Francis Bacon: biography, philosophy, facts and video

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Francis Bacon: childhood and adolescence

Francis Bacon is a famous British historian, politician, creator of the foundations of empiricism. This is a modern philosopher who advocated a scientific approach to understanding the world. He was against the dogmas of the scholastics, opposing them with the inductive method and rational analysis.

Parents

He was born on January 22, 1561 into a wealthy aristocratic family. Nicholas Bacon was the Lord Chancellor, and his wife, Anna, was the daughter of the famous humanist Anthony Cook. The family had many children. But Francis preferred noisy games, and reading books in his father’s library.

Francis’s mother, Anne was a Puritan, had an excellent education and was fluent in five languages. She was familiar with famous Calvinist theologians, not only living in Britain, but also in other European states.

Anna had an extensive correspondence, was engaged in translating various theological literature into English.

This was a family that belonged to the so-called “new nobility” and was devoted to the Tudors. The tribal aristocracy simply hated them.

Anna brought up her children in strict observance of religious traditions, told them in accessible language about the most famous theological doctrines. Anna’s sister, Mildred, was married to Lord Treasurer W. Cecil.

All that is known about Francis’s childhood is that he was a sickly child and was homeschooled. The family talked a lot about politics and numerous insidious intrigues at court. A combination of personal affairs and state problems reigned here. This could not but affect the further life of Francis.

The Queen’s Interlocutor

At the age of twelve, he and his brother Anthony entered Cambridge College. The study lasted three years. The main disciplines were taught by Dr. John Whitgift, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury.

The adolescent’s amazing abilities and aristocratic manners were often set as an example to other students. Queen Elizabeth I interviewed him several times. She was delighted with his intelligence and discretion at such a young age.

After graduating from college, the teenager turned his back on the philosophy of Aristotle studied there for life. He believed that it was for scientific controversy, and not for life.

Trip to France

In 1576, the brothers became teachers at the Grace Inn. Then, under the patronage of his father, Francis went to France in the retinue of the British ambassador E. Paulet. There he, in his spare time from his duties, visited some of the cities closest to the capital.

France at that time was experiencing political instability. This shocked the young diplomat and became food for further thought. Many historians believe that after this trip, Bacon wrote Notes on the State of Christendom, which are included in the complete collection of his works.

But the publisher J. Spedding categorically claims that this work was written by one of Anthony’s friends.

Return to England

In early 1579, Nicholas Bacon died and Francis returned home. The father set aside a substantial sum to buy his son a house. But when Francis came to England, he received only 20% of this amount. There was little money, he takes loans and debts will haunt him all his life.

In 1579 he got a job as a lawyer. However, it is not his legal career that will bring him fame, but a career in politics, philosophy and literary works, where he defends the scientific revolution.

In his youth, he was for some time passionate about the theater. The students wrote a play and based it on the play “The Troubles of King Arthur”, about the incredible exploits of the fearless king. In 1594 the premiere of another play, The Deeds of the Greyites, took place.

Bacon was the co-author of both of these plays and has always taken part in their productions. The works expressed the idea of ​​“conquering nature”.

The following year, Bacon takes some steps towards his career. He asks William Cecil to apply for a position at court. The queen reacted favorably to this request, but he never received the position. The reason remained unknown.

Later, the queen repeatedly invited the philosopher, he gave her legal advice. The queen talked with him with great pleasure. But this did not turn into material incentives or career advancement. In 1582 Francis was appointed a junior lawyer.

The talent of the speaker

From 1581, for 33 years, he sat in the House of Commons, then was elected to the House of Lords. In late 1586, he advocated the punishment of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and was an active participant in the petition for her trial.

All of Bacon’s contemporaries recognized his extraordinary talent as an orator. His performances made an indelible impression on the audience. The famous poet Ben Johnson wrote: “Everyone who listened to him regretted only that his performance would be over soon.”

During the debate, Bacon entered into opposition, first with the House of Lords, then with the court. He declared that he had the right to speak according to his conscience. This led him to the queen’s disfavor.

Career

• In 1586 – appointed to the post of foreman of the corporation of lawyers, then became the Queen’s lawyer.
• In March 1603, Elizabeth I died. Jacob I ascended the throne. Four months later, F. Bacon received the title of knight.
• 1604 – Nominated for the post of speaker, but the king decisively rejected his candidacy.
• 1605 – publishes a large philosophical work “Two books on the restoration of sciences.” In the preface, he is generous in praising the new king.
• 1606 – married Alice Burnham, who was 14 years old. They had no children.
• 1609 – the collection of miniatures “On the wisdom of the ancients” is published.
• 1613 – Appointed attorney general.
• In 1616 he became a member of the Privy Council. Assistance in this was provided by the young king’s favorite George Villiers, who later received the title of Duke of Buckingham.
• The years 1617 – 1621 can be called a fruitful and successful period in the life of a philosopher.
• In 1617 he became Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Britain.
• In 1618 he was appointed to the post of Lord Chancellor. In the summer of the same year he became a peer and baron of Verulam.
• Three years later, Francis is already Viscount of St. Albans.
• In the fall of 1620, his work “New Organon” was published.

After being accused of bribery, the career of a prominent politician was over.

In 1626 Francis Bacon died of a cold. He caught a cold during an experiment he was conducting to prove the effect of cold on the preservation of meat products. The philosopher argued that science will give man power over nature and significantly improve his life.

There is a legend, which is rejected by scholars, that it was Francis Bacon who was the author of the texts, signing with the pseudonym Shakespeare.

Francis Bacon: philosophy

The philosopher considered the power of scientific thought to be obvious, which he expressed in the aphorism “Knowledge is power”. The philosopher wrote several religious works and translated dozens of psalms into his native language. A clear explanation in this video

In the 1580s, he wrote the essay “The Greatest Generation of Time”, which outlined a plan for a large-scale reform of science. In this work, the inductive method of cognition was described.

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