It was a good answer that was made by one who when they sho… - Francis Bacon

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It was a good answer that was made by one who when they showed him hanging in a temple a picture of those who had paid their vows as having escaped shipwreck, and would have him say whether he did not now acknowledge the power of the gods, — ‘Aye,’ asked he again, ‘but where are they painted that were drowned after their vows?’ And such is the way of all superstition, whether in astrology, dreams, omens, divine judgments, or the like; wherein men, having a delight in such vanities, mark the events where they are fulfilled, but where they fail, though this happens much oftener, neglect and pass them by.

Francis Bacon

deductive-reasoning superstition confirmation-bias logic rationality

English

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About Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St. Alban KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman and essayist. His works argued for the possibility of scientific knowledge based only upon inductive reasoning and careful observation of events in nature. Most importantly, he argued this could be achieved by use of a sceptical and methodical approach whereby scientists aim to avoid misleading themselves. His general idea of the importance and possibility of a skeptical methodology makes Bacon the father of the scientific method. This marked a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, the practical details of which are still central in debates about science and methodology today.

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Also Known As

Alternative Names: Franciscus Bacon • Francis Bacon of Verulamius • Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam • Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626 • Francis Bacon, Viscount Saint Alban

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Michel de Montaigne Samuel Johnson Ralph Waldo Emerson Samuel Butler Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Additional quotes by Francis Bacon

The logic now in use serves rather to fix and give stability to the errors which have their foundation in commonly received notions than to help the search after truth. So it does more harm than good.

The less people speak of their greatness, the more we think of it.

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

It was a good answer that was made by one who when they showed him hanging in a temple a picture of those who had paid their vows as having escaped s… - Francis Bacon

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