Roger Bacon's Reform of the Sciences

Journal of Medieval History, 1996

Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval

Perspectives on Science, 2012

This paper aims to explore some possible sources of Francis Bacon's peculiar way of relating idolatry, natural history and the medicine of the mind. In the ªrst section, I argue that Bacon's strategy of internalizing idolatry is not unlike that of his Calvinist precursors. If in using natural history as a therapy against the idolatrous mind Bacon departed from Calvin, this departure, I claim, was not unlike the road taken earlier by another important reformer, Pierre Viret . In elaborating a form of spiritual medicine, Pierre Viret gave prominence to the empirical and the "anatomical" study of nature. In the second part of my paper, I focus on a particular kind of Calvinist writings against idolatry: the French "Neo-Stoic" Calvinism of the late sixteenth century. I discuss the ways in which the Neo-Stoic Huguenots (and their English followers) used an empirical, anti-dogmatic and "literal" study of the Book of Nature-under the name of "natural history"-as a weapon in the war against the idols of the mind. In particular, I compare Bacon's form of natural historical "therapy" with the one advocated by Pierre de la Primaudaye (1546-1619.

Perspectives on Science, 2012

Societate si Politica, 2013

Abstract. The purpose of this introductory essay is to situate some of the major questions relating to Bacon’s legacy and various forms of early modern Baconianism(s) in the wider context of Bacon studies, especially in view of recent developments in this field. I claim that one can see in the troubled historical reception of Francis Bacon interesting historiographical and philosophical problems, as well as a fascinating case-study of intellectual history. I offer a way of dealing with the complexity of the field by identifying four “idols” of Baconian scholarship. I show in what ways such “idols” can be held responsible for the conflicting reception of Bacon’s works and projects and for some related issues in the investigation of Bacon’s legacy and “followers.” I am also using these “idols” to chart a relatively little explored territory and to point towards new and recently developed directions of research. In the last part of this introductory essay I attempt a survey of themes and research questions relating to Bacon’s legacy and early modern Baconianism(s) as seen from the perspective of recent developments in the field. In this way, I aim to place in a wider context the studies contained in this special issue.

2013

The purpose of this introductory essay is to situate some of the major questions relating to Bacon's legacy and various forms of early modern Baconianism(s) in the wider context of Bacon studies, especially in view of recent developments in this field. I claim that one can see in the troubled historical reception of Francis Bacon interesting historiographical and philosophical problems, as well as a fascinating case-study of intellectual history. I offer a way of dealing with the complexity of the field by identifying four "idols" of Baconian scholarship. I show in what ways such "idols" can be held responsible for the conflicting reception of Bacon's works and projects and for some related issues in the investigation of Bacon's legacy and "followers." I am also using these "idols" to chart a relatively little explored territory and to point towards new and recently developed directions of research. In the last part of this introductory essay I attempt a survey of themes and research questions relating to Bacon's legacy and early modern Baconianism(s) as seen from the perspective of recent developments in the field. In this way, I aim to place in a wider context the studies contained in this special issue.

Cahiers François Viète, 2019

Roger Bacon (1214–1292) Roger Bacon’s most noteworthy philosophical accomplishments were in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences, and language studies. A conspicuous feature of his philosophical outlook was his emphasis on the utility and practicality of all scientific efforts. Bacon was convinced that mathematics and astronomy are not morally neutral activities, pursued for their own sake, but have a deep connection to the practical business of everyday life. Bacon was committed to the view that wisdom should contribute to the improvement of life. For example, his extensive works on the reform and reorganization of the university curriculum were, on the surface, aimed at reforming the study of theology; yet, ultimately, they contained a political program whose goal was to civilize humankind as well as to secure peace and prosperity for the whole of the Christian world, both in the hereafter and in this world. Bacon is noteworthy for being one of the West’s first commentators and lecturers on Aristotle‘s philosophy and science. He has been called Doctor Mirabilis (wonderful teacher) and described variously as a rebel, traditionalist, reactionary, martyr to scientific progress, and the first modern scientist. Unfortunately, these romantic epithets tend to blur the actual nature of his philosophical achievements. . Early Works: 1240s–1250s During his time at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Paris, Bacon lectured on many Aristotelian texts, the so-called libri naturales, including On the Soul, On Sense and the Sensible, Physics, Metaphysics, and probably On Generation and Corruption. Not all of these lectures have survived. We possess copies of two lectures on Physics, three lectures on different books of Metaphysics as well as lectures on the pseudo-Aristotelian works, Book of Causes and On Plants. The form of these lectures is that of quaestiones, or ‘questions’, which involve the presentation of expository and critical questions combined with explanatory comments. These lectures represent Bacon’s earliest teachings on topics such as causality, motion, being, soul, substance, and truth. Bacon’s quaestiones were not written by Bacon himself, but consist in notes that his students took during his lectures. These notes might have been checked later by Bacon for accuracy. With the exception of a set of quaestiones on Physics II–IV, these writings survive in one single manuscript. These lectures—together with the lectures of Richard Rufus of Cornwall (d. 1260) —mark some of the earliest known examinations of Aristotle’s Metaphysics and the libri naturales from the Faculty of Arts at Paris. Bibliographies Alessio, Franco, “Un secolo di studi su Ruggero Bacone (1848-1957),” Revista critica de storia della filosofia 14 (1959), 81-102. Little, Arthur G., “Roger Bacon’s Works with reference to The Manuscripts and Printed Editions,” in Little, A.G., Roger Bacon: Essays Contributed by Various Writers on the Occasion of the Commemoration of the Seventh Centenary of His Birth (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914), 373-426. Hackett, Jeremiah and Maloney, Thomas S., “A Roger Bacon Bibliography (1957-1985),” New Scholasticism 61 (1987), 184-207. Maloney, Thomas S., “A Roger Bacon Bibliography (1985-1995),” in Roger Bacon and the Sciences. Commemorative Essays (Studien und Texte zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters, vol. 57), ed. Jeremiah Hackett (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 395-403. Hackett, Jeremiah, “The Published Works of Roger Bacon,” Vivarium 35,2 (1997), 315-320. Contains also an updated list of manuscripts.

Roger Bacon (1214/16-1292/94) was a prolific writer whose philosophical work spans a remarkably long period during a century that saw much intellectual, cultural, religious and political upheaval in Europe and beyond. His own path in life bears witness to these changes: he was an English noble by birth, Master of Arts at the young University of Paris in the 1240s, a Franciscan friar (1257), a tenacious researcher, an acerbic critic of university life, a visionary, and an outcast. His interests also reflect the varied philosophical and theological debates and controversies that occupied thirteenth century scholars. His later writings cover a wide range of topics, including philosophy of language, natural and moral philosophy as well as optics and astronomy. In addition, Bacon's Opus tertium, the last of three works composed at the behest of Pope Clement IV between 1266-1268 (the other two being Opus maius and Opus minus), records many of Bacon's ideas and arguments on these issues, which is why an updated Latin edition has long been a desideratum in modern Bacon scholarship.