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.
Biography information from
Wikiquote·
Portrait adapted from
Wikimedia Commons, Paul van Somer I / Formerly attributed to Frans Pourbus the Younger (Public domain / CC0)
Also Known As
Alternative Names:
Franciscus Bacon
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Francis Bacon of Verulamius
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Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam
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Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626
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Francis Bacon, Viscount Saint Alban
Portrait from Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Paul van Somer I / Formerly attributed to Frans Pourbus the Younger. Used under Public domain / CC0. Processed and styled by Quotewise.
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For all knowledge and wonder (which is the seed of knowledge) is an impression of pleasure in itself.
We are wont to call that human reasoning which we apply to Nature the anticipation of Nature (as being rash and premature) and that which is properly deduced from things the interpretation of Nature.
We are much beholden to Machiavelli and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do.
