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Novum Organum
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Background
Authorial Context: The Life of Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon was an early modern English philosopher, polymath, and statesman. He was born in London on January 22, 1561. His father, Sir Nicholas Bacon, was the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, an important government office. His mother, Anne, was the daughter of humanist scholar and teacher Anthony Cooke, so she was highly educated in languages and the classics. She was also deeply religious. She became a scholar in her own right and corresponded with Bacon closely throughout her life in letters informed by her education and religious conviction.
Bacon’s schooling focused mostly on a medieval curriculum with a Scholastic framework but would have been influenced by Renaissance humanist and classical concerns. His education was conducted mostly in Latin, the language in which he wrote Novum Organum. Bacon ultimately combined his parents’ paths, becoming a statesman like his father but also a scholar like his mother, with his own strong convictions. Novum Organum is a scholarly work, but it also advocates for science’s place in civic affairs, particularly through the power of inventions.
Bacon was plagued by ill-health and debt problems throughout his life, having inherited less than expected. He sought civic employment that would fund him and enable him to pursue his aims: furthering knowledge and serving his country and religion. These aims are present in Novum Organum’s epistemological purpose, religious element, and utilitarian view of science.
Bacon’s political career burgeoned following James I’s ascension to the throne in 1603. He managed his affairs with political shrewdness, rising through a number of offices and becoming attorney general in 1613. In 1618, James appointed him lord high chancellor and then created him Baron (or Lord) Verulam in the peerage of England. In January 1621 he was further elevated to Viscount St Alban.
James’s backing was also important in supporting Bacon’s scholarly pursuits, which Bacon continued throughout his political career. He published at least 58 essays between 1597 and 1623 and a book on epistemology in 1605, Of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine and Human. Novum Organum was first published in 1620 as part of his intended larger work, Instauratio Magna. Firmly in James’s favor at this point, Bacon hoped that James would patronize the development of this “Great Instauration,” though James reportedly claimed not to understand a word of Novum Organum.
Bacon’s political career ended in 1621, when he was charged with multiple counts of corruption. Modern assessments of the severity of these charges vary; some of the practices described were common at the time but seem at odds with Bacon’s apparent zeal in civic service and his strong moral compass, as reflected in writings like Novum Organum. Though he retained his titles, he was banned from holding public office again. He subsequently devoted himself further to his studies and his writing.
Bacon died of pneumonia in 1626. In common accounts, this became linked to an experiment involving stuffing a chicken with snow, presenting Bacon as a martyr to his scientific cause.
Epistemological Context: Early Modern Approaches to Knowledge
The medieval Scholastic movement remained a dominant force in early modern Europe. Scholasticism sought to place classical philosophy in a Christian context, focusing on the close study of existing texts. Aristotle’s work was the foundational base of Scholastic approaches and topics of study, and its primacy was largely unchallenged at Bacon’s time. However, there was not total consensus about the interpretation of Aristotelianism or the function it should serve. For instance, French thinker Ramus, influential at the start of Bacon’s life, produced a radical reimagining of Aristotle’s Organon, the text that Bacon aimed to overthrow entirely with his pointedly titled Novum Organum.
The Renaissance rethought Scholastic approaches to some degree, though classical texts were the cornerstone of a Renaissance education. The flourishing humanist culture shifted the focus outward from studying texts introspectively toward engagement with the present world, including participation in civic affairs. Bacon fitted the model of a Renaissance scholar and statesman, combining civic service with intellectual enquiry. In Novum Organum he argues for the use of science and its inventions to improve life for people, expressing Conviction in Human Progress Through the Pursuit of Knowledge. The harnessing of intellectual pursuits for the betterment of humanity is a central Renaissance, humanist principle.
The 16th and 17th centuries saw a growing trend of experimental and observational focus in natural philosophy, marking the emergence of the Scientific Revolution. Bacon’s recent predecessors pursued scientific study with an outward focus, relying on observation rather than theoretical and textual study. For example, Galileo and Gilbert, both of whom Bacon refers to in Novum Organum, studied topics now under the umbrella of physics, such as astronomy and magnetism respectively. Bacon’s writings show his engagement with recent scientific developments, and he carried out his own experiments in this vein—such as the infamous frozen chicken purportedly behind his death.
These influences are all apparent in Novum Organum, which not only drew on contemporary approaches to knowledge and learning but also engaged with them directly. Bacon is often compared to his contemporary Descartes, who was also interested in a fundamental critique of classical-based epistemology. He shared Bacon’s preoccupation with the nature and potential of human knowledge. However, his method of investigation was radically different, focusing on thought rather than observation, leading to the development of two overlapping but also diverging approaches.
Critical Context: Bacon’s Immediate and Continued Influence on Scientific Development
Novum Organum sought to overturn many foundational ideas in contemporary epistemology and was met with mixed responses. Potential patron James I claimed not to understand any of it, while contemporary scientist William Harvey took exception to Bacon’s use of persuasive rhetoric, accusing him of approaching science like a politician.
However, Novum Organum offered both an epistemological framework and a specific proposed method for the growing Scientific Revolution, so it became important within this movement, which flourished as the 17th century went on. Scientific societies emerged that favored Bacon’s values and approaches, such as the Royal Society, formed in London in 1662, and the Académie des sciences, formed in Paris in 1666. These societies aimed to further scientific progress by examining existing ideas critically and developing new ones. They published papers, developing an ethos of transparency and clarity that reflected Bacon’s criticisms of verbally intricate theoretical investigation. They also encouraged attempts to reproduce experiments and findings, in line with Bacon’s preference for evidence-based conclusions that could be practically tested and repeated. This approach also reflected Bacon’s idea that anomalous data should be highlighted rather than hidden because it offers great insight into truth and must be accounted for in any theory.
Bacon is often seen as the predecessor of scientists such as Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke, who took parts of their methodology from Baconian method and themselves represented vital stepping stones in the development of modern science. Science emerged from this period as a distinct area of study—separate from philosophy and with its own framework and ethos.
Baconian method itself did not ultimately become an accepted methodology. However, Bacon is recognized as a central figure in the development of science into the discipline it is today. Novum Organum formalized, contextualized, and developed the growing Scientific Revolution. Its core values, particularly the importance of evidence, remain cornerstones of modern scientific study. Bacon did not consider himself an empiricist, but given the modern sense of the world, he is sometimes known as the father of empiricism.
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