant thinker with an open mind to learn how we can better interpret our world. One of the better and more timeless philosophy books of this era.
The book has 3 main aspects for the modern reader to contend with.
1) Tons of Latin. At the time of this writing in the early 17th century, Latin was known by most scholars. Bacon assumes the reader of this intellectual tomb is familiar with this now dead language. For the modern reader, we suffer due to the lack of comprehension of many of his theories which begin with Latin passages.
2) Digressions and discussions of biblical, Greek philosophy, Roman history and Machiavellian theories. Bacon many times gives shout outs to the Greeks and Romans who he believes are the two great civilizations and societies from antiquity. He recommends that his king, King James, take heed of their philosophy and history. He talks much about Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Caesar, Cato, and Cicero. He accepts most of the biblical text as fact. His deference to his predecessors takes the reader away from his more radical philosophy ideas, and somewhat drags down the flow of the book.
3) Innovative thoughts on philosophy. Bacon breaks down knowledge into 3 main categories. Divine, natural and human nature. He states that much of what we know is based on faith and our trust in god. In nature, we learn from experimentation, math, and science. In human nature, we study history, government, economy, and society to make sense of our human emotions and relationships.
The philosophical points of Bacon are well laid out and spoken in a language that is comprehensible today. Mostly Bacon's ideas are flexible enough to stand the test of time and do not suffer from anachronistic proofs. He accounts for the progression of science and how as we learn more about our natural world, that our philosophy need to adjust to these new truths.
He writes the book as an open letter to King James. The introduction and conclusions are deferential. As you scratch under the surface, you discover a brilliant thinker with an open mind to learn how we can better interpret our world. One of the better and more timeless philosophy books of this era.
March 13, 2023
Read this in the Adler edition, but it didn't have the correct published date. Read as the start of my classical education. I still have to make an outline of the book to help organize my thoughts, but this was so, so good. I have not read anything like it. I started with this (after reading Bauer and Adler, the practical guides) even though Bacon hadn't been on my radar, because they both quoted him so much. It is a very rich work, and his use of examples (especially on hard to understand points) were always spot-on, very illuminating. He had a very wise understanding of Scripture that he used throughout the work that is impressive in someone who was not a pastor or of the Church. Truly, a great book.
August 27, 2024
Pithy aphorism, very educational on the topic of science but I would not recommend it if you are not interested. If you do not know Latin, I would suggest an annotated version to fully understand the text, however, comparing passages on Aristotle and other philosophers is interesting in understanding how the teachings developed from the 1500's onward. Overall, both books (1 and 2) are highly interesting if you look past his flagrant or pompous manner of speech towards the king, (as it is written as a report to him). Religion is evidently important, and it is uniquely approachable in its influences on common thought and 'knowledge' as an entirety. Good read.
March 20, 2022
Ponderous but at times interesting. I will have to read someone else's account of the ideas, I think, in order to fully grasp much of them. NOTE: The edition I read is not the one pictured. I read the Dent, Rowman & Littlefield (JM Dent & Sons) trade paperback edition, edited by G. W. Kitchin, with an introduction by Arthur Johnston, with a red cover, originally published in 1973, reprinted multiple times (mine is the 1981 reprint).
January 24, 2018
Not an easy read for sure. SO MANY RUN ON SENTENCES!! But it did make me think a lot and I think that's the point.
September 21, 2021
Obviously, a monumental work in its time, but today it is dated and extremely dense reading. It is worthwhile to study the larger concepts presented as well as the historical context of the work.
October 6, 2025
Stupid Art Midterm
August 28, 2016
I frequently see Bacon acknowledged as one of the first champions of the scientific method, and a few of his quotations are still reproduced with relevance to modern issues. Nevertheless, this book surprised me by just how modern it is (in outlook, if not in language- Bacon makes liberal use of untranslated Latin quotations causing me to make liberal use of an online translator). The book is addressed to King James I, and Bacon is explicit about his desire that it be used to direct royal resources to improve knowledge in the areas he labels deficient: it's nothing less than the framework for an R&D budget. Furthermore, he argues for the importance of pure as opposed to applied research. While some of this is clearly motivated by ancient attitudes about the search of knowledge for knowledge's sake, Bacon also makes the argument that limiting research to only what has obvious and immediate applications will result in limiting our sphere of knowledge to what we already know. This is the earliest example of this argument I'm aware of; its terms have not substantially changed to this day.
Aside from all that, the book is a compendious description of what amounts to the state-of-the-art approaches to research in every field of knowledge circa 1600 as seen by one of the most educated people of that age. Recommended for anyone with interest in the history of ideas.
Aside from all that, the book is a compendious description of what amounts to the state-of-the-art approaches to research in every field of knowledge circa 1600 as seen by one of the most educated people of that age. Recommended for anyone with interest in the history of ideas.
April 14, 2021
Progresul cunoșterii conţine, într-o formă incipientă sau mai dezvoltată, o mare parte a teme-lor din care se va alcătui concertul scrierilor baconiene armonizate în proiectul ulterior al "marii instaurări" (Instauratio magna). De altfel, unul din modurile în care acest volum va lăsa urme de neşters în modernitate este exact felul în care anunţă şi popularizează, în limba engleză şi pentru publicul cultivat, temele fundamentale ale proiectului baconian de reformă a cunoaşterii. E important să subliniem de la început că ne găsim în faţa unei cărţi care apare, în toamna anului 1605, în limba engleză. Prin urmare, nu suntem în faţa unei scrieri destinate cu precădere publicului universitar sau filozoilor, ci a unui text care vizează un auditoriu mai larg, "nespecializat".
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May 18, 2020Bacon is much underrated as a philosopher. His vision for the reform of philosophy and science - well, of learning in general - is quite breathtaking in its scope and audacity. He's also a great writer.
The one thing that spoils it is the quality of this edition. There are no notes, no translation of the extremely frequent Latin quotations with which Bacon illustrates his points, all of which makes for a very frustrating experience.
Also, this is the original English text. Bacon later translated and augmented The AoL, so it might be an easier and more enjoyable read in an English translation of the later Latin edition.
Gareth Southwell is a philosopher, writer and illustrator.
The one thing that spoils it is the quality of this edition. There are no notes, no translation of the extremely frequent Latin quotations with which Bacon illustrates his points, all of which makes for a very frustrating experience.
Also, this is the original English text. Bacon later translated and augmented The AoL, so it might be an easier and more enjoyable read in an English translation of the later Latin edition.
Gareth Southwell is a philosopher, writer and illustrator.
December 30, 2015
The Advancement consists of a shorter first book and a longer second book, I would advise anybody to only read the former, a brilliant exposé of the merits and triumphs of general learning, and not the latter, a tedious and wholly outdated overview of the fields of learning and styles of scientific and ohter research.
January 23, 2013
Although seen as one of rhetoric's villeins, Bacon endorses a place for rhetoric, even if it is only et his rebus ornamento, eloquentia. Not going to pretend it doesn't drag in places, but well worth a skim-through, especially the catchy bits about why education is so worthwhile.
September 3, 2012
Very tough read, i feel like most wont enjoy the constant quotation in Latin of early Philosophers and Poets, but i know i did.
September 4, 2012
Very tough read, i feel like most wont enjoy the constant quotation in Latin of early Philosophers and Poets, but i know i did.
December 27, 2013
Reading this gave me a better perspective on the general state of science and knowledge in Bacon's time. Some of the time spent on classification of knowledge seemed to pass the point, though.
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