Francis Bacon (Francis Bacon, 1561-1626) was a British philosopher and scientist. He strongly advocated that "Histories make men wise, poets witty, the mathematics subtle, natural philosophy deep, moral grave, logic and rhetoric able to contend)". His progressive ideas of advocating science and developing science and progressive slogans advocating knowledge have always promoted social progress. This thinker who pursued truth throughout his life was called "the true ancestor of British materialism and the entire modern experimental science" by Marx. He also put forward many ideas in logic, aesthetics and education. He is the author of "New Tools", "Collection of Essays", etc. The latter contains 58 essays, discussing a wide range of life issues from various angles. It is exquisite and philosophical and has many readers.
He wrote "Academic Progress" (1605) and "New Tools" (1620). Bacon sharply criticized medieval scholasticism, believing that scholasticism and theology seriously hindered the progress of science, and advocated a comprehensive transformation of human knowledge, liberating the entire academic culture from scholasticism, and realizing a great revival. He believed that science must pursue the causes and laws of things in nature. To achieve this goal, it must be based on sensory experience. He put forward the principle of materialist empiricism, believing that knowledge and concepts originate from the perceptual world, and sensory experience is the source of all knowledge. To obtain scientific knowledge of nature, we must build our understanding on the basis of sensory experience. He also proposed the empirical induction method, advocating that based on experimental and observation materials, through analysis, comparison, selection, and rejection, the correct conclusion can finally be drawn.
In 1597, Bacon published his first work, "Collected Essays on Discourses". In the book, he condensed his understanding and thinking about society and his understanding of life into many philosophical famous sayings, which were welcomed by readers.
In 1605, Bacon completed the two-volume "On the Progress of Learning" in English. This is a work that takes knowledge as its research object. It is part of Bacon's grand ideal and plan to comprehensively reform knowledge with knowledge as its field. In the book, Bacon fiercely attacked the obscurantism of the Middle Ages, demonstrated the great role of knowledge, and suggested the unsatisfactory status quo of knowledge and its remedies. In this book, Bacon proposed an outline for a systematic scientific encyclopedia, which played a major role in later compiling encyclopedias by the French Encyclopedia School headed by Diderot in the 18th century.
In 1609, when Bacon was deputy attorney general, he published a third book, "On the Wisdom of the Ancients." He believes that in ancient times, there existed the oldest wisdom of mankind, and the lost oldest wisdom can be discovered through the study of ancient fables.
Bacon originally planned to write a six-volume encyclopedic work - "The Great Revival", which was his masterpiece to revive science and reshape human knowledge, but he failed To complete the expected plan, only the first two parts were published. "New Instruments" published in 1620 was the second part of the book. "New Instruments" is Bacon's most important philosophical work. It puts forward the principles and methods of empirical knowledge pioneered by Bacon in modern times. This book is the antithesis of Aristotle's Instruments.
After the end of his political career, Bacon completed the book "The Chronicles of Henry VII" in just a few months. This work was highly praised by later historians and was hailed as "the most important work of modern history". A milestone in historiography."
About 1623, Bacon wrote "New Atlantis", an unfinished utopian work first published by Rollet in the second year of his death. In the book, the author describes the ideal social blueprint for his new pursuit and yearning, and designs a country called the "True Color Column". In this country, science dominates everything. This is the "great renaissance" of science advocated by Bacon's graduation. A concentrated expression of thoughts and beliefs.
In addition, Bacon left many works after his death, which were later compiled and published by many experts and scholars, including "On the Nature of Things", "Clues of the Labyrinth", "Philosophies of Various Philosophies" Critique", "Great Events in Nature", "On Human Knowledge", etc.