Web Page 6: Francis Bacon
In Francis Bacon’s work, Novum Organum or “New Organon,” Bacon describes a new method of logic he believes to be superior to Aristotelian syllogism. In, Novum Organum Bacon suggests that finding the essence of a thing was a simple process of reduction, through the use of inductive reasoning attempts understanding through drawing generalized conclusions from a finite collection of specific observations.
Bacon’s 1620 seminal work may be characterized by the popular phrase: “You can’t see the forests for the trees.” For Bacon, one must first understand trees before one can understand a forest; that one must first examine each and every tree, understand each type of tree before discussion of a forest, an aggregate of trees. By way of analogy, if one is studying the French Revolution, one can memorize every single date, river, battle, general, strategy but, ultimately, should one be asked write an essay in answer to “What was French Revolution about?”one would have to consider, in a manner of Bacon, many more variables and instances such as weather, climate, religion, economics that would induce something to be said, generally, about revolutions first, then induce upward, more generally, about a French version of revolution. That is, before Bacon got to Revolution or even French Revolution, the forest, he would have us look at each tree, at each contributing factor or circumstance of “unease” or “unrest” or “disturbance” of a people, then a larger group, then a nation. Bacon would seek to understand revolution first by noting its individual characteristics, size them up and, finally, add them up. Specific to general.
Aristotle, conversely, might look at revolution first, and subtract, attempt to differentiate its constituent parts, to deduce from “revolution” what makes revolution. Aristotle, looking at the forest of “revolution” might suggest that the trees of “unease,” “unrest” and “disturbance” in weather, climate, religion and economics can be sifted, shaken, subtracted, isolated, or deduced. Given a forest, look to the contributed trees to best understand the phenomena. For Bacon, one must look at trees, and add them up, to eventually call such a collection a “forest.”
The approach to understanding found between Aristotle and Bacon may cause some tension. One subtracts (deduces), the other adds (induces). But the real tension stems from Bacon’s break from the old ways of thinking, of the old ways of approaching thinking and science. Not just breaking from Aristotle but from Bacon’s break from the more recent “rebirth” or Renaissance. Bacon thus breaks twice: from Aristotle and the re-kindled interest in Aristotle.
And thus Bacon’s place in the English Renaissance itself. Bacon calls it, after all, the “New” Organon.
