Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon’s Philosophy of Science In 1620, Francis Bacon; the philosopher and creator of Empiricism made a great contribution in defining the course of modern science by a breakthrough in process of scientific reasoning and method. Bacon did not propose an actual philosophy of science rather a method of developing philosophy. He demanded science based on induction. While being the first in the philosophy of science, Bacon discovered that Aristotle methods taught scientists nothing about the universe. The contributions Bacon made to the philosophy of science impacted the involvement of psychology today. Bacon was greatly influenced by the Renaissance period and made an impact in the modern era of knowledge (Ochulor, 2011). Francis Bacon believed that empiricists gathered important information, but had little idea on how to use their knowledge. Bacon made many contributions to the history of the philosophy of science, but the biggest was the idea of experimental science. He believed research could be used to test real world observations. “According to Bacon, science should include no theories, no hypotheses, no mathematics, and no deductions but should involve only the facts of observation” (Esper, 1964). Bacon had little trust in rationalism due to its emphasis on words, and he distrusted mathematics because of its emphasis on symbols. He trusted only the direct observation and recording of nature. With Bacon being a radical empiricist, he stated the ultimate authority in science was to be empirical observation. Positivism was later the name of Bacon’s approach to science. Bacon advocated the theory of dual truth; truth of reason and truth of revelation. Bacon referred reason to revelation as the source of philosophical and scientific reasoning which can lead one to believe him as a rationalist but more of an empiricist. “For Francis Bacon, it is only through the concept of experimentation and observation that one can arrive at true knowledge”
References: Esper, E. A. (1964). A history of psychology. Philadelphia: Saunders. Ochulor, C., & Metuonu, I. (2011). Francis Bacon 's Qualification as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Canadian Social Science, 7(6), 258-263. doi:10.3968/j.css.1923669720110706.207