Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes
| Connections and Contrasts of Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes | | | |
The Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences is one of the most influential works in the history of modern philosophy, and important to the evolution of natural sciences. In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism. Descartes modified it to account for a truth he found to be incontrovertible. Descartes started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions. Whereas Francis Bacon’s Scientific Method wanted to replace the deductive reasoning by inductive reasoning. The important concept in this reformed thought is about discovering truth rather than establishing the beliefs by deduction. The scientific and philosophical contributions that Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon helped form a single concept of the scientific method. The scientific method was a new way to reach a conclusion about anything and refers to a way one should acquire knowledge, or investigate a phenomenon or to correct and refine previous unproven knowledge. It is a five step method; the inquiry, initial hypothesis, action of investigation, results and conclusion.
Rene Descartes was born in France at La Haye near the city of Tours in 1596. He went to school at the age of eight at La Fleche in France; he was a student there until the age of sixteen, in which he studied scholastic philosophy and mathematics. Later he was educated at the Jesuit College of La Flèche between 1606 and 1614. When he was nineteen he left Jesuit College for the University of Poitiers, where he studied law for two years and graduated in the year 1616. He got a degree in law but developed a passion for mathematics because he saw it as one field where absolute certainty could be found. Descartes also saw it as a means for achieving greater progress in both science and philosophy. He later
The Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences is one of the most influential works in the history of modern philosophy, and important to the evolution of natural sciences. In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism. Descartes modified it to account for a truth he found to be incontrovertible. Descartes started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions. Whereas Francis Bacon’s Scientific Method wanted to replace the deductive reasoning by inductive reasoning. The important concept in this reformed thought is about discovering truth rather than establishing the beliefs by deduction. The scientific and philosophical contributions that Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon helped form a single concept of the scientific method. The scientific method was a new way to reach a conclusion about anything and refers to a way one should acquire knowledge, or investigate a phenomenon or to correct and refine previous unproven knowledge. It is a five step method; the inquiry, initial hypothesis, action of investigation, results and conclusion.
Rene Descartes was born in France at La Haye near the city of Tours in 1596. He went to school at the age of eight at La Fleche in France; he was a student there until the age of sixteen, in which he studied scholastic philosophy and mathematics. Later he was educated at the Jesuit College of La Flèche between 1606 and 1614. When he was nineteen he left Jesuit College for the University of Poitiers, where he studied law for two years and graduated in the year 1616. He got a degree in law but developed a passion for mathematics because he saw it as one field where absolute certainty could be found. Descartes also saw it as a means for achieving greater progress in both science and philosophy. He later