Francis Bacon

***I did this short 2 part essay on Francis Bacon for extra credit in Philosophy of Christian Education at PBC Sophomore Year.***

Francis Bacon is the father of a system of philosophy based entirely on science (Simpson). He was born in 1561 to London residing parents Sir Nicholas and Lady Ann (Simpson). Sir Nicholas was Lord of the Seal, while Ann was the daughter of a knight. Research shows that Lady Ann was also very educated (Simpson). Bacon was “homeschooled” until the age of twelve when he entered college at Cambridge (Simpson). He eventually studied law and after an interesting string of events he became a lawyer (Simpson). His career was setback with a tax cut instituted by Queen Elizabeth who later despite her original offence with Bacon appointed him to Extraordinary Council (Simpson). He was later knighted by King John (Simpson). After another setback, he focused on science and reforming ideals of man (Simpson). He died in 1626 of supposed pneumonia (Simpson).
Francis Bacon, opposed to tradition, strove to create a new philosophy to improve the knowledge and fortunes of man (Simpson). Bacon believed in improving the mind because it is a “crooked mirror” (Klein). He held to an ideal of idols that men have that pervert the mind (Klein). He expresses a need for experimentation and research to discover truths (Klein). He implies the idea of progressing the human mind and species (Simpson). Is it possible Bacon shows early ideals of progressivism in his opposition of tradition and desire for human progression? He mostly associated with the school of science. The reasoning behind this is because of his insistence of science as the way to progression.

Works Cited
Klein, Juergen. “Francis Bacon.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, plato.stanford.edu. 29 December 2003. Web. 8 December 2010.
Simpson, David. "Bacon, Francis." The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu. 15 July 2005. Web. 8 December 2010.