Francis Bacon and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge
Francis Bacon and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge (Continuum Studies in British Philosophy) by Dennis Desroches
English | November 15, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0826486819 | 208 pages | PDF | 12,6 Mb
English | November 15, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0826486819 | 208 pages | PDF | 12,6 Mb
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.