Francis Bacon and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge

Francis Bacon and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge PDF Author: Dennis Desroches
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1847143725
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
While Francis Bacon continues to be considered the 'father' of modern experimental science, his writings are no longer given close attention by most historians and philosophers of science, let alone by scientists themselves. In this new book Dennis Desroches speaks up loudly for Bacon, showing how we have yet to surpass the fundamental theoretical insights that he offered towards producing scientific knowledge. The book first examines the critics who have led many generations of scholars - in fields as diverse as literary criticism, science studies, feminism, philosophy and history - to think of Bacon as an outmoded landmark in the history of ideas rather than a crucial thinker for our own day. Bacon's own work is seen to contain the best responses to these various forms of attack. Desroches then focuses on Bacon's Novum Organum, The Advancement of Learning and De Augmentis, in order to discern the theoretical - rather than simply the empirical or utilitarian - nature of his programme for the 'renovation' of the natural sciences. The final part of the book draws startling links between Bacon and one of the twentieth century's most important historians/philosophers of science, Thomas Kuhn, discerning in Kuhn's work a reprise of many of Bacon's fundamental ideas - despite Kuhn's clear attempt to reject Bacon as a significant contributor to the way we think about scientific practice today. Desroches concludes, then, that Bacon was not simply the 'father' of modern science - he is still in the process of 'fathering' it.

Francis Bacon and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge

Francis Bacon and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge PDF Author: Dennis Desroches
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1847143725
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 237

Get Book Here

Book Description
While Francis Bacon continues to be considered the 'father' of modern experimental science, his writings are no longer given close attention by most historians and philosophers of science, let alone by scientists themselves. In this new book Dennis Desroches speaks up loudly for Bacon, showing how we have yet to surpass the fundamental theoretical insights that he offered towards producing scientific knowledge. The book first examines the critics who have led many generations of scholars - in fields as diverse as literary criticism, science studies, feminism, philosophy and history - to think of Bacon as an outmoded landmark in the history of ideas rather than a crucial thinker for our own day. Bacon's own work is seen to contain the best responses to these various forms of attack. Desroches then focuses on Bacon's Novum Organum, The Advancement of Learning and De Augmentis, in order to discern the theoretical - rather than simply the empirical or utilitarian - nature of his programme for the 'renovation' of the natural sciences. The final part of the book draws startling links between Bacon and one of the twentieth century's most important historians/philosophers of science, Thomas Kuhn, discerning in Kuhn's work a reprise of many of Bacon's fundamental ideas - despite Kuhn's clear attempt to reject Bacon as a significant contributor to the way we think about scientific practice today. Desroches concludes, then, that Bacon was not simply the 'father' of modern science - he is still in the process of 'fathering' it.

Knowledge is Power (Icon Science)

Knowledge is Power (Icon Science) PDF Author: John Henry
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1785782517
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
Francis Bacon - a leading figure in the history of science - never made a major discovery, provided a lasting explanation of any physical phenomena or revealed any hidden laws of nature. How then can he rank as he does alongside Newton? Bacon was the first major thinker to describe how science should be done, and to explain why. Scientific knowledge should not be gathered for its own sake but for practical benefit to mankind. And Bacon promoted experimentation, coming to outline and define the rigorous procedures of the 'scientific method' that today from the very bedrock of modern scientific progress. John Henry gives a dramatic account of the background to Bacon's innovations and the sometimes unconventional sources for his ideas. Why was he was so concerned to revolutionize the attitude to scientific knowledge - and why do his ideas for reform still resonate today?

Francis Bacon: From Magic to Science

Francis Bacon: From Magic to Science PDF Author: Paolo Rossi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135028109
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
Originally published in 1968. This volume discusses Francis Bacon’s thought and work in the context of the European cultural environment that influenced Bacon’s philosophy and was in turn influenced by it. It examines the influence of magical and alchemical traditions on Bacon and his opposition to these traditions, as well as illustrating the naturalist, materialist and ethico-political patterns in Bacon’s allegorical interpretations of fables.

The Essays of Francis Bacon

The Essays of Francis Bacon PDF Author: Francis Bacon
Publisher: Blurb
ISBN: 9781714098088
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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Book Description
The Essays are written in a wide range of styles, from the plain and unadorned to the epigrammatic. They cover topics drawn from both public and private life, and in each case the essays cover their topics systematically from a number of different angles, weighing one argument against another. Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban ( 22 January 1561 - 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and as Lord Chancellor of England. His works are credited with developing the scientific method and remained influential through the scientific revolution. Bacon has been called the father of empiricism. 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 science could be achieved by use of a sceptical and methodical approach whereby scientists aim to avoid misleading themselves. Although his practical ideas about such a method, the Baconian method, did not have a long-lasting influence, the general idea of the importance and possibility of a sceptical methodology makes Bacon the father of the scientific method. This method was a new rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, the practical details of which are still central in debates about science and methodology.

Francis Bacon's Idea of Science and the Maker's Knowledge Tradition

Francis Bacon's Idea of Science and the Maker's Knowledge Tradition PDF Author: Antonio Pérez-Ramos
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
An account of Francis Bacon's (1561-1626) conception of natural inquiry, placing him in an epistemological tradition which postulates an intimate relation between objects of cognition and objects of construction and regarding him as the founding father of modern philosophy of science.

Bacon's Novum organum

Bacon's Novum organum PDF Author: Francis Bacon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Logic
Languages : la
Pages : 742

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Book Description


Reproducibility and Replicability in Science

Reproducibility and Replicability in Science PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309486165
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
One of the pathways by which the scientific community confirms the validity of a new scientific discovery is by repeating the research that produced it. When a scientific effort fails to independently confirm the computations or results of a previous study, some fear that it may be a symptom of a lack of rigor in science, while others argue that such an observed inconsistency can be an important precursor to new discovery. Concerns about reproducibility and replicability have been expressed in both scientific and popular media. As these concerns came to light, Congress requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct a study to assess the extent of issues related to reproducibility and replicability and to offer recommendations for improving rigor and transparency in scientific research. Reproducibility and Replicability in Science defines reproducibility and replicability and examines the factors that may lead to non-reproducibility and non-replicability in research. Unlike the typical expectation of reproducibility between two computations, expectations about replicability are more nuanced, and in some cases a lack of replicability can aid the process of scientific discovery. This report provides recommendations to researchers, academic institutions, journals, and funders on steps they can take to improve reproducibility and replicability in science.

Knowledge and the Public Interest, 1575–1725

Knowledge and the Public Interest, 1575–1725 PDF Author: Vera Keller
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107110130
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
This study shows that modernity has its origins in the advancement of knowledge, and not in the Scientific Revolution.

The Advancement of Learning

The Advancement of Learning PDF Author: Francis Bacon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description


Valerius Terminus; Of the Interpretation of Nature

Valerius Terminus; Of the Interpretation of Nature PDF Author: Francis Bacon
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3387025270
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.